scholarly journals Estimating flow and transport parameters in the unsaturated zone with pore water stable isotopes

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 11203-11245 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sprenger ◽  
T. H. M. Volkmann ◽  
T. Blume ◽  
M. Weiler
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Pedotransfer Functions ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Parameter Identifiability ◽  
Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Water Isotope

Abstract. Determining the soil hydraulic properties is a prerequisite to physically model transient water flow and solute transport in the vadose zone. Estimating these properties by inverse modelling techniques has become more common within the last two decades. While these inverse approaches usually fit simulations to hydrometric data, we expanded the methodology by using independent information about the stable isotope composition of the soil pore water depth profile as a single or additional optimization target. To demonstrate the potential and limits of this approach, we compared the results of three inverse modelling strategies where the fitting targets were (a) pore water isotope concentrations, (b) a combination of pore water isotope concentrations and soil moisture time series, and (c) a two-step approach using first soil moisture data to determine water flow parameters and then the pore water stable isotope concentrations to estimate the solute transport parameters. The analyses were conducted at three study sites with different soil properties and vegetation. The transient unsaturated water flow was simulated by numerically solving the Richards equation with the finite-element code of Hydrus-1D. The transport of deuterium was simulated with the advection-dispersion equation, and the Hydrus code was modified to allow for deuterium loss during evaporation. The Mualem–van Genuchten and the longitudinal dispersivity parameters were determined for two major soil horizons at each site. The results show that approach (a) using only the pore water isotope content cannot substitute hydrometric information to derive parameter sets that reflect the observed soil moisture dynamics, but gives comparable results when the parameter space is constrained by pedotransfer functions. Approaches (b) and (c) using both, the isotope profiles and the soil moisture time series resulted in satisfying model performances and good parameter identifiability. However, approach (b) has the advantage that it considers the isotope data not only for the solute transport parameters, but also for water flow, and thus increases parameter realism. Approaches (b) and (c) both outcompeted simulations run with parameters derived from pedotransfer functions, which did not result in satisfying model efficiencies. Overall, parameters based on this new approach that includes isotope data lead to similar model performances regarding the water balance and soil moisture dynamics and better parameter identifiability than the conventional inverse model approaches limited to hydrometric fitting targets. If only data from isotope profiles in combination with textural information is available, the results are still satisfactory. This method has the additional advantage that it will not only allow us to estimate water balance and response times, but also site specific time variant transit times or solute breakthrough within the soil profile.

scholarly journals Estimating flow and transport parameters in the unsaturated zone with pore water stable isotopes

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 2617-2635 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sprenger ◽  
T. H. M. Volkmann ◽  
T. Blume ◽  
M. Weiler
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Pedotransfer Functions ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Water Isotope

Abstract. Determining the soil hydraulic properties is a prerequisite to physically model transient water flow and solute transport in the vadose zone. Estimating these properties by inverse modelling techniques has become more common within the last 2 decades. While these inverse approaches usually fit simulations to hydrometric data, we expanded the methodology by using independent information about the stable isotope composition of the soil pore water depth profile as a single or additional optimization target. To demonstrate the potential and limits of this approach, we compared the results of three inverse modelling strategies where the fitting targets were (a) pore water isotope concentrations, (b) a combination of pore water isotope concentrations and soil moisture time series, and (c) a two-step approach using first soil moisture data to determine water flow parameters and then the pore water stable isotope concentrations to estimate the solute transport parameters. The analyses were conducted at three study sites with different soil properties and vegetation. The transient unsaturated water flow was simulated by solving the Richards equation numerically with the finite-element code of HYDRUS-1D. The transport of deuterium was simulated with the advection-dispersion equation, and a modified version of HYDRUS was used, allowing deuterium loss during evaporation. The Mualem–van Genuchten and the longitudinal dispersivity parameters were determined for two major soil horizons at each site. The results show that approach (a), using only the pore water isotope content, cannot substitute hydrometric information to derive parameter sets that reflect the observed soil moisture dynamics but gives comparable results when the parameter space is constrained by pedotransfer functions. Approaches (b) and (c), using both the isotope profiles and the soil moisture time series, resulted in good simulation results with regard to the Kling–Gupta efficiency and good parameter identifiability. However, approach (b) has the advantage that it considers the isotope data not only for the solute transport parameters but also for water flow and root water uptake, and thus increases parameter realism. Approaches (b) and (c) both outcompeted simulations run with parameters derived from pedotransfer functions, which did not result in an acceptable representation of the soil moisture dynamics and pore water stable isotope composition. Overall, parameters based on this new approach that includes isotope data lead to similar model performances regarding the water balance and soil moisture dynamics and better parameter identifiability than the conventional inverse model approaches limited to hydrometric fitting targets. If only data from isotope profiles in combination with textural information is available, the results are still satisfactory. This method has the additional advantage that it will not only allow us to estimate water balance and response times but also site-specific time variant transit times or solute breakthrough within the soil profile.

