Soil and topography surveying

A method of characterizing subsurface conditions in a selected geographic region previously associated as a whole with a specific subsurface soil characteristic reference profile, the method comprising

• deploying a soil attribute sensing tool at a selected position within the geographic region;
• determining, from a signal received from the deployed tool, a depth-referenced soil characteristic at the selected position;
• comparing the determined soil characteristic to the subsurface soil characteristic reference profile associated with the geographic region to determine a correlation between the soil characteristic reference profile and the depth-referenced soil characteristic as determined from the signal received from the deployed tool;
• and
• selecting a next tool deployment location within the selected geographic region on a basis of said correlation.

A method of characterizing subsurface conditions in a selected geographic region previously surveyed to identify discrete zones within the region corresponding to a reference soil series having an associated description of soil layers corresponding to the soil series and soil properties common to each layer, the method comprising

• selecting a test position in each identified zone;
• deploying a sensing tool at the selected position within the geographic region, the tool constructed to be responsive to a selected subsurface material attribute;
• and
• determining, from a signal received from the deployed tool, a subsurface material characteristic at multiple, discrete depths corresponding to layer positions described in the reference soil series description.

A method of generating first order survey information in an individual Soil Map Unit as outlined in a map of a USDA-NRCS Soil Survey that establishes an SMU Inclusion Percentage associated with the Soil Map Unit, the method comprising

• selecting an initial number of positions for tool deployment within the Soil Map Unit, the initial number of selected surface positions being determined as a function of the associated SMU Inclusion Percentage;
• deploying a subsurface attribute sensing tool to generate subsurface characteristic logs, based on signals received from the deployed tool, at the selected surface positions;
• identifying a soil boundary layer feature common to the generated subsurface characteristic logs;
• and
• calculating an expected depth of the soil boundary layer feature at further surface positions within the bounded area as a function of depth of the soil boundary layer feature in the three selected surface positions and a spatial relationship between the selected surface positions and each further surface position.

A method of characterizing subsurface properties of a field, the method comprising

• moving a test platform to the field, the test platform having a tool deployment ram for advancing a probe into topsoil of the field at selected locations while receiving signals back from the probe indicating a subsurface material characteristic;
• moving the test platform to multiple points along a boundary of the field to define a field perimeter;
• connecting the test platform to a remote network server over a wireless data link;
• uploading a reference map segment data request from the test platform to the remote network server, the request including a representation of the defined field perimeter;
• receiving a reference map segment data packet from the remote network server over the wireless data link, the data packet comprising a segmented portion of a reference map database covering a geographic area containing the field, the segmented portion being of extent and location as selected at the remote network server in response to the map segment data request uploaded from the test platform;
• advancing the probe into the topsoil at a first selected location within the field;
• recording subsurface material characteristic data received from the advancing probe;
• and
• evaluating the recorded material characteristic data by comparing the recorded subsurface material characteristic data with data from the reference map segment data packet.