Soltis Center
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Soltis Center, Costa Rica
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Soltis Center Data Network: TSH02 Hydrology Station

Natural springs can serve as water supplies for many residents and farmers in rural Costa Rica. Springs are locations where groundwater intersects land surface. Springs in this setting are very dependent on rainfall recharge to groundwater. How much rain does it take to recharge groundwater? How can we measure and better understand how rainfall recharges groundwater and impacts how natural springs change in water flow and water quality? To help address these and other future geotechnical monitoring questions, we installed a relatively new type of sensor from Campbell Scientific called a SoilVUE-10 soil moisture and temperature profile sensor (probe). We used a 0.5 meter long version of the probe and installed in at a location near and across slope from the location of the CS650 30-cm long soil moisture and temperature probes. There were two of these probes installed at 10- and 35-cm depths.

To help understand the relationship between soil moisture and rainfall, the below plots also show data from two other sensors. The below leaf wetness measurements are made with a Campbell Scientific LWS sensor installed at a 1-meter elevation. The air temperature and relative humidity measurements are made with a Campbell Scientific HygroVUE10 probe that is installed in a RAD10E METSPEC 10-Plate Solar Radiation Shield.



The below soil-water data varies between depths due to the differences in soil types adjacent to the soil probe. The soils are heterogenous with highly weathers and friable volcanic pyroclasts in the upper half meter of the soils. The soil-water data shows decreasing trends during march corresponding with the dry season in the region. More work will be done in the future on detailed soil descriptions.

"Click" on the image to see a higher resolution version

The above series of photos show the sensors used in the above plots. The photos rotate in a fixed order. The SoilVUE-10 installation photos are in chronological order. The captions discuss the installation process shown in each photo.

Climate of Alaska vs. Texas vs. Costa Rica



Additional Information

Water Levels Weather Soil Temperature

Groundwater Recharge Potential Station Diagnostics

Soil Moisture Depth Profiles

Project Contact Information

Please contact one of the following individuals for additional information about the project, or to report any data outages. This site is also used for research purposes and may be have temporary outages due to station changes.

Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez (Soltis Center Director), egonzalez.soltis.center@tamu.edu

Michael Lilly (GW Scientific), mlilly@gwscientific.com, 907-322-3008 (cell)

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