Hydraulic Conductivity PDF

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
ISSUES, DETERMINATION
AND APPLICATIONS
Edited by Lakshmanan Elango
Hydraulic Conductivity Issues, Determination and Applications

Published by InTech
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Contents
Preface IX
Part 1
Hydraulic Conductivity and Its Importance
Chapter 1
Role of Hydraulic Conductivity on Surface

and Groundwater Interaction in Wetlands 3
Cevza Melek Kazezylmaz-Alhan
Chapter 2
Dynamics of Hydraulic Properties of Puddled Soils

K. B. Singh
Chapter 3
Variation in Hydraulic Conductivity by the Mobility of

Heavy Metals in a Compacted Residual Soil 49
Rejane Nascentes, Izabel Christina Duarte de Azevedo
and Ernani Lopes Possato
Chapter 4
Evaluation of Cover Systems for the

Remediation of Mineral Wastes 73
Francis D. Udoh
Part 2
Hydraulic Conductivity and Plant Systems
29
83
Chapter 5
Plant and Soil as Hydraulic Systems 85

Mirela Tulik and Katarzyna Marciszewska
Chapter 6
Plant Hydraulic Conductivity:

The Aquaporins Contribution 103
Mara del Carmen Martnez-Ballesta,
Mara del Carmen Rodrguez-Hernndez,
Carlos Alcaraz-Lpez, Csar Mota-Cadenas,
Beatriz Muries and Micaela Carvajal
Chapter 7
Impacts of Wildfire Severity on Hydraulic Conductivity

in Forest, Woodland, and Grassland Soils 123
Daniel G. Neary
VI
Contents
Part 3
Determination by Mathematical
and Laboratory Methods 143
Chapter 8
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity

Using Pedotransfer Functions 145
Ali Rasoulzadeh
Chapter 9
Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity Based on

(Soil) - Moisture Content of Fine Grained Soils 165
Rainer Schuhmann, Franz Kniger, Katja Emmerich,
Eduard Stefanescu and Markus Stacheder
Chapter 10
Determining Hydraulic Conductivity from Soil

Characteristics with Applications for Modelling
Stream Discharge in Forest Catchments 189
Marie-France Jutras and Paul A. Arp
Chapter 11
Analytical and Numerical Solutions of Richards' Equation

with Discussions on Relative Hydraulic Conductivity 203
Fred T. Tracy
Part 4
Determination by Field Techniques
223
Chapter 12
Instrumentation for Measurement of Laboratory and

In-Situ Soil Hydraulic Conductivity Properties 225
Jose Antonio Gutierrez Gnecchi, Alberto Gmez-Tagle (Jr),
Philippe Lobit, Adriana Tllez Anguiano, Arturo Mndez Patio,
Gerardo Marx Chvez Campos and Fernando Landeros Paramo
Chapter 13
Contribution of Tracers for Understanding

the Hydrodynamics of Karstic Aquifers
Crossed by Allogenic Rivers, Spain 247
Rafael Segovia Rosales, Eugenio Sanz Prez
and Ignacio Menndez Pidal
Chapter 14
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity of Highly

Disturbed Clastic Rocks in Taiwan 267
Cheng-Yu Ku and Shih-Meng Hsu
Chapter 15
Field Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Rocks 285

Maria Clementina Caputo and Lorenzo De Carlo
Chapter 16
Electrokinetic Techniques for the Determination

of Hydraulic Conductivity 307
Laurence Jouniaux
Chapter 17
Contribution of Seismic and Acoustic

Methods to Reservoir Model Building
Jean Luc Mari and Frederick Delay
329
Contents
Part 5
Modelling and Hydraulic Conductivity
355
Chapter 18
Effects of Model Layer Simplification Using

Composite Hydraulic Properties 357
Nicasio Seplveda and Eve L. Kuniansky
Chapter 19
The Role of Hydraulic Conductivity in Modeling

the Movement of Water and Solutes in Soil
Under Drip Irrigation 377
Ren Chipana Rivera
Chapter 20
Simulation of Water and Contaminant Transport

Through Vadose Zone - Redistribution System 395
Thidarat Bunsri, Muttucumaru Sivakumar and Dharmappa Hagare
Chapter 21
Measurement and Modeling of Unsaturated

Hydraulic Conductivity 419
Kim S. Perkins
VII
Preface
Hydraulic conductivity is the most important property of geological formations as the
flow of fluids and movement of solutes depend on it. Among fluids, water and
contaminant migration beneath, the ground surface have become critical for water
resource development, agriculture, site restoration and waste disposal strategies.
Furthermore, planning of regional water supply schemes based on groundwater
pumping and numerical groundwater flow modelling depend on hydraulic
conductivity for accurate prediction of future groundwater availability, well
performance, predicting groundwater decline, effect of rainfall variability etc.,.
Although valuable, hydraulic conductivity measurements are expensive to run and
labor-intensive to compile and evaluate for larger spatial coverage. There are several
books on broad aspects of hydrogeology, groundwater hydrology and geohydrology,
which do not discuss in detail on the intrigues of hydraulic conductivity elaborately.
However, this book on Hydraulic Conductivity presents comprehensive reviews of
new measurements and numerical techniques for estimating hydraulic conductivity.
This is achieved by the chapters written by various experts in this field into a number
of clustered themes covering different aspects of hydraulic conductivity.
The sections in the book are: Hydraulic Conductivity and Its Importance, Hydraulic
Conductivity and Plant Systems, Determination by mathematical and Laboratory
Methods, Determination by Field Techniques and Modelling and Hydraulic
Conductivity.
Each of these sections of the book includes chapters highlighting the salient aspects
and explain the facts with the help of some case studies. Thus this book has a good
mix of chapters dealing with various and vital aspects of hydraulic conductivity from
various authors of different countries.
I am sure that these thought provoking chapters will benefit young researchers and
lead to better understanding of concepts, measurement techniques and applications of
hydraulic conductivity. I thank the authors of all the chapters from all over the world
for their cooperation and support during the editorial process. The efforts of IntechOpen access publisher in bringing out this book needs a special appreciation as the
content of this book is available online and accessible to diverse researchers across the
world. This will benefit the young researchers and students to a large extent. Special
Preface
thanks are due to Ms. Mirna Cvijic, Publishing Process Manager of InTech - Open
Access Publisher, for her continued assistance which helped in the publication of this
book. I thank Ms. S. Parimala Renganayaki and Ms. L. Kalpana, Research Fellows of
Anna University, Chennai, India, for assisting me in reviewing some chapters of this
book. I also thank Ms. K. Brindha, Research Fellow, Anna University for her support
in reviewing and editing this book. I hope that you will find this book interesting and
perhaps even adopt some of these methods for use in your own research activities.
Lakshmanan Elango
Professor
Department of Geology
Anna University
Chennai (Madras)
India
Part 1
Hydraulic Conductivity and Its Importance
1
Role of Hydraulic Conductivity on Surface
and Groundwater Interaction in Wetlands
Cevza Melek Kazezylmaz-Alhan
Istanbul University, Civil Engineering Department

