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Talajnedvesség-tartalom mérése földradarral (GPR) és mezőgazdasági alkalmazhatóságának lehetőségei

Soil water content measurements with ground penetrating radar (GPR) and its application possibilities in the agriculture

Agrokémia és Talajtan
Authors:
András Herceg
and
Csaba Tóth

Measurement of soil water content is complicated due to the soil heterogeneity and environmental variability. No single efficient method has been developed to map the different soil moisture zones at great depth at the field scale without disturbing the soil structure and paths of the waterflow.

Partially or completely non-destructive measurement of soil moisture is provided by ground-penetrating radar (GPR), which offers high resolution and significant penetration depth for medium-scale soil moisture measurements, bridging the methodological gap between small-scale point-based and large-scale remote sensing techniques. In addition, this technique can be used with better time efficiency compared to other destructive or non-destructive procedures.

GPR has been used for soil water content estimation including measuring soil water content profile, identifying specific soil water depths or soil water variation under irrigation conditions.

Despite the high potential of GPR for hydrological investigations, it is important to realize that no single geophysical method is able to perform optimally under all conditions. For example, GPR is mostly restricted to areas with relatively low electrical conductivity (low attenuation of the electromagnetic wave). In addition, some of the GPR interpretation methods require the presence of well identifiable and continuous GPR reflections, which requires sufficient and spatially continuous subsurface contrast in dielectric permittivity.

Soil moisture (considering its flow) is a key variable in the fields of agriculture. It is the essential requirement for plants to grow. Consequently, soil moisture is important for irrigation management particularly in semiarid and arid regions.

In this paper, the literature of the principles of GPR measurements and utilization possibilities is summarized with the emphasis on the agricultural sector. GPR can be a beneficial measuring device that can help in mapping soil moisture distribution, taking into account infiltration, but also water loss caused by evaporation and plant water absorption. Consequently, it can be used in agriculture, due to its precision at high central frequency values, even (fine)root characteristics of the plants, essentially the xylem-water relationship can also be determined (xylem transports water and water-soluble minerals and supply water used during photosynthesis). In addition, GPR can provide valuable information regarding natural stratification and soil compaction. The data interpretation of GPR measurements, in addition to soil compaction causing a decrease in the moisture of soils (as three-phase systems), can in principle be extended to other aspects of agrotechnology, such as soil contamination studying. However, it has not been sufficiently explored, as no recent literature can be found on this subject.

Soil radar can be a useful part of “Smart farming”, which can help in the selection of soil moisture measuring sensors placed in the soil as part of it. Especially when associated with the recently released new simultaneous multi-offset and multi-channel (SiMoc) GPR system, which enables fast soil profile mapping with seven receivers, but at the speed of a traditional single-channel GPR.

If complete non-destruction is the goal, air-coupled GPRs mounted on a drone can provide an opportunity. It should be noted, however, that due to the significant signal attenuation (wave scattering) occurring at the soil-air interface, only a small penetration depth can be achieved.

Open access

Abstract

Stable hydrogen isotope compositions of metamorphic rocks and minerals can provide information on the origin of metamorphic fluids, which is especially important in systems that had experienced multiple metamorphic events. The Sopron orthogneiss-micaschist complex is a good target as it records signs of Variscan and Alpine metamorphic events as well as Variscan granitic magmatism. In this study tourmaline-bearing rocks (pegmatitic orthogneisses and kyanite-chlorite-muscovite schists) of the Sopron metamorphic complex were sampled and their tourmaline grains were analyzed for stable hydrogen isotope compositions (δ2H). The δ2H values (−23 ± 1‰, relative to V-SMOW) are in accordance with a fluid flux from devolatilization of subducted, seawater-containing rocks. Tourmaline-chlorite hydrogen isotope fractionations correspond to about 550 °C, indicating that δ2H values formed close to peak metamorphic temperatures are preserved without retrograde isotope exchange during cooling.

Open access

Abstract

While three-dimensional measurement technology is spreading fast, its meaningful application to sedimentary geology still lacks content. Classical shape descriptors (such as axis ratios, circularity of projection) were not inherently three-dimensional, because no such technology existed. Recently a new class of three-dimensional descriptors, collectively referred to as mechanical descriptors, has been introduced and applied for a broad range of sedimentary particles. First-order mechanical descriptors (registered for each pebble as a pair {S, U} of integers), refer to the respective numbers of stable and unstable static equilibria and can be reliably detected by hand experiments. However, they have limited ability of distinction, as the majority of coastal pebbles fall into primary class { S , U } = { 2 , 2 } . Higher-order mechanical descriptors offer a more refined distinction. However, for the extraction of these descriptors (registered as graphs for each pebble), hand measurements are not an option and even computer-based extraction from 3D scans offers a formidable challenge. Here we not only describe and implement an algorithm to perform this task, but also apply it to a collection of 271 pebbles with various lithologies, illustrating that the application of higher-order descriptors is a viable option for geologists. We also show that the so-far uncharted connection between the two known secondary descriptors, the so-called Morse–Smale graph and the Reeb-graph, can be established via a third order descriptor which we call the master graph.

