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Combined effect of heterogeneity, anisotropy and saturation on steady state flow and transport: Structure recognition and numerical simulation
Author(s) -
Ursino N.,
Gimmi T.
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2003wr002180
Subject(s) - hydraulic conductivity , anisotropy , saturation (graph theory) , conductivity , soil science , soil water , geotechnical engineering , flow (mathematics) , representation (politics) , subsurface flow , geology , biological system , mathematics , geometry , groundwater , physics , optics , combinatorics , quantum mechanics , biology , politics , political science , law
Natural soil profiles may be interpreted as an arrangement of parts which are characterized by properties like hydraulic conductivity and water retention function. These parts form a complicated structure. Characterizing the soil structure is fundamental in subsurface hydrology because it has a crucial influence on flow and transport and defines the patterns of many ecological processes. We applied an image analysis method for recognition and classification of visual soil attributes in order to model flow and transport through a man‐made soil profile. Modeled and measured saturation‐dependent effective parameters were compared. We found that characterizing and describing conductivity patterns in soils with sharp conductivity contrasts is feasible. Differently, solving flow and transport on the basis of these conductivity maps is difficult and, in general, requires special care for representation of small‐scale processes.