Turkey
1. Introduction
There has been a growing interest in understanding the mechanisms involved in surface and
groundwater interactions since these interactions play a crucial role in the behavior of
hydrology and contaminant transport in streams, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater
(Hakenkamp et al, 1993; Winter, 1995; Packman & Bencala, 2000; Bencala, 2000; Medina et al,
2002). Wetlands are an important part of water resources since they control peak flow of
surface runoff and clean polluted water as downstream receiving water bodies and
therefore have been recognized as one of the best management practices (Mitsch &
Gosselink, 2000; Moore et al., 2002; Mitchell et al., 2002). Wetlands are located in transitional
zones between uplands and downstream flooded systems. Surface and groundwater
interactions, which occur in these critical zones, result in a change in surface and
groundwater depth. Moreover, pollutants in either surface water or groundwater are mixed
and the quality of both sources is affected by each other. Therefore, it is important to
understand the role of surface and groundwater interactions on wetland sites and
incorporate them into the wetland models in order to obtain accurate solutions.
The definition of a wetland is difficult since there is no definite boundary for wetlands over
the landscape and wetland characteristics change. Different definitions have resulted from
government agencies that take either legal or ecological criteria as a basis for wetlands
within their jurisdiction. In Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), wetlands are defined as areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. From a hydrologic point of view, the
change of surface water level or subsurface water table level through time is important.
Usually, areas where the depth of standing water is less than 2 m are considered as
wetlands. The amount of water present in wetlands is important to support water supply
and water quality. It also affects the type of animals and plants living in these areas.
Wetlands are classified according to their ecological and hydrological similarities (Mitsch &
Gosselink, 2000).
The type of interaction between groundwater and wetlands depends on the
geomorphological location of the wetland. Wetlands gain water if they are located on
seepage faces where there is an abrupt change in landscape slope (Figure 1A), or if there is a
stream near the wetland location (Figure 1B). Water level in wetlands is changed usually by
direct precipitation or runoff. Especially in riverine wetlands, water level changes
periodically and very often, since its source comes from rivers. Due to this fact, this type of
wetland has more complex interactions which affect its hydraulic/hydrologic
characteristics. The water and chemical balances determine the principal characteristics and
functions of wetlands. Wetlands are very sensitive to changing hydrological conditions.
Since interactions between wetland and groundwater affect the water and chemical
balances, it is important to include these interactions into the wetland models.
Seepage face
Land Profile
Wetland
Wetland
B
Water Table
River
Break in slope
Fig. 1. Wetland and groundwater interactions: (A) Inflow from seepage faces and break in
slope of water table. (B) Inflow to streams. (modified after Winter et al., 1998)
There have been previous studies reported in the literature that investigate various aspects
of surface and groundwater interactions in wetlands. The importance of modeling
interactions between groundwater and wetlands and their effect on wetland functions are
discussed in detail by Winter et al. (1998), Winter (1999), and Price & Wadington (2000).
Experiments are conducted in order to observe the effect of surface and groundwater
interactions on wetland hydrology and contaminant transport at different wetland sites
(Winter & Rosenberry, 1995; Devito & Hill, 1997; Choi & Harvey, 2000; McHale et al 2004).
In addition to these studies, many researchers worked on developing numerical models of
wetland hydrology and wetland water quality incorporating surface and groundwater
interactions (Restrepo et al., 1998; Krasnostein & Oldham, 2004; Keefe et al., 2004; Crowe et
al., 2004; Kazezylmaz-Alhan et al., 2007).
Examples of recent studies include Harvey et al (2006) who modeled interactions between
surface water and groundwater in the wetland area located in central Everglades, Florida,
USA in order to quantify recharge and discharge in the basins vast interior areas.
Kazezylmaz-Alhan & Medina (2008) discussed the effect of surface and groundwater
interactions on wetland sites with different characteristics. He et al (2008) developed a
coupled finite volume model by using depth averaged two dimensional surface flow and
three dimensional subsurface flow for wetlands incorporating surface-subsurface
WaterResources Investigations, Book 6, Chap A1, U.S. Geological Survey.
McHale, M.R.; Cirmo, C.P.; Mitchell, M.J. & McDonnell, J.J. (2004). Wetland Nitrogen
Dynamics in an Adirondack Forested Watershed. Hydrological Processerical model of
subsurface vertical flow constructed wetlands called as FITOVERT. Min & Wise (2010)
developed a two-dimensional hydrodynamic and solute transport modeling of a largescaled, subtropical, free water surface constructed wetland in the Everglades of Florida,
In this chapter, the role of hydraulic conductivity on surface and groundwater interactions
USA.
in wetlands is discussed. Both wetland hydrology and wetland water quality are
Role of Hydraulic Conductivity on Surface and Groundwater Interaction in Wetlands
investigated and particularly, the behavior of surface water and groundwater depths and
the flux between surface water and groundwater are observed. For this purpose, several
models are employed which incorporate surface and groundwater interactions and handle
the interactions from different points of view. Among these models are WETland Solute
TrANsport Dynamics (WETSAND), Visual MODular Finite-Difference FLOW model
(MODFLOW) and EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). WETSAND is a wetland
model which has both surface flow and solute transport components, and accounts for
upstream contributions from urbanized areas. Visual MODFLOW is a three-dimensional
groundwater flow and contaminant transport simulation model. EPA SWMM is a dynamic
