Soil moisture in the Black River Basin, New York, during 1972-73: International Field Year for the Great Lakes (IFYGL)

Soil-moisture data were collected and analyzed to provide an estimate of the quantity of water in temporary storage in the Black River Basin, New York, during the International Field Year for the Great Lakes (IFYGL) (April 1, 1972 to March 31, 1973). A portable neutron logger was used to record monthly soil-moisture profiles in the unsaturated zone at 11 sites in the basin. Moisture content, computed in inches of depth over the basin, ranged from 51.41 inches in April to 37.62 inches in August. Thickness of the unsaturated zone was greatest in April and was least in June. The observed absence of a pulse, or wave, of moisture moving down through the soil at most sites may be due to the infrequency of measurements, the location of sites in sandy, well-drained areas, and a relatively constant source of moisture (precipitation) at the surface. The study does not indicate a strong correlation between volume of snowmelt and soil-moisture; this may be due to the high porosity and permeability of soil material at the observation sites. Although nine pairs of monthly basin runoff and soil-moisture content data during IFYGL has a linear correlation coefficient of 0.82, too few data are available to develop a statistical relationship. (Woodard-USGS)