Calculating pH from EC and SAR values in salinity models and SAR from soil and bore water pH and EC data

Currently used soil salinity models do not contain a mechanism for including exchangeable sodium effects on soil pH. A method is needed that allows pH calculation from the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) or exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and electrical conductivity (EC) data. This study developed a simple method for calculating saturated soil paste and aqueous solution pH from SAR (or ESP) and EC data and compared the results with measured values from a number of soils and subsurface waters. The equation pH - A+{B*(SAR)^1/2 /(1+C*EC)} estimated soil pH from EC and SAR or ESP values. When rewritten as: SAR or ESP = {(pH-A)(1+C*EC)/B}^2 , the SAR or ESP was estimated from pH and EC data. By using shallow bore (well) water and soil extract data from the Murray Basin, values were determined for the scalar terms A, B and C. These values differed among subsurface water and soil types, however, the range of each scalar was reasonably small. It was found that a range of at least 2 - 5 pH units in the calibration data was necessary to obtain reliable regression between predicted and measured pH and SAR or ESP values. When these conditions were met, the predicted results were satisfactory. These relationships provide a method for pH calculation in soil salinity models which takes into account soil EC and sodium effects. They also provide a rapid field method to estimate SAR or ESP from easily obtainable EC and pH data. Further research is needed to define the factors that determine the values of A, B and C

Broadening access to problem-based learning : design of the shell eco-marathon car-in-a-box concept

Abstract: Problem-based learning has proven to develop teamwork, problem solving skills, communication and critical thinking skills amongst learners. Due to these advantages, secondary schools in South Africa engage with problem-based events to promote the participation of learners in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). However, many schools face lack of time, lack of available funds and lack of the required technical skill set, which limits them from participating in these events. The Car-In-a-Box concept was developed to broaden access to a STEM problem-based learning event, called the Shell Eco-Marathon. The Car-In-A-Box concept addresses the three challenges that would normally prevent a school from entering the Shell Eco-Marathon, disenabling learners to harness the advantages of problem-based learning. The impact of the Car-In-A-Box concept for broadening access to problem-based learning is discussed

Understanding salt and sodium in soils, irrigation water and shallow groundwaters: A companion to the software program SWAGMAN-Whatif

Understanding Salt and Sodium in Soils, Irrigation Water and Shallow Groundwaters is a companion booklet to SWAGMANe-Whatif, a computer model that lets you see how salts, soils, water and water tables interact. SWAGMANkWhatif also lets you assess the effects of management practices that you might undertake in a particular area. This booklet gives background information to help you understand salts, sodium and their interactions with water and soils. It explains where sodium and salts come from, how to identify salt-affected soils, and gives instructions on taking soil and water samples for analysis. It also gives suggestions on how to reduce the harmful effects of salts and sodium, and tells you where to get advice in making reclamation and management decisions for each situation. Managing salt and sodium affected soils, together with waters used for irrigation, is complex. It is not possible to cover all technical aspects or possible treatment approaches in this booklet. Instead, we have given a simple overview of the major principles involved in diagnosing and managing salt and sodium affected soils and irrigation waters. It is difficult to summarise salt and sodium effects on soils and plants without using some technical terms, so a comprehensive glossary has been included

Water quality studies of the Delaware River with reference to shad migration

For some time pollution of the waters of the Delaware River by municipal and industrial wastes has been suspected of playing a major role in the decline of the shad fishery. Accordingly, studies were planned to ascertain whether any conditions of water quality caused by stream pollution and harmful or lethal to shad were existant in the waters of the Delaware River during the migration periods of the shad

SWAGMAN-Whatif, an interactive computer program to teach salinity relationships in irrigated agriculture