rainfall-runoff model and calculates surface runoff, channel flow, groundwater flow and
depth in aquifer underlying each subcatchment, and water quality. Applications are
presented by simulating a conceptual wetland-aquifer system with Visual MODFLOW, the
Duke University restored wetland site in the Sandy Creek watershed of Durham, North
Carolina in USA with WETSAND and Bykekmece wetland site located around
Bykekmece Lake in Istanbul, Turkey with EPA SWMM.
2. Numerical modelling
This section discusses three numerical models on surface water and groundwater hydrology
and contaminant transport. The common point of these models is incorporating surface and
groundwater interactions but each model approaches the mechanism and the consequence
of these interactions from a different point of view.
2.1 WETland Solute TrANsport Dynamics (WETSAND)
WETland Solute TrANsport Dynamics (WETSAND) is a general comprehensive dynamic
wetland model developed by Kazezylmaz-Alhan et al (2007) which has both water quantity
and water quality components, and incorporates the effects of surface and groundwater
interactions. While the water quantity component computes water level and velocity
distribution as a function of time and space, the water quality component computes
Phosphorus and Nitrogen compounds also as a function of time and space. WETSAND also
takes into account the effect of flow generated from upstream areas. Figure 2 shows the
graphical representation of the conceptual wetland model. During a storm event, overland
flow develops on urbanized areas and flows into the wetland area and streams located
downstream of the watershed. Overland flow washes off the pollutants which build up on
the surface during dry days and these pollutants also reach the wetland site with the
overland flow. Besides the overland flow, rainfall and groundwater discharge also
contribute to the surface water of the wetland site. Evapotranspiration, infiltration, and
groundwater recharge are the water sink terms of the wetland site.
2.1.1 Wetland hydrology
The surface water depth, velocity, and flow through the wetland area are calculated by the
diffusion wave equation that applies to the milder slopes (% 0.1 to % 0.01) which is the case
in wetlands. The one-dimensional diffusion wave equation is given as follows:
y
y
2y
+c
= K1 2 + q
t
x
x
(1a)
Fig. 2. Schematic of the WETSAND model (Kazezylmaz-Alhan et al, 2007).
q = qr qinf q et + qdrch + ql
c = mV
K1 =
Vy
2S0
(1b)
where y is the surface water depth (L), t is time (T), x is the distance (L), c is the wave celerity
(L/T), K1 is the hydraulic diffusivity (L2/T), q is the water source/sink term (L/T), V is the water
velocity (L/T), S0 is the bottom slope (L/L) and m is given according to the flow rate-friction
slope relationship (Ponce, 1989). While rainfall (qr), groundwater discharge (qdrch), and lateral
inflow (ql) occupy as water source terms; infiltration (qinf), evapotranspiration (qet), and
groundwater recharge (qdrch) occupy as water sink terms in the term q . Infiltration is calculated
by the modified version of the Green-Ampt method during unsteady rainfall (Chu, 1978) and
evapotranspiration is calculated by the Thornthwaite (1948) method. The groundwater
recharge and groundwater discharge terms represent surface and groundwater interaction at
the wetland site and are calculated by using the Darcys Law as follows:
qdrch = K x
H < 0
x > 0
groundwater recharge
groundwater discharge
(2)
where H is total head (L), and Kx is the horizontal hydraulic conductivity (L/T). The
exchange between surface water and groundwater is calculated in the lateral direction at the
banks of the wetland. Overland flow generated over both upland and wetland sites becomes
the lateral inflow of the stream. The flow on the wetland site is calculated by the power law
for velocity in terms of depth and the friction slope (Kadlec, 1990). This law employs both
the effect of a vertical vegetation stem density gradient and a bottom-elevation distribution.
The flow rate on a wetland site is given by (Kadlec and Knight, 1996):
K Wy 3S0
Q= d
3
K s Wy S0
dense vegetation
(3)
sparse vegetation
where Q is the flow rate in (m3/day), W is the wetland width (L), and Kd and Ks are the
coefficients which reflect the vegetation density with Kd=1107 m-1day-1 and Ks=5107
m-1day-1. In diffusion wave theory, the term S0 is replaced by (S0 y / x ) . Therefore, the
surface water velocity V on a wetland with a cross-sectional area A=Wy is calculated using
both the continuity Q=VA and Equation (3) as follows:
K d y 2 ( S0 y / x )
V =
2
K s y ( S0 y / x )
(4)
The upper boundary condition of the stream flowing through the wetland site is defined as
the upstream surface runoff flowing from urbanized areas and the flow rate in the stream is
calculated by using the diffusion wave equation as follows:
Q
Q
2Q
+c
= K1 2
t
x
x
c = mV
K1 =
Q
2 BS0
(5)
where B is the channel width (L) and c and K1 are the wave celerity (L/T) and the hydraulic
diffusivity (L2/T) in stream, respectively.
2.1.2 Wetland water quality
The water quality component of the WETSAND model calculates the concentration
distribution of both total Nitrogen and total Phosphorus through the wetland and along the
stream. WETSAND has also the capability to calculate each compound of nitrogen, namely,
organic nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen, individually. For each
constituent, one dimensional advection-dispersion-reaction equation is solved. The
equations for nitrogen compounds are coupled through the first order loss rate constants
KON and KAN, which represent ammonification of organic nitrogen into ammonium and
nitrification of ammonium into nitrate, respectively. The equations also take into account the
vegetation effect of a wetland site represented by plant uptake/release terms as sources and
sinks. Finally, the influence of surface and groundwater interactions on contaminant
transport is incorporated via the mass flux terms that represent the incoming/outgoing
mass due to groundwater recharge/discharge. The surface water velocity in the wetland
calculated by the hydrology component of WETSAND is used in the advection term of
concentration equations. The concentration formulations of WETSAND are given as follows:
Total Phosphorus (TP):
q gwd gw
CTP
C
CTP qLin L
1
= V TP +
CTP CTP +
CTP CTP KTPCTP
Ax Dx
+
t
x
Ax x
x Ax
Ax
(6)
Total Nitrogen (TN):

