A Simple Model to determine Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity for Large-scale Subsurface Drainage

2004 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R. Sepaskhah ◽  
J. Ataee
2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Decharme ◽  
H. Douville ◽  
A. Boone ◽  
F. Habets ◽  
J. Noilhan

Abstract This study focuses on the influence of an exponential profile of saturated hydraulic conductivity, ksat, with soil depth on the water budget simulated by the Interaction Soil Biosphere Atmosphere (ISBA) land surface model over the French Rhône River basin. With this exponential profile, the saturated hydraulic conductivity at the surface increases by approximately a factor of 10, and its mean value increases in the root zone and decreases in the deeper region of the soil in comparison with the values given by Clapp and Hornberger. This new version of ISBA is compared to the original version in offline simulations using the Rhône-Aggregation high-resolution database. Low-resolution simulations, where all atmospheric data and surface parameters have been aggregated, are also performed to test the impact of the modified ksat profile at the typical scale of a climate model. The simulated discharges are compared to observations from a dense network consisting of 88 gauging stations. Results of the high-resolution experiments show that the exponential profile of ksat globally improves the simulated discharges and that the assumption of an increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity from the soil surface to a depth close to the rooting depth in comparison with values given by Clapp and Hornberger is reasonable. Results of the scaling experiments indicate that this parameterization is also suitable for large-scale hydrological applications. Nevertheless, low-resolution simulations with both model versions overestimate evapotranspiration (especially from the plant transpiration and the wet fraction of the canopy) to the detriment of total runoff, which emphasizes the need for implementing subgrid distribution of precipitation and land surface properties in large-scale hydrological applications.


1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. BUCKLAND ◽  
D. B. HARKER ◽  
T. G. SOMMERFELDT

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and drainable porosity (f) determined by different methods and for different depths were compared with those determined from the performance of drainage systems installed at two locations. These comparisons were made to determine which methods are suitable for use in subsurface drainage design. Auger hole and constant-head well permeameter Ks were 140 and 110%, respectively, of Ks determined from subsurface drains. Agreement of horizontal or vertical Ks, from in situ falling-head permeameters; to other methods was satisfactory providing sample numbers were large. Ks by Tempe cells was only 3–10% of drain Ks and in one instance was significantly lower than Ks determined by all other methods. At one site a profile-averaged value of f determined from the soil moisture characteristic curve (0–5 kPa) of semidisturbed cores agreed with that determined from drainage trials. At the other site, a satisfactory value of f was found only when the zone in which the water table fluctuated was considered. Results indicate that Ks determined by the auger hole and constant-head well permeameter methods, and f determined from the soil moisture characteristic curve of semidisturbed cores, are sufficiently reliable and practical for subsurface drainage design. Key words: Subsurface drainage, hydraulic conductivity, drainable porosity


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine van der Ploeg ◽  
Attila Nemes

<p>Soil hydro-physical properties —such as soil water retention, (un)saturated hydraulic conductivity, shrinkage and swelling, organic matter content, texture (particle distribution), structure (soil aggregation/pore structure)and bulk density— are used in many sub(surface) modeling applications. Reliable soil-hydrophysical properties are key to proper predictions with such models, yet the harmonization and standardization of these properties has not received much attention. Lack of harmonization and standardization may lead to heterogeneity in data as a result of differences in methodologies, rather than real landscape heterogeneity. A need and scope has been identified to better harmonize, innovate, and standardize methodologies regarding measuring soil hydraulic properties that form the information base of many derived products in support of EU policy. With this identified need in mind the Soil Program on Hydro-Physics via International Engagement (SOPHIE) was initiated in 2017. Besides developing new activities that may advise future measurements, we also explore historic data and metadata and mine its relevant contents. The European Hydro-pedological Data Inventory (EU-HYDI), the largest European database on measured soil hydrophysical properties, is – to date – rather under-explored in this sense, which served as motivation for this work.</p><p>From EU-HYDI we selected those records that were complete for soil texture, bulk density and organic matter, and fitted pedo-transfer functions separately for particular water retention points (at heads of 0, 2.5, 10, 100, 300, 1000, 3000, 15000 cm) and saturated hydraulic conductivity by multi-linear regression. We then subtracted the observed retention and hydraulic conductivity values from their estimated counterparts, and grouped the residuals by measurement methodologies. The results show that there can be significant differences between different methodologies and sample sizes used to obtain the water retention and hydraulic conductivity in the laboratory. The results thus show that the EU-data that may underlie large scale modelling may introduce errors in the forcing data that are attributed to a lack of harmonization and standardization in currently used measurement protocols.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaihua Liao ◽  
Xiaoming Lai ◽  
Qing Zhu

Abstract. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) is a key soil hydraulic property governing agricultural production. However, the influence of conversion from conventional tillage (CT) to conservation tillage (CS) (including no tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT)) on Ksat of soils is not well understood and still debated. In this study, we applied a global meta-analysis method to synthesize 201 paired observations for soil Ksat from 59 published studies, and investigated factors influencing the effects of conversion to CS on Ksat. Results showed that the Ksat measured by hood infiltrometer, tension disc infiltrometer, and Guelph permeameter produced a similar pattern under CS practices, with non-significant (p > 0.05) increase of 6.6 %, 3.6 % and 4.9 %, respectively. However, conversion to CS significantly (p < 0.05) increased Ksat by 32.0 % for ring infiltrometer, while it decreased Ksat by 3.2 % for constant/falling head (p > 0.05). Soil layer, CS type and soil texture had no significant (p > 0.05) effects on the influence of conversion to CS on the Ksat, but the Ksat under CS showed a greater increase for a longer conversion period (time since conversion). In addition, mean annual temperature (MAT) was found to be an important driver controlling the response of Ksat to tillage conversion at the large scale. These findings suggested that quantifying the effects of tillage conversion on soil Ksat needed to consider experimental conditions, especially the measurement technique and conversion period.


1990 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnny Fredericia

The background for the present knowledge about hydraulic conductivity of clayey till in Denmark is summarized. The data show a difference of 1-2 orders of magnitude in the vertical hydraulic conductivity between values from laboratory measurements and field measurements. This difference is discussed and based on new data, field observations and comparison with North American studies, it is concluded to be primarily due to fractures in the till.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-243
Author(s):  
Jari Hyväluoma ◽  
Mari Räty ◽  
Janne Kaseva ◽  
Riikka Keskinen

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7301
Author(s):  
Marcin K. Widomski ◽  
Anna Musz-Pomorska ◽  
Wojciech Franus

This paper presents research considering hydraulic as well as swelling and shrinkage characteristics of potential recycled fine particle materials for compacted clay liner for sustainable landfills. Five locally available clay soils mixed with 10% (by mass) of NaP1 recycled zeolite were tested. The performed analysis was based on determined plasticity, cation exchange capacity, coefficient of saturated hydraulic conductivity after compaction, several shrinkage and swelling characteristics as well as, finally, saturated hydraulic conductivity after three cycles of drying and rewetting of tested specimens and the reference samples. The obtained results showed that addition of zeolite to clay soils allowed reduction in their saturated hydraulic conductivity to meet the required threshold (≤1 × 10−9 m/s) of sealing capabilities for compacted clay liner. On the other hand, an increase in plasticity, swelling, and in several cases in shrinkage, of the clay–zeolite mixture was observed. Finally, none of the tested mixtures was able to sustain its sealing capabilities after three cycles of drying and rewetting. Thus, the studied clayey soils mixed with sustainable recycled zeolite were assessed as promising materials for compacted liner construction. However, the liner should be operated carefully to avoid extensive dissication and cracking.


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