Agricultural hillslope soil heterogeneity challenges: first experimental results from SUPREHILL critical zone observatory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedran Krevh ◽  
Jasmina Defterdarović ◽  
Lana Filipović ◽  
Zoran Kovač ◽  
Steffen Beck-Broichsitter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Soil Heterogeneity ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Soil Water Flow ◽  
Critical Zone Observatory

<p>SUPREHILL is a new (2020) and first Croatian critical zone observatory (CZO), focused on local scale agricultural e.g., vineyard hillslope processes. The experimental setup includes an extensive sensor-based network accompanied by weighing lysimeters and instruments for surface and subsurface hydrology measurement. The field measurements are supported by novel laboratory and numerical quantification methods for the determination of water flow and solute transport. This combined approach will allow the research team to accurately determine soil water balance components (soil water flow, preferential flow/transport pathways, surface runoff, evapotranspiration), the temporal origin of water in hillslope hydrology (isotopes), transport of agrochemicals, and to calibrate and validate numerical modeling procedures for describing and predicting soil water flow and solute transport. First results from sensors indicate increased soil moisture on the hilltop, which is supported by precipitation data from rain gauges and weighing lysimeters. The presence of a compacted soil horizon and compacted inter-row parts (due to trafficking) of the vineyard seems to be highly relevant in regulating water dynamics. Wick lysimeters confirm the sensor soil moisture data, while showing a significant difference in its repetitions which suggests a possibility of a preferential flow imposed by local scale soil heterogeneity. Measured values of surface and subsurface runoff suggest a crucial role of these processes in the hillslope hydrology, while slope and structure dynamics additionally influence soil hydraulic properties. We are confident that the CZO will give us new insights in the landscape heterogeneity and substantially increase our understanding regarding preferential flow and nonlinear solute transport, with results directly applicable in agricultural (sloped agricultural soil management) and environmental (soil and water) systems. Challenges remain in characterizing local scale soil heterogeneity, dynamic properties quantification and scaling issues for which we will rely on combining CZO focused measurements and numerical modeling after substantial data is collected.</p>

Performance analysis of regional landslide early warning based on soil moisture simulations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Wicki ◽  
Manfred Stähli
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
Forecast Skill ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Landslide Early Warning ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

<p>In mountainous regions, rainfall-triggered landslides pose a serious risk to people and infrastructure, particularly due to the short time interval between activation and failure and their widespread occurrence. Landslide early warning systems (LEWS) have demonstrated to be a valuable tool to inform decision makers about the imminent landslide danger and to move people or goods at risk to safety. While most operational LEWS are based on empirically derived rainfall exceedance thresholds, recent studies have demonstrated an improvement of the forecast quality after the inclusion of in-situ soil moisture measurements.</p><p>The use of in-situ soil moisture sensors bears specific limitations, such as the sensitivity to local conditions, the disturbance of the soil profile during installation, and potential data quality issues and inhomogeneity of long-term measurements. Further, the installation and operation of monitoring networks is laborious and costly. In this respect, making use of modelled soil moisture could efficiently increase information density, and it would further allow to forecast soil moisture dynamics. On the other hand, numerical simulations are restricted by assumptions and simplifications related to the soil hydraulic properties and the water transfer in the soil profile. Ultimately, the question arises how reliable and representative landslide early warnings based on soil moisture simulations are compared to warnings based on measurements.</p><p>To answer this, we applied a state-of-the-art one-dimensional heat and mass transfer model (CoupModel, Jansson 2012) to generate time series of soil water content at 35 sites in Switzerland. The same sites and time period (2008-2018) were used in a previous study to compare the temporal variability of in-situ measured soil moisture to the regional landslide activity (currently under review in <em>Landslides</em>). The same statistical framework for soil moisture dynamics analysis, landslide probability modelling and landslide early warning performance analysis was applied to the modelled and the measured soil moisture time series. This allowed to directly compare the forecast skill of modelling-based with measurements-based landslide early warning.</p><p>In this contribution, we will highlight three steps of model applications: First, a straight-forward simulation to all 35 sites without site-specific calibration and using reference soil layering only, to assess the forecast skill as if no prior measurements were available. Second, a model simulation after calibration at each site using the existing soil moisture time series and information on the soil texture to assess the benefit of a thorough calibration process on the forecast skill. Finally, an application of the model to additional sites in Switzerland where no soil moisture measurements are available to assess the effect of increasing the soil moisture information density on the overall forecast skill.</p>

scholarly journals A signature-based approach to quantify soil moisture dynamics under contrasting land-uses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoko Araki ◽  
Flora Branger ◽  
Inge Wiekenkamp ◽  
Hilary McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Storm Event ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Event Based ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

