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Infiltration and Redistribution of Water in Vertical Columns of Loam Soil
Author(s) -
Staple W. J.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1966.03615995003000050010x
Subject(s) - loam , infiltration (hvac) , moisture , wetting , soil science , water content , redistribution (election) , hysteresis , hydraulic conductivity , geotechnical engineering , soil water , materials science , field capacity , geology , environmental science , mineralogy , mechanics , composite material , physics , condensed matter physics , politics , political science , law
A numerical method was used to compute infiltration and redistribution of water in vertical columns of air‐dry Grenville silt loam. Hysteresis was taken into account in that drying tensions and hydraulic conductivities were interpolated from the appropriate scanning curves at each depth in the upper profile as redistribution continued into the dry soil below. Although the computations were not confirmed by independent experiments, results from related measurements showed that the distribution curves were of the right magnitude. The moisture contents reached in the drying zone after 24 to 72 hours' redistribution were in agreement with field capacity data. Computed moisture contents following redistribution in which hysteresis in both tension and conductivity were neglected differed considerably from the accepted hysteresis‐dependent values. Computed moisture contents in which hysteresis in conductivities only were neglected were closer to the accepted values when conductivities for wetting were used.