Managing salt-affected irrigated lands and marginally salinine irrigation water requires understanding the interactions among soil salinity, crop salt tolerances, soil physical properties, irrigation water quality, irrigation management, water table depth and quality, climate, and crop yield. An interactive computer program was developed to simulate interactions among the above factors. It shows how changing one factor impacts the others for a growing season. The user selects a climate, crop, and soil characteristics from menu lists, then sets the water table depth and quality, irrigation water quality, and develops an irrigation schedule. On execution, surface runoff, water table rise or fall, and the relative yield reductions due to overirrigation, underirrigation, and salinity are shown numerically for 1 yr. Soil water content, soil salinity, water table depth changes, and rain and irrigation events are also shown graphically. An IBM-compatible computer with a math coprocessor executes the program in 6 to 10 s. This is an educational tool designed to teach the concepts of salinity and irrigation management and is not an irrigation scheduling program nor a management tool. Two versions have been developed, one using metric units, southern hemisphere growing seasons, and Australian terminology; and a second using northern hemisphere growing seasons and U.S. units and terminology. The U.S. version also allows use of metric units. The program is supplied in executable code with a user guide, a soil salinity manual, and a salinity units conversion slide rule

Models for estimating capillary rise in a heavy clay soil with a saline shallow water table

Shallow saline water tables underlie large areas of the clay soils in the Murray basin of Australia. Accurate estimation of capillary rise is important in formulating management strategies to avoid degradation of such soils. Measured capillary rise from a saline water table was compared with capillary rise estimated by three mathematical models of varying complexity and input requirement. A quasi steady state analytical model (QSSAM), a transient state analytical model (TSAM) and a numerical model (NM) were used. An undisturbed heavy clay soil core of 0.75 m diameter and 1.4 m deep was subjected to a static saline water table at 1.2 m from the surface. A wheat crop was grown on the core and the weekly capillary rise from the water table was measured. The electrical conductivity of a 1 : 2 soil : water extract was determined at 0.15 m depth intervals before and 21 weeks after the introduction of the saline water table. The QSSAM did not satisfactorily estimate the initial wetting of the subsoil and the estimated capillary rise was considerably lower than the measured values. Capillary rise estimated by the TSAM was reasonably close to the measured values, but the weekly rates fluctuated considerably. The NM estimated capillary rise quite satisfactorily throughout the experiment. Except near the soil surface, the electrical conductivity values estimated by the NM were close to the measured values. For estimating total capillary rise over large areas, the TSAM is preferred over the NM because of its fewer input requirements and shorter execution time

Predicting salinization in a heavy clay soil subjected to a saline shallow water table

Salt increase in a heavy clay soil due to capillary rise was simulated by an analytical model and a numerical model. Predicted values were compared with experimental data. The analytical model was inadequate in predicting salinisation in a dynamic crop/soil system. When root growth was accounted for, the numerical model satisfactorily predicted salt increase in the soil profile

A purely algebraic construction of a gauge and renormalization group invariant scalar glueball operator

This paper presents a complete algebraic proof of the renormalizability of the gauge invariant $d=4$ operator $F_{\mu\nu}^2(x)$ to all orders of perturbation theory in pure Yang-Mills gauge theory, whereby working in the Landau gauge. This renormalization is far from being trivial as mixing occurs with other $d=4$ gauge variant operators, which we identify explicitly. We determine the mixing matrix $Z$ to all orders in perturbation theory by using only algebraic arguments and consequently we can uncover a renormalization group invariant by using the anomalous dimension matrix $\Gamma$ derived from $Z$. We also present a future plan for calculating the mass of the lightest scalar glueball with the help of the framework we have set up.Comment: 17 page

Feedback-control of quantum systems using continuous state-estimation

We present a formulation of feedback in quantum systems in which the best estimates of the dynamical variables are obtained continuously from the measurement record, and fed back to control the system. We apply this method to the problem of cooling and confining a single quantum degree of freedom, and compare it to current schemes in which the measurement signal is fed back directly in the manner usually considered in existing treatments of quantum feedback. Direct feedback may be combined with feedback by estimation, and the resulting combination, performed on a linear system, is closely analogous to classical LQG control theory with residual feedback.Comment: 12 pages, multicol revtex, revised and extende