Method for detecting moisture in soils using secondary cosmic radiation [electronic resource].
Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2003. Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Water content in a soil is determined by measuring the attenuation of secondary background cosmic radiation as this radiation propagates through a layer of soil and water. By measuring the attenuation of secondary cosmic radiation in the range of 5 MeV-15 MeV it is possible to obtain a relative measure of the water content in a soil layer above a suitable radiation detector and thus establish when and how much irrigation is needed. The electronic circuitry is designed so that a battery pack can be used to supply power.