HR: 0830h
AN: H31B-0459    [PDF]
TI: An inverse method for estimating the spatial variability of soil textures from observed soil moisture fields
AU: * Pan, F
EM: panf@ornl.gov
AF: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Envrionmental Sciences Division Bldg.1509, MS6335, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 United States
AU: King, A W
EM: kingaw@ornl.gov
AF: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Envrionmental Sciences Division Bldg.1509, MS6335, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 United States
AU: Sale, M J
EM: salemj@ornl.gov
AF: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Envrionmental Sciences Division Bldg.1509, MS6335, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 United States
AB: Soil texture (sand, clay, silt and rock contents) information is one of critical factors for understanding water cycle, since it affects almost all of water cycle processes, e.g., drainage, runoff, soil moisture, evaporation and evapotranspiration. To study water cycle regionally or globally, we must have a regional or global soil texture database. At the present stage, three soil geographic data bases are commonly used, i.e., the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database, the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) database, and the National Soil Geographic (NATSGO) database. Those soil data are map-unit-based, which are associated with a great uncertainty. Ground soil survey is one way to reduce this uncertainty. However, ground survey is time consuming and labor intensive. In this study, a simple method for estimating mean and standard deviation of soil texture from observed soil moisture fields is proposed and applied to Throughfall Displacement Experiment (TDE) sites in Walker Branch Watershed (WBW) in eastern Tennessee. The results indicate that the suggested method is feasible and has potential for retrieving soil texture information globally from remotely sensed soil moisture data.
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
DE: 1875 Unsaturated zone
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
DE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting