Project Number: 3602-12130-001-04
Project Type: Nonfunded Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Apr 01, 2012
End Date: Mar 31, 2014

Objective:
The objective of this research is to develop a field to watershed scale soil moisture sensor and environmental monitoring network to serve as part of an international project to calibrate and validate satellite remotely sensed soil moisture on a global scale (2 - 5 year project). This project will also have applications for hydrologic modeling, water resources management, effects of climate dynamics on the hydrologic cycle, and sustaining ecological systems.

Approach:
Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU) will establish all field sites and provide instrumentation for the sensor network. SDAU will provide all facilities for workshop on-site training. Specific goals to be achieved are: 1. Soil sensor installations in several field-scale experimental plots to evaluate soil and water management strategies using different conservation practices. 2. Training workshop for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model at Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU) for university experimental field plots to model the effect of conservation practices on water, soil and chemical transport. 3. Use of soil sensor measurements as input for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model and as output for the calibration and validation of WEPP for SDAU experimental sites. 4. Development of a field to watershed scale soil moisture sensor network to serve as part of an international project to calibrate and validate satellite remotely sensed soil moisture on a global scale (2 - 5 year project). This project will also have applications for water resources management, effects of climate dynamics on the hydrologic cycle, and sustaining ecological systems.