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A Transfer Function Model of Solute Transport Through Soil: 2. Illustrative Applications
Author(s) -
White Robert E.,
Dyson Jeremy S.,
Haigh Rosalyn A.,
Jury William A.,
Sposito Garrison
Publication year - 1986
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/wr022i002p00248
Subject(s) - soil water , soil science , flow (mathematics) , water transport , water flow , environmental science , transfer function , function (biology) , hydrology (agriculture) , mechanics , geotechnical engineering , geology , physics , engineering , evolutionary biology , electrical engineering , biology
The results of field and laboratory studies of solute transport through undisturbed soils following narrow pulse or step‐change inputs of soluble salts or bacteria were analyzed using the transfer function equation developed in paper 1 ( Jury et al. , this issue) of this series. The travel time probability density function observed for Br and Cl during unsteady flow in an unsaturated, well structured clay suggested a two‐component mechanism comprising fast solute transport through large, interped voids and slow to negligible transport through small, intraped voids. The modal and median travel times varied with soil type, initial water content, and rate of water input. The fractional volume of water that participated in solute transport, θ st , was calculated from the rate of water input and the median solute travel time. Values of θ st , ranged from 14% to nearly 90% of the mean volumetric water contents ( ) of the soils.