Numerous 'Vitel' sensors were installed to monitor active layer soil water content, temperature, and salinity (electrolytic concentration) on a variety of soils and landscapes in northern Alaska. Instrumented features include ice-wedge polygons, a gravel beach ridge, acidic and non-acidic tundra, and a marshy area.
Most sensors were connected to dataloggers for unattended operation with readings recorded at two-hour intervals. Manually read sensors were installed at some sites, and a portable unit was fabricated to collect soil surface moisture data at 100-m intervals on the ARCSS LAII 1-km grid. The manually read sensors were used to collect data only during the summer months.
The Vitel sensors determine the real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant of the soil and have an integral thermistor to measure soil temperature. The volumetric soil water content and soil water electrolytic concentration are calculated from the temperature-corrected soil dielectric constant.
Soil moisture and temperature values are well correlated with atmospheric events monitored at nearby sites. The surface soil water measurements on the grid were correlated to active layer thaw depths measured at the same grid nodes over the summer. The temperature-corrected soil water electrolytic concentration was correlated to soil electric potential readings obtained from a nearby site. Similar temporal patterns are apparent in the records obtained from the two methods.
Ron Paetzold USDA-NRCS Federal Bldg., Rm. 152 Lincoln, NE 68508 Phone: (402) 437-4133 FAX: (402) 437-5336 E-mail: paetzold@nssc600.nssc.nrcs.usda.gov F. E. Nelson SUNY-Albany Department of Geography & Planning 1400 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12222 K. M. Hinkel University of Cincinnati Department of Geography Mail Location 131 Cincinnati, OH 45221 L. Miller University of Cincinnati Department of Geography Mail Location 131 Cincinnati, OH 45221 N. I. Shiklomanov SUNY-Albany Department of Geography & Planning 1400 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12222 G. Mueller SUNY-Albany Department of Geography & Planning 1400 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12222