ABSTRACTMean temperature is employed universally as an index to the energy status of the environment, and to indicate probable reaction rates of physical and biological processes in nature. A versatile chemical method of temperature integration, based on the temperature dependence of sucrose hydrolysis, has been tested in central Pennsylvania. The chemical technique (after Pallmann) permits economical mass sampling of air, water, and soil temperatures in situations where conventional methods are too expensive or otherwise unsatisfactory. Short‐wave radiation effects are negligible since the sensing elements are transparent. Repeatability is excellent: in field tests duplicate sensors yield the same mean temperature ± 0.02°C. Non‐linearity of sensor response has been resolved, and the data can be related directly to measurements obtained in standard climatological networks. The technique can be used to good advantage in a variety of hydrological investigations, including evaporation, consumptive‐use, and them pollution
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