Premine soil moisture budget modelling in steep terrain

Conference · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)

OSTI ID:5654708

Ellison, K; Boyer, D G

An application for a permit under the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977, to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations must contain a statement which describes the probable hydrologic consequences of the mining operations, both on and off the mine-site with respect to the hydrologic balance provided that modeling techniques may be included as part of the application. Evaluating the hydrologic consequences of a land use practice implies that some prior knowledge of the hydrologic balance exists, however in steep, topographically complex terrain the soil moisture component of the hydrologic balance can be difficult to quantify. The objectives of this study were to quantify the relationships between topographic, climatic, and edaphic factors and the soil moisture balance; and to develop a model to predict temporal changes in soil moisture content given topoclimatic and edaphic inputs. Ridged regression equations, which used easily obtained regional climatic parameters, precipitation, and global radiation estimated from cloud cover and climatic data, explained more than 80% of the variation in soil moisture at both depths in 1981 and 1982. It was concluded that additional, intensive research is required to better understand the complex relationships that govern water balance components in rugged, mountainous areas.

• Research Organization: Dept. of Agriculture-ARS, Beckley, WV
• OSTI ID: 5654708
• Report Number(s): CONF-851213-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
510100 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
510500* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CLIMATES
COAL MINES
DRAINAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
LAND RECLAMATION
LAND USE
LAWS
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MINES
MINING
MINING LAWS
MOISTURE
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RAIN WATER
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
RUNOFF
SOIL CONSERVATION
SOILS
SURFACE MINING
SURFACE MINING ACTS
TOPOGRAPHY
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
VARIATIONS
WATER