Soil
Conductivity Assessment Software |
Regardless of the type of MSCA system which is employed, proper data interpretation represents a critical component of any survey process. Good data interpretation ultimately represents the difference between simply collecting soil conductivity data versus collecting assessment data which can be used to address soil and water management issues. Soil conductivity assessment software consists of two components; (1) signal data pre-processing software, and (2) conductivity modeling software. Signal data preprocessing software is typically used during the actual collection of the conductivity survey data. This software is used to automate the conductivity signal data collection process, to co-locate the conductivity readings with GPS location information, to perform various data pre-processing activities, and to store the final survey data file for later analysis. In essence, this is the software which ties the MSCA hardware components together. In contrast, conductivity modeling software is typically used to analyze the signal data once the initial survey process is finished. For example, this latter software would be used to generate conductivity survey maps and/or spatial soil sampling designs based on these maps, to convert (or calibrate) conductivity signal data into soil salinity data, and to interpret and summarize the predicted spatial soil salinity data into useful information for assessing various farm management practices. Both types of software components are described in more detail below. |
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Conductivity Modeling Software |
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All LCRSAN action agencies currently
use the ESAP-95 software package as their primary conductivity modeling
software. The ESAP-95 software package is a Windows based software
bundle developed at the Salinity Laboratory by Scott M. Lesch and James
D. Rhoades, and contains a comprehensive set of soil salinity modeling
and assessment procedures. This software package currently contains
three integrated programs:
ESAP-RSSD: A program which can be used to process various types of conductivity survey data, and generate optimal soil sampling designs from soil electrical conductivity survey information.The ESAP-95 software package is distributed by the Salinity Laboratory, and comes with a detailed user manual and tutorial guide. The software package and user manual can be downloaded free of charge from the Salinity Laboratory website (FTP Access page). To download and/or retrieve additional information about this software, visit the Models page on the Laboratory's website, or click on the ESAP-95 link shown below. |
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Signal Data Pre-prosessing Software |
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Custom
designed signal data pre-processing software can be purchased from any
private company qualified in the development and distribution of GPS signal
data integration products. One such company is Sandia Research Corporation
of New Mexico. Sandia Research Corporation has developed GPS / EM-38
signal data pre-processing software programs for two local LCRSAN salinity
assessment action agencies.
To obtain further information about Sandia Research Corporation products and services, contact Steven M. Shope at 505-646-2221. |
The GEBJ Salinity Laboratory can also distribute signal data pre-processing software, specifically for use with Trimble Pro-XRS GPS systems. A beta version of this software is currently available (ESAP-SigDPA), and a release version will be made available with the next upgrade of the ESAP-95 software package (i.e., with the ESAP-95 version 2.11 edition). |
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LCRSAN Website hosted by the USDA-ARS George E. Brown Jr. Salinity Laboratory |