Soil moisture signatures provide a promising solution to overcome the difficulty of evaluating soil moisture dynamics in hydrologic models. Soil moisture signatures are metrics that represent catchment dynamics extracted from time series of data and enable process-based model evaluations. To date, soil moisture signatures have been tested only under limited land-use types. In this study, we explore soil moisture signatures’ ability to discriminate different dynamics among contrasting land-uses. We applied a set of nine soil moisture signatures to datasets from six in-situ soil moisture networks worldwide. The dataset covers a range of land-use types, including forested and deforested areas, shallow groundwater areas, wetlands, housing areas, grazed areas, and cropland areas. These signatures characterize soil moisture dynamics at three temporal scales: event, seasonal, and time-series scales. Statistical and visual assessment of extracted signatures showed that (1) storm event-based signatures can distinguish different dynamics for most land-uses, (2) season-based signatures are useful to distinguish different dynamics for some types of land-uses (forested vs. deforested area, greenspace vs. housing area, and deep vs. shallow groundwater area), (3) timeseries-based signatures can distinguish different dynamics for some types of land-uses (forested vs. deforested area, deep vs. shallow groundwater area, non-wetland vs. wetland area, and ungrazed vs. grazed area). We compared signature-based process interpretations against literature knowledge: event-based and time series-based signatures were generally matched well with previous process understandings from literature, but season-based signatures did not. This study demonstrates the best practices of extracting soil moisture signatures under various land-use and climate environments and applying signatures for model evaluations.

scholarly journals Study on Movement of Water and Salt through Soil Column and Utilization of Hydrus-1D Program to Simulate Five Scenarios of Crop Production in Salt Affected Paddy Soil

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Panom Chaiyasit ◽  
Piya Duangpatra ◽  
Visoot Verasan ◽  
Varawoot Vudhivanich
Keyword(s):  
Solute Transport ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Paddy Soil ◽  
Mung Bean ◽  
Soil Column ◽  
Breakthrough Curves ◽  
Pedotransfer Functions ◽  
Hydraulic Parameters ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Hydrus 1D

<p class="zhengwen"><span lang="EN-GB">An experiment was conducted on the purpose to study movement of water and salt through soil column. Salt-affected paddy soil was assessed for its relevant transport parameters consisting of the hydraulic and the solute transport parameters. The hydraulic parameters included soil hydraulic conductivity (K<sub>s</sub>) and the van Genuchten’s parameters (θ<sub>s</sub>, θ<sub>r</sub>, α, and n). In this experiment the solute transport parameters was referred to the coefficient of Langmuir’s isotherm which consisted of k<sub>d</sub> and η. Experience showed that hydraulic parameters were sensitive to changes of soil bulk density (ρ<sub>b</sub>). Therefore pedotransfer functions describing the relations between these parameters with ρ<sub>b</sub> were established. Straight line functions were found for θ<sub>s</sub> and n, exponential functions were found for α and K<sub>s</sub>, and logarithmic function was found for θ<sub>r</sub>. Packing the soil in the physical column inevitably caused horizontal differentiation of different ρ<sub>b</sub>. Bulk density of each layer was estimated by analysis of water flow through soil column at steady-state. Then ρ<sub>b</sub> of each layer was calculated from the relation K<sub>s</sub> (ρ<sub>b</sub>). After the ρ<sub>b</sub> was known the van Genuchten’s parameters were calculated from the pedotransfer functions. A physical column of 4 inches diameter and 50 cm length was constructed. Sodium chloride solution EC 6 dS/m was fed on soil surface during the process of salinization and the feeding solution was changed to fresh water during the process of desalinization. Breakthrough solution was analyzed for Na concentration and the breakthrough curves were constructed. The relevant parameters as well as initial and boundary conditions were fed into Hydrus-1D on the purpose to simulate the breakthrough curves. Statistical comparison results using t-test and RMSE suggested that Hydrus-1D could be used successfully to monitor transport of water and salt through soil column.</span></p><p class="zhengwen"><span lang="EN-GB">Five scenarios concerning water and solute transport through soil profile under rice and mung bean cropping were simulated using Hydrus-1D. Simulation results suggested that continuous flooding was the most efficient way to leach soluble salts down to ground water. Wet/dry irrigation scheme for rice production could drain salts only when rice crop was in the first period of growth where crop water uptake was small. During later stages of growth concentration profile of Na remained almost unchange indicating negligible downward movement of salts. Leaving the soil to dry naturally during the dry season caused upward accumulation of salt to the degree smaller than cultivating mung bean since water content and hence the diffusion coefficient of the soil were higher and more favorable for upward salt diffusion than in the former case. Inserting the capillary rise hindering soil layer underneath mung bean root zone was found to retard upward diffusion of salt to the degree comparable to leaving the soil to dry naturally.</span></p>

scholarly journals Palaeohydrogeology and Transport Parameters Derived from 4He and Cl Profiles in Aquitard Pore Waters in a Large Multilayer Aquifer System, Central Australia

