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Hydraulic Conductivity Measurements in the Unsaturated Zone Using Improved Well Analyses
Author(s) -
Elrick D.E.,
Reynolds W.D.,
Tan K.A.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
groundwater monitoring and remediation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-6592
pISSN - 1069-3629
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6592.1989.tb01162.x
Subject(s) - permeameter , hydraulic conductivity , vadose zone , head (geology) , hydraulic head , soil water , conductivity , flow (mathematics) , soil science , pressure head , geology , materials science , mineralogy , mathematics , thermodynamics , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , geometry , geomorphology , physics
The flow of ponded water into and through the unsaturated zone depends on both the saturated and unsaturated components of the hydraulic conductivity. Recent studies indicate that the ratio of the saturated (K fs ) to the unsaturated (φ m ) components (K fs /φ m =α*) of flow lies within prescribed bounds for most field soils, i.e., 1m −1 ≤α*≤ 100 m −1 . In addition, the fact that the calculation of K fs and φ m is not strongly dependent on the choice of α*, suggests that a site estimation of α* leads to reasonable “best estimates” of K fs and φ m when using the constant head well permeameter technique. As a consequence, measurement of the steady flow rate using only one ponded head may be all that is necessary for many practical applications. Multiple head measurements or independent measurements of α* or φ m can be used, however, to give more accurate estimates of K fs if required.