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How water moves in a water repellent sandy soil: 2. Dynamics of fingered flow
Author(s) -
Ritsema Coen J.,
Dekker Louis W.
Publication year - 1994
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 - 10.1029/94wr00750
Subject(s) - topsoil , water repellent , environmental science , soil water , hydrology (agriculture) , flow (mathematics) , soil science , water flow , geology , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , materials science , composite material , geometry
The dynamics of fingered flow in a water repellent sandy soil was studied in the field by sampling 10 vertical trenches in a 1‐year cycle. In dry soil, fingers were formed in those places in the top layer which have the lowest degree of potential water repellency. The finger diameters varied roughly between 10 and 50 cm depending on the sequence of weather conditions. The fingers were wet in the topsoil and increasingly drier with depth. In none of the trenches sampled were there any serious indications of finger merger. The actual water repellent soil volumes between fingers were excluded from the transport of water and solutes for at least several hours. The temporal and spatial variability of these actual water repellent soil volumes is illustrated and evaluated with respect to simulation model development.