CTN
C
CTN
1
= V TN +
Ax Dx
t
x
x
Ax x
q gwd gw
qLin L
CTN CTN +
CTN CTN KTNCTN
+
Ax
Ax
(7)
Organic Nitrogen (ON):
CON
C
CON qLin L
1
= V ON +
CON CON
Ax Dx
+
Ax x
t
x
x Ax
q gwd gw
CON CON KONCON + J RON
+
Ax
(8)
Ammonium Nitrogen (AN):

C AN
C
C AN qLin L
1
= V AN +
C AN C AN
Ax Dx
+
t
x
Ax x
x Ax
q gwd gw
+
C AN C AN + KON CON K AN C AN JUAN
Ax
(9)
Nitrate Nitrogen (NN):

C NN
C
C NN qLin L
1
C NN C NN
= V NN +
Ax Dx
+
Ax x
t
x
x Ax
q gwd gw
C NN C NN + K ANC AN K NNC NN JUNN
+
Ax
(10)
where C is the concentration (M/L3), CL is the lateral concentration (M/L3), Cgw is the
concentration in groundwater (M/L3), K is the first order loss rate constant (1/T), Ax is the
cross-sectional area in x-direction (L2), Dx is the dispersion coefficient (L2/T), qLin is the lateral
inflow (L2/T), qgwd is the groundwater discharge (L2/T), JRON is the release flux of organic
nitrogen from biomass (M/T), JUAN is the uptake flux of ammonium nitrogen absorbed by
biomass (M/T), JUNN is the uptake flux of nitrate nitrogen absorbed by biomass (M/T), is
the fraction of ammonium that is nitrified, and TP, TN, ON, AN, NN are the subscripts
denoting total phosphorus, total nitrogen, organic nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and
nitrate nitrogen, respectively.
2.2 Visual MODular Finite-Difference FLOW model (MODFLOW)
Visual MODFLOW is a three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport
model that integrates several packages such as MODFLOW-2000, SEAWAT, MODPATH,
MT3DMS, MT3D99, RT3D, VMOD 3D-Explorer, WinPEST, Stream Routing, Zone Budget,
MGO, SAMG, and PHT3D.
MODFLOW (Modular Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Flow Model)
package solves the three-dimensional ground-water flow equation for a porous medium by
using a finite-difference method. MODFLOW is first developed by United States Geological
Survey (USGS) (McDonald & Harbaugh, 1988), then continuously improved and enhanced
(Harbaugh & McDonald, 1996a; Harbaugh & McDonald, 1996b; Harbaugh et al., 2000;
Harbaugh, 2005) and finally integrated into Visual MODFLOW. The three-dimensional
movement of groundwater of constant density through porous earth material may be
described by the following partial-differential equation (McDonald & Harbaugh, 1988):

h
h
h
h
K xx + K yy + K zz + W = Ss
x
x y
y z
z
t
(11)
where Kxx, Kyy, and Kzz are the hydraulic conductivities along the x, y, and z coordinate axes,
respectively and are assumed to be parallel to the major axes of hydraulic conductivity (L/T), h
is the potentiometric head (L), W is a volumetric flux per unit volume and represents sources
and/or sinks of water (1/T), Ss is the specific storage of the porous material (1/L), and t is time (T).
MODFLOW takes into account the surface and groundwater interactions in wetlands
through the RIVER (RIV) boundary condition via a seepage layer separating the surface
water body from the groundwater system as shown in Figure 3. River boundary condition
simulates the influence of a surface water body such as rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands
on the groundwater flow. The term, which represents the seepage to or from the surface, is
added to the groundwater flow equation in this boundary condition. The flow between the
surface water and the groundwater system is given by the following equation:
Qriv =
KLW
M( H riv h )
(12)
where Qriv is the flow between the surface water and the aquifer, taken as positive if it is
directed into the aquifer, Hriv is the head in the surface water, L and W are the X-Y
dimensions of the River boundary grid cells, M is the thickness of the bed of the surface
water body, K is the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the bed material of the surface water
body, and h is the groundwater head in the cell underlying the River boundary. The term
Criv=KLW/M may be defined as the hydraulic conductance of the surface water-aquifer
interconnection which represents the resistance to flow between the surface water body and
the groundwater caused by the seepage layer.
Impermeable
Walls
M
h
Hriv
Qriv
Qriv
Seepage
layer
Fig. 3. Schematic of River boundary in MODFLOW (modified after Visual MODFLOW, 2009)
MT3DMS (Modular 3-Dimensional Transport Model, Multi-Species) package solves the
three-dimensional contaminant transport in groundwater. MT3D is first developed by
Zheng (1990) at S. S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc.; subsequently documented for the
Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory of the U.S. EPA, then continuously
10
expanded and finally integrated into Visual MODFLOW as a package. MT3DMS employs
three different numerical solution techniques, which are the standard finite-difference
method, the particle-tracking-based Eulerian-Lagrangian methods, and the higher-order
finite-volume TVD method. It has the capability of simulating advection,
dispersion/diffusion, and chemical reactions of contaminants in groundwater flow systems
under general hydrogeologic conditions. MT3DMS solves the following partial differential
equation which describes the fate and transport of contaminants of species k in 3-D:
( C k )
t
C

