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Percolation of Water Below an Irrigated Field
Author(s) -
Rice Robert C.,
Bowman Robert S.,
Jaynes Dan B.
Publication year - 1986
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/sssaj1986.03615995005000040005x
Subject(s) - tracer , percolation (cognitive psychology) , groundwater , water balance , soil water , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , soil science , geology , physics , geotechnical engineering , neuroscience , nuclear physics , biology
Deep percolation of excess irrigation water was measured on a 0.62‐ha bare soil field. Deep percolation rates were determined from bromide added to the soil as a tracer. Core samples were taken at a depth to 2.7 m within 14 subplots after each irrigation. The depth of the maximum bromide concentration was uniformly distributed over the field. The average deep percolation rate was determined from the arithmetic mean of the tracer velocities and water content. The deep percolation rate calculated from the tracer velocities was about five times greater than determined from a water balance. The discrepancy between the tracer and water balance rates indicates that much of the water is moving in preferential paths. The water balance may overestimate the travel times of solutes and pollutants to the groundwater.