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Title: Experimental Testing Scale Considerations for the Investigation of Bare‐Soil Evaporation Dynamics in the Presence of Sustained Above‐Ground Airflow

Journal Article · · Water Resources Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023102· OSTI ID:1482133
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Center for Experimental Study of Subsurface Environmental Processes (CESEP), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Vicksburg MS USA
  2. Center for Experimental Study of Subsurface Environmental Processes (CESEP), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USA
  3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Vicksburg MS USA

Abstract At the fundamental process level, many of the concepts that form the foundation of our understanding of bare‐soil evaporation dynamics have advanced little since their initial formation. This investigation explores experimental scaling issues that should be considered during the study of bare‐soil evaporation dynamics under conditions of sustained above‐ground airflow. Results are presented from a series of large‐scale laboratory experiments conducted for various soil conditions (i.e., heterogeneity and surface roughness). Fundamental experimental research of this nature is not feasible in the field or small laboratory columns that are limited by system control and scale. All experimentation was therefore conducted in a test facility that couples a climate‐controlled, low‐speed wind tunnel with a 7.15‐m‐long soil tank—allowing for control over soil properties and initial and boundary conditions. Measured flow phenomena supported, and agreed well with, existing wind tunnel and field study literature. These data were in turn, used to explain observed evaporative water loss and soil moisture distribution spatiotemporal trends and patterns. Results demonstrated that relatively large length scales are required for the impacts of atmospheric feedbacks on the subsurface hydrodynamics to manifest themselves and become quantifiable. Airflow had the greatest impact in the case of a flat homogeneous soil; the strength of this feedback was significantly weaker in the presence of soil heterogeneities and surface undulations that were dominated by other transport phenomena. Comparison of these results with those of past studies furthermore cautions against the use of column scale data to make generalizations about bare‐soil evaporation dynamic upscaling.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1482133
Journal Information:
Water Resources Research, Journal Name: Water Resources Research Vol. 54 Journal Issue: 11; ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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