Dij k
viC k + qsC ks + Rn
xi
x j xi
(13)
where is the porosity of the subsurface medium (dimensionless), Ck is the dissolved

concentration of species k (ML-3), t is time (T), xi,j is the distance along the respective
Cartesian coordinate axis (L), Dij is the hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient tensor (L2T-1), vi
is the seepage or linear pore water velocity (LT-1), qs is the volumetric flow rate per unit
volume of aquifer representing fluid sources (positive) and sinks (negative) (T-1), C ks is the
concentration of the source or sink flux for species k (ML-3), and Rn is the chemical
reaction term (ML-3T-1). The transport equation is related to the flow equation through the
Darcys Law:
vi =
qi
K i h
xi
(14)
where Ki is the principal component of the hydraulic conductivity tensor (LT-1) and h is the
hydraulic head (L). The hydraulic head is obtained from the solution of the threedimensional groundwater flow equation (Eqn. 11), which is solved by MODFLOW package.
2.3 Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model (EPA SWMM)
Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model (EPA SWMM) is a
dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation model of a watershed for a single storm event or for
continuous simulation of multiple storms. EPA SWMM also models groundwater flow
within the aquifer underlying each subcatchment of the watershed and the interflow
between groundwater and the drainage system. The model is extensively used to plan,
analyze, and control storm water runoff; to design drainage system components; and to
evaluate watershed management of both urban and non-urban areas (Huber and Dickinson,
1988; Rossman, 2010). With the analyses of EPA SWMM, the quantity and quality of surface
runoff on each subcatchment; the flow rate, depth, and concentration in each conduit; and
groundwater flow and groundwater elevation in each aquifer are obtained. Among the EPA
SWMM inputs are precipitation data, subcatchment delineation, pipe system characteristics,
and aquifer and soil properties. Change of flow rate (hydrograph), change of groundwater
depth, and change of concentration (pollutograph) through time and total simulation
summaries are obtained at the end of the analysis.
In EPA SWMM, while precipitation and flow from upstream subcatchments are considered as
inflow, infiltration and evaporation are considered as outflow in surface runoff calculation.
Flow rate in each conduit is calculated by using the continuity and momentum equations for
flood routing. The most general form of flood routing equations is the dynamic wave
11
equations or also known as St. Venant equations which describe unsteady and gradually
varied flow. By neglecting the inertial terms in the momentum equation, diffusion wave
equations are obtained and by neglecting both inertial and pressure terms, kinematic wave
equations are obtained. One can select anyone of these equations as the flood routing option in
EPA SWMM according to the characteristics of the modeled watershed. The dynamic wave
equations for flow routing in conduits are given as follows (Eagleson, 1970):
Q A
+
=0
x t
(15)
y
1 Q 1 Q Q 2
+
+ g g S0 S f = 0
A t A x A
x
(16)
where Q is flow rate (L3/T), A is cross-sectional area (L2), y is water depth (L), Sf is friction
slope (L/L), S0 is bed slope (L/L), g is gravitational acceleration (L/T2), t is time (T), and x is
distance (L). The kinematic wave equation from dynamic wave equations follows (Lighthill
and Whitham, 1955):
( )
A Q
Am
+
= 0 A
t x
+
=0
t
x
Q = Am
(17)
where and m are given according to the flow rate-friction slope relationship. The diffusion
wave equation from dynamic wave equations follows (Ponce, 1989):
A Q
=0
+
x
t
y
S f = S0
x
Q
Q
2Q
+c
=K 2
t
x
x
c=
Q
A
K=
Q
2 BS0
(18)
where c is the diffusion wave celerity (L/T), K is the hydraulic diffusivity (L2/T), and B is the
width (L). EPA SWMM has three options for infiltration calculation which are the GreenAmpt Method, the Integrated Horton Method and the SCS Curve Number Method. The
equations for each method are given as follows:
Green-Ampt Method (Huber and Dickinson, 1988):
for F < Fs : f = i
Su M
i / Ks 1
if i < K s Fs is not calculated.
if i > K s Fs =
S M
for F Fs : f = f p and f p = K s 1 + u
F
(19)
(20)
where F is the cumulative infiltration (L), Fs is the cumulative infiltration of saturated soil
(L), i is the rainfall intensity (L/T), Ks is the hydraulic conductivity for saturated soil (L/T), Su
12
is the suction head (L), M is the initial moisture deficit (L/L), f is the infiltration rate (L/T),
and fp is the infiltration capacity (L/T).
Integrated Horton Method (Huber and Dickinson, 1988):
f p = f t + ( f 0 -f ) e - t
f (t ) = min[ f p (t ), i(t )]
F(t ) = f ( )d
(21)
where f is minimum infiltration capacity (L/T), f0 is infiltration capacity for dry soil (L/T),
and is a constant (1/T).
SCS Curve Number Method (Ponce and Hawkins, 1996):
F
Q
=
S P Ia
(22)
P =Q + Ia + F
(23)
where F is actual retention (L), S is potential retention (L), Q is actual runoff (L), P is
potential runoff (L), and Ia is initial abstraction (L).
The rate of groundwater flow as shown in Figure 4 is calculated as a function of
groundwater and surface water levels with the following general equation (Rossman, 2010):
Q gw = A1 ( H gw H * )B1 A2 ( H sw H * )B2 + A3 ( H gw H sw )
(24)
where Qgw is the groundwater flow rate per unit area (L3T-1/L2), Hgw is the height of saturated
