Development of Multi-Functional Heat Pulse Probe for Ecological and Soil Hydrological Monitoring of Plant Root Zones

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The objective of this research is to further develop and test the multifunctional heat pulse probe (MF-HPP) method for simultaneous measurement of bulk soil thermal, water flow and solute transport properties, and to design, develop and test a robust MF-HPP with wireless data transmission capabilities for remote in situ field applications for application in plant root zones of both natural and agricultural ecosystems.The intellectual merit of the proposed MF-HPP lies in the combination of various innovative measurement techniques that combined will (1) resolve measurement uncertainty issues that result from soil heterogeneities, and (2) provide for an essential new field approach that will advance the basic understanding of the coupled flow and transport of flow, chemicals and nutrients, and heat in plant root zones. The broader impacts of the proposed HPP development are both educational as well as scientific. Through the already established infrastructure of REMOTE (Real-time Educational Monitoring Of The Environment) at UC Davis, application of telemetry for wireless data transmission will make in-situ environmental data, in both numerical and graphical form, available to K-12 students and for undergraduate and graduate class instruction. The proposed research will be interdisciplinary with national and international collaborations, already ongoing through collaborations of University of California scientists with the co-investigators in the US, Japan and Australia.