Open access
Central European Geology
Authors:
Gabriella Ilona Kiss
,
Péter Szabó
,
Marianna Túri
,
István Futó
,
János Kovács
, and
László Palcsu

Abstract

We tested several sample pre-treatment protocols for the study of oxygen isotope ratios in the phosphate phase of mammalian enamel of ten different fossil samples. We investigated the effect of different pre-treatment methods and the duration of the hydrogen fluoride treatment on enamel samples from skeletal phosphate with known δ18O values. The samples had been measured previously, so we could compare the ratios measured in our laboratory with the previous values to choose the best chemical preparation procedure. Four pre-soaking methods and two different time intervals of 2 mol dm−3 hydrogen fluoride treatment were compared during our experiments. In our experimental conditions, the distilled water wash and the 6 h of soaking in hydrogen fluoride gave the closest results to the expected δ-values. The steps of the tested preparation processes were repeated at least three times on each sample, so the reproducibility of the process could be also investigated.

Open access

Az azbesztszálak kimutatására szolgáló vizsgálatok középpontjában a levegőszennyezettségi értékek álltak, de a 21. században felmerült az igény a problémakör kiterjesztésére. Az elmúlt években megjelent nemzetközi tudományos szakirodalmak megcáfolták az évtizedeken át fennálló feltételezést, miszerint az azbeszt csupán a levegőterheltség révén vált ki kockázatot. Vízminőségi és talajminőségi kutatások által teret nyert az azbesztszálak, különösen a krizotilszálak alternatív transzportútjainak vizsgálatát célzó kutatásterület. Annak ellenére, hogy mind a települési, mind pedig a mezőgazdasági vízgazdálkodás potenciálisan érintett a krizotil-azbeszt jelenléte kapcsán, nincs nemzetközi szinten egységes és elfogadott módszer vagy küszöbérték az egyes vízforrások biztonságára vonatkozóan. A kutatások nyilvánvaló korlátja, hogy csekély mennyiségű és minőségű tudás érhető el. Az azbesztszálak megjelenése az egyes vízbázisokban jelentősen megváltoztatja mind a mezőgazdasági, mind a települési vízgazdálkodás környezeti hatásoknak való kitettségéről alkotott eddigi ismereteinket. Az öntözővizzel és a gyűjtött csapadékkal kijuttatott azbesztszálak hatásainak palettája mára túlhaladta a humán- és állategészségügyi hatásokat, immár figyelmet kell fordítani a vegetációs hatásokra is. Annak érdekében, hogy nagyobb betekintést nyerjünk az azbeszttoxicitás növényekre gyakorolt hatásaiba, sokkal több tudományos eredményre van szükség.

Jelen összefoglaló tanulmányban bemutatjuk az azbeszt, különös tekintettel a krizotil azbeszt legfontosabb tulajdonságait, humán-, állat- és növényegészségügyi kockázatait. Rávilágítunk arra, hogy ismereteink rendkívül hiányosak, valamint felhívjuk a figyelmet a települési és mezőgazdasági vízgazdálkodás érintettségének egyes faktoraira, közvetlen és közvetett kockázati tényezőire, valamint arra, hogy ezek miként hatnak az élőlényekre, kiemelt tekintettel a növényekre.

Open access
Agrokémia és Talajtan
Authors:
Andrea Balláné Kovács
and
János Kátai
Restricted access

Abstract

A high-temperature pyrolysis/gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry system was established at the Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research in 2013. A dedicated field of application of the system is the simultaneous measurement of stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the cellulose of modern, relict and subfossil plant tissues and sediments. The measurement protocol was fine-tuned during the first year of operation and documented in detail in this report. To quantify the long-term reproducibility of the simultaneous measurement of stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon in cellulose, a 2σ range inferred from repeated measurements of a Quality Assurance standard can be recommended: 0.16 and 0.20‰, for δ13C and δ18O, respectively. An extensive set of samples with known pyrolysis-based δ13C data was analyzed in combustion mode and the paired results were used to assess the necessity of adjustment of the pyrolysis-based δ13C measurements. The variances of the two datasets were not significantly different; the slope (intercept) of the regression was indistinguishable from unity (zero), suggesting that probably owing to the relatively frequent cleaning of the pyrolysis furnace, pyrolysis-based δ13C data neither suffer from a variance bias nor require a specific adjustment.

Open access