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

本研究的目的是进一步开发和测试多功能热脉冲探针（MF-HPP）方法，用于同时测量块状土壤的热、水流和溶质运输特性，并设计、开发和测试具有无线数据传输能力的多功能热脉冲探针（MF-HPP），用于远程现场应用，用于自然和农业生态系统的植物根区。提出的MF-HPP的智力优势在于结合了各种创新的测量技术，这些技术将(1)解决由土壤异质性引起的测量不确定性问题，(2)提供一种重要的新方法，将促进对植物根区流量、化学物质和营养物质以及热量的耦合流动和运输的基本理解。拟议的HPP发展的更广泛影响是教育和科学。通过加州大学戴维斯分校已经建立的远程（环境实时教育监测）基础设施，应用遥测技术进行无线数据传输，将使K-12学生以及本科生和研究生课堂教学可以获得数字和图形形式的现场环境数据。拟议的研究将是跨学科的，包括国内和国际合作，已经通过加州大学的科学家与美国、日本和澳大利亚的共同研究人员的合作进行。

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.