Geofluids ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey C. Priestley ◽  
Tavis Kleinig ◽  
Andrew J. Love ◽  
Vincent E. A. Post ◽  
Paul Shand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solute Transport ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Chloride Concentration ◽  
Pore Waters ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Water Composition ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Upper Aquifer

A study of chloride and 4He profiles through an aquitard that separates the Great Artesian Basin from the underlying Arckaringa Basin in central Australia is presented. The aquitard separates two aquifers with long water residence times, due to low recharge rates in the arid climate. One-dimensional solute transport models were used to determine the advective flux of groundwater across the aquitard as well as establish any major changes in past hydrological conditions recorded by variations of the pore water composition. This in situ study showed that both diffusion and slow downward advection (vz=0.7 mm/yr) control solute transport. Numerical simulations show that an increase in chloride concentration in the upper part of the profile is due to a reduction in recharge in the upper aquifer for at least 3000 years. Groundwater extraction since 2008 has likely increased chloride and 4He concentrations in the lower aquifer by pulling up water from deeper layers; however, there has been insufficient time for upward solute transport into the pore water profile by diffusion against downward advection. The transport model of 4He and chloride provides insight into how the two aquifers interact through the aquitard and how climate change is being recorded in the aquitard profile.

Estimating soil hydraulic properties from saturation to complete dryness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Budiman Minasny ◽  
Rudiyanto Rudiyanto ◽  
Federico Maggi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Pedotransfer Functions ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Soil Hydraulic ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

&lt;p&gt;To study the effect of drought on soil water dynamics, we need an accurate description of water retention and hydraulic conductivity from saturation to complete dryness. Recent studies have demonstrated the inaccuracy of conventional soil hydraulic models, especially in the dry end. Likewise, current pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for soil hydraulic properties are based on the classical Mualem-van Genuchten functions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study will evaluate models that estimate soil water retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curves in full soil moisture ranges. An example is the Fredlund-Xing scaling model coupled with the hydraulic conductivity model of Wang et al. We will develop pedotransfer functions that can estimate parameters of the model. We will compare it with existing PTFs in predicting water retention and hydraulic conductivity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results show that a new suite of PTFs that used sand, silt, clay, and bulk density can be used successfully to predict water retention and hydraulic conductivity over a range of moisture content. The prediction of hydraulic properties is used in a soil water flow model to simulate soil moisture dynamics under drought. This study demonstrates the importance of accurate hydraulic model prediction for a better description of soil moisture dynamics.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals On the use of AMSU-based products for the description of soil water content at basin scale

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 2839-2852 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Manfreda ◽  
T. Lacava ◽  
B. Onorati ◽  
N. Pergola ◽  
M. Di Leo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Skin Surface ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

Abstract. Characterizing the dynamics of soil moisture fields is a key issue in hydrology, offering a strategy to improve our understanding of complex climate-soil-vegetation interactions. Besides in-situ measurements and hydrological models, soil moisture dynamics can be inferred by analyzing data acquired by sensors on board of airborne and/or satellite platforms. In this work, we investigated the use of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (NOAA-AMSU-A) radiometer for the remote characterization of soil water content. To this aim, a field measurement campaign, lasted about three months (3 March 2010–18 May 2010), was carried out using a portable time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to get soil water content measures over five different locations within an experimental basin of 32.5 km2, located in the South of Italy. In detail, soil moisture measurements were carried out systematically at the times of satellite overpasses, over two square areas of 400 m2, a triangular area of 200 m2 and two transects of 60 and 170 m, respectively. Each monitored site is characterized by different land covers and soil textures, to account for spatial heterogeneity of land surface. Afterwards, a more extensive comparison (i.e. analyzing a 5 yr data time series) was made using soil moisture simulated by a hydrological model. Measured and modeled soil moisture data were compared with two AMSU-based indices: the Surface Wetness Index (SWI) and the Soil Wetness Variation Index (SWVI). Both time series of indices have been filtered by means of an exponential filter to account for the fact that microwave sensors only provide information at the skin surface. This allowed to understand the ability of each satellite-based index to account for soil moisture dynamics and to understand its performances under different conditions. As a general remark, the comparison shows a higher ability of the filtered SWI to describe the general trend of soil moisture, while the SWVI can capture soil moisture variations with a precision that increases at the higher values of SWVI.

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