zone above bottom of aquifer (L), Hsw is the height of surface water at receiving node above
aquifer bottom (L), H* is the threshold groundwater height (L), A1 is the groundwater flow
coefficient, B1 is the groundwater flow exponent, A2 is the surface water flow coefficient, B2
is the surface water flow exponent, and A3 is the surface and groundwater interaction
coefficient. If groundwater flow rate per unit area is calculated by using the Darcys Law,
Equation (24) becomes:
Qgw = k
( H gw H sw )
La
(25)
where A1 = A2 = k/La, k is the hydraulic conductivity (L/T) and La is the length of the aquifer,
B1=B2=1, and H*=A3=0. Dupuit-Forcheimer leakage equation is used in groundwater flow
calculation, in order to take into account surface and groundwater interactions in watershed
modeling:
qdupuit =
k
( h12 h22 )
2 La
(26)
where h1 is the elevation of the highest point of the water table (L), h2 is the elevation of the
water surface in the channel (L) and qdupuit is the flow rate per unit length (L2/T). If we
substitute for h1=2Hgw-h2 by assuming that Hgw is an average value over the entire horizontal
extent of the saturated zone of the aquifer and therefore Hgw =(h1+h2)/2; Hsw = h2; and
Qgw=qdupuit /B, B being the aquifer thickness (L) in Dupuit-Forcheimer equation, Equation (26)
becomes as follows:
13
Receiving
Node
QGW
H*
HSW
HGW
Fig. 4. Schematic of groundwater flow in EPA SWMM (modified after Rossman, 2010)
Qgw =
2k
2
( H gw
H gw H sw )
BLa
(27)
When Equation (27) is compared with Equation (24), we see that A1 = 2k/BLa, B1=2,
A2=B2=H*=0 and A3= -2k/BLa.
3. Applications
Applications of the models discussed in the previous section are presented in this section. Each
model is used to simulate a different case study and shows different aspects of surface and
groundwater interactions and the impact of hydraulic conductivity for different scenarios. For
comparison purposes, the same set of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity values are
used in each application. The simulations are conducted under four different combinations of
the conductivity values: (A) Kx=Kz=0.01 m/hr, (B) Kx=0.01 m/hr and Kz=0.001 m/hr, (C)
Kx=0.1 m/hr and Kz=0.01 m/hr, and (D) Kx=Kz=0.001 m/hr.
3.1 Case study using WETSAND
An application of WETSAND model is presented for Duke University restored wetland site
located in North Carolina, USA. The model is simulated to show the importance of surface and
groundwater interactions on surface water and nitrogen concentration in wetland and the role
of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity on surface and groundwater interactions.
The study site is located in the Sandy Creek watershed, in the southern section of Durham
County in North Carolina, United States with an area of 554.41 ha (1,370 acres). Storm water
runoff generated over part of the Duke University campus and part of the City of Durham
flows into the wetland area; its peak flow decreases and its water quality improves after
reaching the wetland site. The stream restoration project within the wetland area is
completed by closing part of the original streambed of Sandy Creek and opening a new
streambed with more meanders. Over 579 m (1900 ft) of stream restoration aims enhancing
water flow over the floodplain and removal of nutrients and sediments. Figure 5A shows
the position of the wetland site, the boundary of Duke University campus and the
tributaries of the Sandy Creek within the Duke University campus area. Figure 5B shows the
topography of the restored wetland site and restored part of the Sandy Creek, a total of 20
groundwater sampling well locations and the flooded area behind the earthen dam. The
earthen dam was completed also as part of the wetland restoration project which allows for
altering the water level in the stream and wetlands.
14
Fig. 5. (A) Boundary of Duke University and wetland site. (B) Restored wetland and stream
site at Sandy Creek in Duke Forest (Duke Wetland Center). Contour lines (shown with
yellow color) are shown at 30 cm. The stream and lake restoration areas are shown with blue
color in the map. Numbers along green lines (T) indicate water well locations. (C)
Discretization of the Duke University wetland site (Kazezylmaz-Alhan et al, 2007). Maps
shown are not to scale.
3.1.1 Results and discussion
The WETSAND model has been applied to the Duke University restored wetland site to
investigate the role of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity on surface and
15
groundwater interactions in terms of wetland hydrology and wetland water quality. For this
purpose, first, the study site is discretized into six upland (U) and ten wetland (W) sections
and six stream (S) segments (Figure 5C). Nodes N329 and N335 are the receiving nodes of
upstream surface runoff. The simulations are conducted by using the rainfall data collected
at the nearby Duke Forest Site and groundwater level data recorded by Duke University
Wetland Center investigators during year 2002. The average monthly temperature for
Durham, NC is obtained from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Change
of surface water depth and concentration of total nitrogen through time are obtained for the
case with interaction effect included and with no interaction effect included on each wetland
section. Note that, WETSAND provides us with the opportunity to compare interaction and
no interaction cases. Here, the results obtained on wetland section four (W4) is presented
