APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

• Measuring loss of irrigation water and chemicals (e.g., fertilizers and pesticides) in agriculture and landscaping
  
• Detecting failures/leaks from irrigation canals
  
• Monitoring and controlling remediation of soils around holding tanks and landfills
  
• Monitoring loss of water and chemicals below mine tailings

ADVANTAGES:

• Flux measurements are taken in situ in real time instead of using laboratory calibration of probes or calculations
• Can be installed at any depth
  
• Measures concentrations of chemicals, including fertilizers and pesticides
  
• Can measure upward or downward flow
  
• Soil does not need to be saturated to obtain a direct flux measurement
  
• Accurate to within 10 percent

ABSTRACT:

Boris Faybishenko of Berkeley Lab has developed an omni-depth fluxmeter to provide direct field measurements of water and concentration flux at different depths in the vadose zone. Conventional methods to obtain this information require taking samples for laboratory analysis or calculations, which may lead to large inaccuracies. Other in situ fluxmeters are limited to measurements in near-saturated soils or require a preliminary calibration of probes.

The Berkeley Lab vadose zone fluxmeter measurements are based on establishing the same water pressure on a tensiometer placed inside a controlled soil environment as that exerted naturally on a monitoring tensiometer located in undisturbed soil. This fluxmeter can fit into a borehole four inches in diameter or larger and is accurate to within 10 percent, if water pressure is above approximately - 0.7 bars.

An innovative arrangement for large boreholes consists of two semi-sheltered fluxmeters, one facing upward and one downward, monitoring tensiometers placed in undisturbed soil, and a vacuum-operated data acquisition system.

The Berkeley Lab fluxmeter enables farmers to monitor water flux and chemical concentrations in soil, which in turn allows them to optimize irrigation and drainage schedules, as well as adjust pesticide and fertilizer applications to minimize groundwater contamination. The fluxmeter can also be used in monitoring and managing remediation of contaminated soils, and mine tailing and landfill operations.

STATUS:

• U.S. Patent #6,957,573. Available for licensing

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE SEE:

• Faybishenko B., "Advanced Characterization and Monitoring of Chemical Transport in the Vadose Zone at Hanford."

REFERENCE NUMBER: IB-1599