Characterization and prediction of spatial variability of unsaturated hydraulic properties in a field soil: Las Cruces, New Mexico
- Arizona Univ., Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Hydrology and Water Resources
- New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Arizona Univ., Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Soil and Water Science
A 91-m transect was set up in an irrigated field near Las Cruces, New Mexico to investigate the spatial variability of unsaturated soil properties. A total of 455 sampling points were monitored along a grid consisting of 91 stations placed 1 m apart by 5 depths per station. Post-irrigation soil water tension and water content measurements were recorded over 45 days at 11 time periods. The instantaneous profile was used to estimate the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at the 455 sampling points. Fifty soil samples were also taken for analyzing sand, silt, and clay content distributions. The spatial and temporal variability of soil water tension and water content were investigated along with the spatial variability of parameters of an unsaturated hydraulic conductivity model. Results of the analysis show that spatial variation in soil water tension and water content is consistent with the soil texture spatial variability. In addition, the spatial distribution of the estimated parameter value of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity reflects the soil texture distribution. Using the statistics of the estimated hydraulic parameter values, a stochastic soil water tension model was employed to reproduce the variability of observed soil water tension. Although many assumptions were made, the results of the simulation appear promising.
- Research Organization:
- Arizona Univ., Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Hydrology and Water Resources
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-91ER61199
- OSTI ID:
- 10131170
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-911249-2; ON: DE92009668
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU),San Francisco, CA (United States),9-13 Dec 1991; Other Information: PBD: [1991]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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