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An infiltration model to predict suction changes in the soil profile
Author(s) -
Totoev Yuri Z.,
Kleeman Peter W.
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1029/98wr00825
Subject(s) - infiltration (hvac) , evapotranspiration , suction , environmental science , air temperature , humidity , soil water , computation , hydrology (agriculture) , relative humidity , sink (geography) , meteorology , soil science , atmospheric sciences , geotechnical engineering , geology , mathematics , geography , ecology , cartography , algorithm , biology
A computer model for the infiltration at the soil surface is described. The model has been developed for computation of seasonal suction changes in the soil profile. It simulates time dependence of the vector of sources and sinks for the finite element solution of Richard's equation. Lumped meteorological and soil parameters are used. Meteorological input to the model consists of the records for rainfall, pan evaporation, air temperature, and air humidity. As an example of an application of the model, the daily magnitudes of infiltration/evapotranspiration at the soil surface at Maryville, New South Wales, Australia, in March and April 1993 were obtained, and the resulting suction profile was calculated numerically. This example shows that the model adequately reflects major meteorological changes. The resulting suction profile correlates well with the experimental data, better than profiles resulting from the models, which assume periodic or sudden changes in surface suction.