where we observe groundwater recharge for the major part of the simulation and
groundwater discharge towards the end of the simulation.
Figure 6 shows the change of surface water depth on wetland section W4 for different lateral
and vertical hydraulic conductivity values with surface and groundwater interaction and
with no surface and groundwater interaction. First, we observe that low vertical hydraulic
conductivity value (Kz=0.001 m/hr) in Figures 6B and 6D results in higher water depths on
the surface as compared to high vertical conductivity value (Kz=0.01 m/hr) in Figures 6A
and 6C. Then, when Figures 6B and 6D are compared, we observe that the difference
between the surface water depth with interaction effect included and with no interaction
effect included is higher in Figure 6B where lateral hydraulic conductivity is Kx = 0.01 m/hr
than in Figure 6D where lateral hydraulic conductivity is Kx = 0.001 m/hr. Thus, we
conclude that as lateral hydraulic conductivity increases, the effect of surface and
groundwater interaction also increases. Moreover, the surface water depth is lower with the
surface and groundwater interaction effect for the most part of the simulation as mostly
groundwater recharge is observed throughout the simulation on wetland section W4 (Figure
7). When Figures 6A and 6B are compared, eventhough the lateral hydraulic conductivity
values are the same, we observe higher difference between the surface water depth with
interaction effect and with no interaction effect in Figure 6B. We link this result to different
vertical conductivity values: Since the vertical hydraulic conductivity in Figure 6A is higher
than the one in Figure 6B, most of the surface water infiltrates into ground in Figure 6A and
therefore for both with interaction and no interaction, surface water depth takes the value of
about zero. Thus, the vertical hydraulic conductivity plays an indirect role on surface and
groundwater interactions especially for the parts where groundwater recharge is dominant.
Finally, when Figures 6A and 6C are compared, in the last portion of Figure 6C, we observe
a relatively large difference between the surface water depths with interaction and no
interaction and the surface water is higher for the case with interaction this time. The reason
is that the groundwater discharge comes to the stage in the last part of the simulation
(Figure 7) and high lateral hydraulic conductivity (Kx = 0.1 m/hr) in Figure 6C results in an
increase in difference of surface water for interaction and no interaction.
Figure 8 shows the change of total Nitrogen concentration on wetland section W4 again for
the same set of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity values with surface and
groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction. When Figure 8B
and 8D are compared, we observe that high lateral hydraulic conductivity value in Figure
8B (Kx = 0.01 m/hr) results in higher difference between the concentration with interaction
and with no interaction. Further, we observe that the concentration for the case with
interaction is in general lower than the one with no interaction except for the last part where
16
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
120
100
y (mm)
y (mm)
groundwater discharges in this portion. In the last part, the concentration value reaches
about 1.5 mg/l in all figures (Figures 8A-8D), because the total nitrogen concentration in
groundwater is defined as 1.5 mg/l. In other words, for the time periods where there is a
groundwater discharge, the concentration on the wetland takes the value of groundwater
concentration if the surface and groundwater interaction is incorporated into the simulation.
For the case with no interaction, the concentration at wetland site reaches a value of only
about 0.5 mg/l. Thus, we conclude that it is extremely important to incorporate surface and
groundwater interactions into the simulation models as neglecting this physical situation
may cause a huge difference in the analysis for certain cases. Moreover, the role of lateral
hydraulic conductivity on surface and groundwater interaction is important also in terms of
concentration and as lateral hydraulic conductivity increases, the effect of surface and
groundwater interaction on concentration also increases. When Figures 8A and 8B are
compared, we observe that high vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kz = 0.01 m/hr) results in
less oscillation in concentration values and concentration in general reaches a steady state
80
60
40
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
50
100
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
interaction
no interaction
200
250
300
350
no interaction
120
100
y (mm)
y (mm)
interaction
150
t (days)
t (days)
80
60
40
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
t (days)
interaction
no interaction
350
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
t (days)
interaction
no interaction
Fig. 6. Comparison of surface water depth on wetland section W4 with surface and
groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction (A) Kx=Kz=0.01
m/hr, (B) Kx=0.01 m/hr and Kz=0.001 m/hr, (C) Kx=0.1 m/hr and Kz=0.01 m/hr, (D)
Kx=Kz=0.001 m/hr.
17
0.5
qdrch (mm/hr)
0.0
-0.5
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
-1.0
-1.5
-2.0
-2.5
t (days)
Kx=Kz=0.01m/hr
Kx=0.1 m/hr Kz=0.01 m/hr
Kx=0.01 m/hr Kz=0.001 m/hr

