title: Instrumentation for measuring runoff, sediment, and chemical losses from agricultural fields.
abstract: This work describes a simple, passive sampling system for measuring runoff, sediment, and chemical losses from typical agricultural fields. The sampler consists of a 5 to 7 m wide runoff collector connected to a series of multislot divisors. These divisors split the flow into aliquots, providing a continuous sampling during the runoff event. Divisors were located in a wooden box below ground level. With an adequate pump, this system can operate in fields with a slope gradient as low as 2%, and can stay in the field during winter to record first snowmelt-generated runoff. A radio transmitter reports by telemetry the occurrence and magnitude of any runoff event, and indicates when the system should be sampled and emptied. This article includes a description of the equipment, advantages, and disadvantages based on 2 yr of operation, and examples of data collected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1525 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. cabonilla@wisc.edu
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bonilla
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Yoder
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Molling
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Panuska
authors.forename: Jeffrey B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Topel
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Wakeman
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Karthikeyan
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water