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Simulating seasonal variations of tile drainage discharge in an agricultural catchment
Author(s) -
De Schepper G.,
Therrien R.,
Refsgaard J. C.,
He X.,
Kjaergaard C.,
Iversen B. V.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2016wr020209
Subject(s) - tile drainage , drainage , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , hydraulic conductivity , discharge , drainage system (geomorphology) , groundwater discharge , groundwater , environmental science , geology , well drainage , soil science , groundwater flow , water table , soil water , geotechnical engineering , aquifer , geography , ecology , cartography , biology
Seasonal variations of tile drainage discharge were simulated in the 6 km 2 Fensholt catchment, Denmark, with the coupled surface and subsurface HydroGeoSphere model. The catchment subsurface is represented in the model by 3 m of topsoil and clay, underlain by a heterogeneous distribution of sand and clay units. Two subsurface drainage networks were represented as nodal sinks. The spatial distribution of the heterogeneous units was generated stochastically and their hydraulic properties were calibrated to reproduce drainage discharge for one network and verified with drainage discharge for the other network. Simulated discharge was compared to that of another model for which the heterogeneous sand and clay units were replaced by a homogeneous unit, whose hydraulic conductivity was the mean value of the heterogeneous model. With the homogeneous model, drainage dynamics were correctly simulated but drainage discharge was less accurate compared to the heterogeneous model. Simulated discharge was also compared to that of a larger‐scale model created with the MIKE SHE code, built with the same heterogeneous model. HydroGeoSphere and MIKE SHE generated drainage discharge that was significantly different, with better simulated groundwater dynamics data produced by HydroGeoSphere. Nodal sinks in HydroGeoSphere reproduced drain flow peaks more accurately. Calibration against drainage discharge data suggests that drain flow is controlled primarily by geological heterogeneities included in the model and, to a lesser extent, by the nature of the soil units located between the drains and ground surface.