CS650 Sonde réflectométrique de teneur en eau du sol (30 cm)

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1. Les tiges du CS650 peuvent-elles être raccourcies ?

   Campbell Scientific ne recommande pas expressement de raccourcir les tiges du capteur. L'électronique dans la tête du capteur a été optimisée pour fonctionner avec des tiges de 30 cm de long. Le raccourcissement de ces tiges changera la moyenne de la période. Par conséquent, les équations dans le firmware deviendront invalides et donneront des lectures inexactes.

2. Les CS650 et CS655 peuvent-elles être réparées ?

   Les dommages sur l'électronique de la CS650 ou à l'électronique du CS655 ou aux tiges ne peuvent être réparées car ces composants sont placés dans l'époxy. Les dégâts sur les câbles, d'autre part, peuvent éventuellement être réparés. Pour plus d'informations, reportez-vous à la page Réparation et étalonnage.

3. Can the CS650 and the CS655 measure water content in compost?

   Campbell Scientific does not recommend using the CS650 or the CS655 to measure water content in compost. A compost pile is a very hostile environment for making dielectric measurements with soil water content sensors. All of the following combine to make it very difficult to determine a calibration function: high temperature, high and varying electrical conductivity, high organic matter content, heterogeneity of the material in the pile, changing particle size, and changing bulk density. The temperature and electrical conductivity values reported by the CS650 or CS655 may give some useful information about processes occurring in the compost pile, but these sensors will not be able to give useful readings for water content.  

4. La CS650 et la CS655 peuvent-elles mesurer la teneur en eau dans des sols gelés ?

   Non. Le principe qui permet à ces capteurs de fonctionner est que l'eau liquide a une permittivité diélectrique de près de 80, tandis que les particules solides du sol ont une permittivité diélectrique d'environ 3 à 6. Lorsque l'eau liquide gèle, sa permittivité diélectrique baisse à 3,8, comme les particules du sol. Une CS650 ou une CS655 installée dans un sol qui gèle montrera un déclin rapide de sa teneur en eau volumétrique avec des lectures de température correspondantes inférieures à 0°C. Au fur et à mesure que le sol gèle sous la plage de mesure du capteur, les valeurs de la teneur en eau cesseront de changer et resteront stables tant que le sol reste gelé.

5. Can the CS650 and the CS655 measure water level?

   The CS650 and the CS655 are not ideal sensors for measuring water level. However, these sensors do respond to the abrupt change in permittivity at the air/water interface. A calibration could be performed to relate the period average or permittivity reading to the distance along the sensor rods where the air/water interface is located. From that, the water level can be determined. The permittivity of water is temperature dependent, so a temperature correction would be needed to acquire accurate results.  

6. With regard to the CS650 and the CS655, is there a generic calibration equation for organic soil?

   No. The equation used to determine volumetric water content in the firmware for the CS650 and the CS655 is the Topp et al. (1980) equation, which works for a wide range of mineral soils but not for organic soils. In organic soils, the standard equations in the firmware will overestimate water content.

   When using a CS650 or a CS655 in organic soil, it is best to perform a soil-specific calibration. For details on performing a soil-specific calibration, refer to “The Water Content Reflectometer Method for Measuring Volumetric Water Content” section in the CS650/CS655 manual. A linear or quadratic equation that relates period average to volumetric water content will work well.

7. With regard to the CS650 and the CS655, is there a generic calibration equation for artificial soil?

   No. The equation used to determine volumetric water content in the firmware for the CS650 and the CS655 is the Topp et al. (1980) equation, which works for a wide range of mineral soils but not necessarily for artificial soils that typically have high organic matter content and high clay content. In this type of soil, the standard equations in the firmware will overestimate water content.

   When using a CS650 or a CS655 in artificial soil, it is best to perform a soil-specific calibration. For details on performing a soil-specific calibration, refer to “The Water Content Reflectometer Method for Measuring Volumetric Water Content” section in the CS650/CS655 manual. A linear or quadratic equation that relates period average to volumetric water content will work well.

8. Do the CS650 and the CS655 correct readings for temperature changes?

   No. The temperature sensor is located inside the sensor’s epoxy head next to one of the sensor rods. The stainless-steel rods are not thermally conductive, so the reported soil temperature reading is actually the temperature of the sensor head. If the CS650 or the CS655 is installed horizontally, which is the preferred method, then the sensor head will be at the same temperature as the soil, and the soil temperature value will be accurate. However, if the sensor is installed vertically, and/or with the sensor head above ground, the soil temperature reading will be less accurate. Because the sensor orientation is not known, no temperature correction was written into the firmware.  

9. Why is the permittivity reading NAN or 9999999 for the CS650?

   The CS650-series sensors have several logical tests built into their firmware to ensure that the sensors do not report a number that is known to be erroneous. Erroneous readings are either outside the sensor’s operational limits or outside of published accuracy specifications.

   A reported value of NAN or 9999999 does not necessarily mean that there is a problem with the sensor hardware. The conditions outlined below can lead to a value of NAN or 9999999 for permittivity and volumetric water content.

   SDI-12 communications issue

   If all of the following are true, there is likely an issue with the SDI-12 communications between the sensor and the datalogger: the sensor is being polled with an M1! SDI-12 command, the permittivity value reported is NAN, and subsequent values are all zeroes or never change. Possible causes include the following:

   • The sensor is not powered. Check to make sure that the red wire is well connected to a 12 Vdc source and that the black wire is connected to datalogger ground.
   • The sensor signal wire is not connected properly. Ensure that the green wire is well connected to the control port specified in the datalogger program.
   • The sensor has an SDI-12 address that does not match the datalogger program.
   • The sensor has cable or lightning damage.

   Calculated permittivity is less than 0 or greater than 88

   The equation used to convert period average and electrical conductivity values to permittivity is a three-dimensional surface with two independent variables and eleven coefficients, plus an offset. Some rare combinations of period and electrical conductivity result in a permittivity calculation that is less than air (1) or greater than water at 0°C (88). These rare combinations are not expected when the sensor is in soil. 

   Bulk electrical conductivity (EC) is greater than 1.14 dS/m

   When bulk electrical conductivity is greater than 1.14 dS/m, the solution EC is greater than 3 dS/m, which is the upper limit for accurate readings with the CS650. When this occurs, the soil is considered out-of-bounds and will report a value of NAN or 9999999 for both permittivity and volumetric water content.

   Calculated permittivity is less than 80% of the permittivity limit

   A permittivity limit based on the bulk electrical conductivity (EC) reading is used to determine whether the bulk EC at saturation exceeds the sensor’s operational limit. That permittivity limit is calculated and compared to the permittivity reading. If the measured permittivity is more than 20% beyond the permittivity limit, both permittivity and volumetric water content are reported as NAN or 9999999. This is the most common cause of NAN values with the CS650-series sensors, and it occurs because of the soil properties and not because of a sensor malfunction.

10. With the CS650 and the CS655, where is the soil temperature measurement made?

    A thermistor is encased in the epoxy head of the sensor next to one of the stainless-steel rods. This provides an accurate point measurement of temperature at the depth where that portion of the sensor head is in contact with the soil. This is why a horizontal placement is the recommended orientation of the CS650 or CS655. The temperature measurement is not averaged over the length of the sensor rods.