Abstract--A procedure is presented to determine the moisture diffusivity for drying from measured moisture concentratio~a profiles. From error analysis it is shown that the applied space grid for scanning and the one-dimensional resolution of the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) method used for the measurements had a minor influence on the accuracy of the determination of the moisture diffusivi...

The effect of variety and moisture content on some engineering properties of five improved paddy rice varieties was investigated within moisture content range of 10% and 30% dry basis (d.b.). Increase in moisture content was found to increase the linear dimensions, mass of 100 seeds, surface area, apparent volume, true volume, arithmetic mean diameter, effective geometric diameter, sphericity, ...

While it is well known that soil moisture directly affects microbial activity and soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition, it is unclear if the presence of plants alters these effects through rhizosphere processes. We studied soil moisture effects on SOM decomposition with and without sunflower and soybean. Plants were grown in two different soil types with soil moisture contents of 45% and 85%...

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is an efficient method for soil moisture mapping at the field scale, bridging the scale gap between small-scale invasive sensors and large-scale remote sensing instruments. Nevertheless, commonly-used GPR approaches for soil moisture characterization suffer from several limitations and the determination of the uncertainties in GPR soil moisture sensing has been po...

The moisture budget associated with the eastward-propagating Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was diagnosed using 1979–2001 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data. A marked zonal asymmetry of the moisture relative to the MJO convection appears in the planetary boundary layer (PBL, below 700 hPa), creating a potentially more unstable stratification to the east of the MJO convection and favoring th...

Soil moisture is a key part of Earth’s climate systems, including agricultural and hydrological cycles. Soil moisture data from satellite and numerical models is typically provided at a global scale with coarse spatial resolution, which is not enough for local and regional applications. In this study, a soil moisture downscaling model was developed using satellite-derived variables targeting Gl...

Coordination between the normal force exerted by fingers on a held object and the tangential constraints at the fingertips helps to successfully manipulate objects. It is well established that the minimal grip force required to prevent an object from slipping strongly depends on the frictional properties at the finger-object interface. Moreover, interindividual variation in the modulation of gr...

Beef cattle feedlots face serious environmental challenges associated with manure management, including greenhouse gas, odor, NH3, and dust emissions. Conditions affecting emissions are poorly characterized, but likely relate to the variability of feedlot surface moisture and manure contents, which affect microbial processes. Odor compounds, greenhouse gases, nitrogen losses, and dust potential...

[1] A multi-scale soil moisture and temperature monitoring network, consisting of 55 soil moisture and temperature measurement stations, has been established in central Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, the station-averaged surface soil moisture data from the network are used to evaluate four soil moisture products retrieved from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing Sys...

In regions affected by seasonal and permanently frozen conditions soil moisture influences the thermal regime of the ground as well as its ice content, which is one of the main factors controlling the sensitivity of mountain permafrost to climate changes. In this study, several well established soil moisture monitoring techniques were combined with data from geophysical measurements to assess t...