Premium
Areal Variation and Chemical Modification of Weathered Shale Infiltration Characteristics
Author(s) -
Luxmoore R. J.,
Spalding B. P.,
Munro I. M.
Publication year - 1981
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/sssaj1981.03615995004500040003x
Subject(s) - infiltration (hvac) , spatial variability , environmental science , soil science , subsoil , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , soil water , geotechnical engineering , materials science , composite material , statistics , mathematics
Spatial variability of infiltration into a weathered shale subsoil were evaluated at a site proximal to one used for shallow land burial of low‐level radioactive waste at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Double‐ring infiltrometers were installed at 48 locations on a 2‐ by 2‐m grid after the removal of 1 to 2 m of soil (Litz‐Sequoia association, Typic Hapludults). Infiltration rates were measured before and during the 0‐ to 20‐ and 239‐ to 259‐day periods following treatment with solutions of NaOH, KOH, NaF, NaAlO 2 , and Na 2 SiO 3 at rates of 151 equivalents/m 2 . None of these chemical treatments significantly altered infiltration rate, indicating that chemical modification of soil exchange properties may be achieved without inducing hydrologic disturbance in these subsoils. A semivariogram analysis of infiltration data showed that areal variability was random; any spatial patterning must therefore occur at a smaller scale than 2 m. The frequency distribution of infiltration rate fitted a lognormal model with a geometric mean of 2 cm per day and a coefficient of variation of 130%.