Soil moisture studies as an aid in forecasting runoff from snow cover

The determination of soil moisture at the beginning of the accumulatin period and the melt period provides an index of water required to prime the soil in any given year. An improved soil moisture indicating device was developed at the Utah State Agricultural College, to make these determinatins quickly and accurately. The instrument is based on the principle that the capacity between 2 plates separated by a porous ceramic dielectric material depends on the moisture content of the dielectric material. Capacity measurements of a cell which reaches moisture equilibrium with the surrounding soil are converted into moisture percentages of the soil. The cell can be burried undet the heavy snow pack with the lead wires brought up from the cells to a terminal block in a steel pipe, above the depth of the anticipated snow at the station. The soil moisture measurement provides an index for correcting snow cover runoff to compensate for earth mantle losses.