archiving of SOWACS
proudly sponsored by


this could be
your logo - >
 

[Prev][Next][Index]

Finding salinity from conductivity



Hello everybody !

We are manufacturer of an innovative irrigation control system based on soil
moisture content (see our web site for more info: http://www.SmartRain.com).
Our sensor also measures soil conductivity and we wish to correlate it with
soil salinity if possible.

I wander if anyone could help us with the following problem:

To our knowledge, the easiest and standard way to measure soil salinity is
to measure its electrical conductivity.  

Unfortunately, measuring electrical conductivity is not always obvious.
Using direct current (DC) will polarize the electrodes of the probe used and
plate them.  Using a too low frequency alternative current (AC) is better
but will do the same with time.  On the other hand, using a too high
frequency current will create dielectric losses and increase the
conductivity over its normal ionic level.  Also, we have experimentally
observed that the conductivity level is actually very dependant on frequency.  

Therefore, what is the optimal frequency if any ?

The second part of the problem arises from the fact that conductivity is
also very much dependant on soil moisture.  Some manufacturers even use
conductivity to measure soil moisture !!!  

Therefore, what is the ideal soil moisture level at which conductivity must
be measured in order to correlate with soil salinity ?  We heard that
laboratories were using field capacity ?  Also, do you have any equations or
empirical relationships relating soil salinity and soil conductivity at a
certain frequency ?

Thank You in advance for your help.


Romain Gagnon, Eng






Smart Rain Corporation inc
1505, Place de l'Hotel de Ville, suite 102
St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada --- J3V-5Y6
E-mail: Info@SmartRain.com
Phone:  1-514-441-4289
FAX:	1-514-441-2147
WEB:	http://www.SmartRain.com