Kx=Kz=0.001 m/hr
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
A
CTN (mg/l)
CTN (mg/l)
Fig. 7. Water flux between surface and ground on wetland section W4.
50
100
150
200
250
300
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
350
50
100
t (days)
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
no interaction
interaction
50
100
150
200
250
300
t (days)
interaction
200
250
300
350
t (days)
CTN (mg/l)
CTN (mg/l)
interaction
150
no interaction
350
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
no interaction
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
t (days)
interaction
no interaction
Fig. 8. Comparison of total nitrogen concentration in surface water on wetland section W4

with surface and groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction
(A) Kx=Kz=0.01 m/hr, (B) Kx=0.01 m/hr and Kz=0.001 m/hr, (C) Kx=0.1 m/hr and Kz=0.01
m/hr, (D) Kx=Kz=0.001 m/hr.
18
value of about 0.5 mg/l for both with interaction and no interaction. Thus, the vertical
hydraulic conductivity plays an indirect role on surface and groundwater interactions
especially for the parts where groundwater recharge is dominant. As the vertical hydraulic
conductivity increases, the effect of surface and groundwater interaction on concentration
decreases.
3.2 Case study using MODFLOW
An application of Visual MODFLOW is presented by using a wetland-aquifer conceptual
model. The model is simulated to show different fluxes between wetland surface water and
groundwater for different hydraulic conductivities and their effects on concentration
distribution in groundwater.
3.2.1 Conceptual model
A model domain of 2000 m 2000 m with 20 20 cells is selected. The aquifer has one layer
with a thickness of 10 m; the porosity and the specific storage are selected as =0.5 and
Ss=10-5 m-1, respectively. A wetland site of 300 m 1300 m is defined within the model
domain. The surface water depth at the wetland site is selected as 1m and 10 mg/l of
contaminant is assigned to the wetland site for a duration of 100,000 sec (Figure 9).
The influence of hydraulic conductivity on surface and groundwater interactions in
groundwater flow and groundwater contaminant transport modeling is simulated with
different conductivity values at a wetland site. Figure 10 shows the water flux between
surface water and groundwater along the wetland. Positive values stand for groundwater
recharge and negative values stand for groundwater discharge. As it can be seen from the
figure, as the lateral hydraulic conductivity increases, the flow between surface water and
groundwater also increases in both directions. On the other hand, we dont observe a
significant difference between the cases where Kx=Kz=0.01 m/hr and Kx=0.01 m/hr,
Kz=0.001 m/hr. Thus, vertical hydraulic conductivity does not play a significant role on
surface and groundwater interactions when Visual MODFLOW results are considered.
Figure 11 shows the concentration distribution in groundwater due to the contaminant
defined in surface water at the wetland site for the four set of lateral and vertical hydraulic
conductivities. As it can be seen from the figure, for the cases where vertical hydraulic
conductivity is Kz=0.01 m/hr (Figure 11A) and Kz=0.001 m/hr (Figure 11B), the
concentration distribution in groundwater differs slightly and reaches the value of 110-5
mg/l towards the mid-portion of the wetland site. When Figures 11A and 11C are
compared, where the lateral hydraulic conductivity is Kx=0.01 m/hr and Kx=0.1 m/hr,
respectively, we see a significant difference in concentration distributions. For the case of
Kx=0.1 m/hr, the concentration reaches a value of 510-4 mg/l. Thus, when the lateral
hydraulic conductivity increases, the mass flux and therefore the concentration in
groundwater also increases. When Figure 11D is considered, we observe a small fraction of
pollutant passed to the groundwater.
We observe that the concentration distribution is observed only in the upper portion of the
wetland site where groundwater recharges (see Figure 10). On the other hand, we dont see
any contaminant in groundwater in the lower portion of the wetland site where
groundwater discharges. Since Visual MODFLOW simulates contaminant transport in
19
groundwater, the results show only pollutants in groundwater due to the mass flux from
surface water to groundwater. If contaminant transport in surface water could be simulated,
we would expect to see a decrease in surface water concentration in the lower portion of the
wetland due to the mass flux of pure water from ground to surface.
Wetland site
Fig. 9. Schematic of the conceptual wetland-aquifer system.

0.00025
Groundwater Flow Q (m3/s)
0.0002
0.00015
0.0001
0.00005
0
-0.00005
10
11
12
13
-0.0001
-0.00015
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h
Cell Number
Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h
Fig. 10. Water flux between surface and ground on wetland-aquifer system.
3.3 Case study using EPA SWMM
An application of EPA SWMM is presented for Bykekmece wetland site located in
Istanbul, Turkey. The model is simulated to show the influence of surface and groundwater
20
interactions on groundwater depth and flow and surface runoff concentration and the role
of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivities on surface and groundwater interactions.
Bykekmece wetland site is located at downstream point of Bykekmece Lake in
Bykekmece Watershed, Istanbul and is one of the most important wetlands of Turkey.
Bykekmece Watershed has a drainage area of 622 km2 and supplies a major part of
Istanbuls drinking water. A lagoon connects Bykekmece Lake with the Marmara Sea. In
order to protect the environmental habitat of the lake, a dam was constructed at lakelagoon-sea interface. About 18 streams gather flow generated over the catchment which are
connected to 3 rivers and the rivers flow through the wetland site and reaches the lake.
There exist three types of aquifers under Bykekmece Watershed: local spaced and
cracked Krklareli limestone, local cracked metamorphic units classified as Istranca group,
and local granular aquifer specified as Pnarhisar formation (Birpnar et al, 2006). The
boundaries of Bykekmece Watershed and Bykekmece wetland site are shown in
Figure 12.
Fig. 11. Concentration distribution (shown with red color in mg/l) in groundwater (A)
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/hr, (B) Kx=0.01 m/hr and Kz=0.001 m/hr, (C) Kx=0.1 m/hr and Kz=0.01 m/hr,
(D) Kx=Kz=0.001 m/hr.
21
Fig. 12. Bykekmece watershed (A) and Bykekmece wetland site around
Bykekmece Lake (B) (Google Earth).
EPA SWMM has been applied to Bykekmece wetland site in order to observe surface
and groundwater interactions in groundwater. For this purpose, first a hydrological model
for the site is developed by means of discretizing the region into subcatchments and
describing the channels and junctions. Slope, area, and width are input data for each
subcatchment; length, cross sectional area, and roughness are input data for each conduit;
invert elevation, maximum depth, and inflow are input data for each junction. A total
number of 167 subcatchments, 118 conduits, and 157 junctions are defined for the site. In
addition, a rain gauge is defined in the model in order to introduce the rainfall data in terms
of intensity, volume, or cumulative precipitation.
For groundwater flow and groundwater depth simulation, an aquifer is defined under each
subcatchment by porosity, wilting point, field capacity, hydraulic conductivity, conductivity
slope, and tension slope. In addition, infiltration is calculated with the Green-Ampt option
of EPA SWMM and suction head, hydraulic conductivity, and initial soil moisture deficit are
defined as Green-Ampt parameters for each subcatchment. The groundwater flow is
simulated according to both Dupuit-Forcheimer leakage equation (Eqn. 27) and Darcys Law
(Eqn. 25) in order to see the difference between the cases with surface and groundwater
interaction effect included and not included. Figure 13 shows the hydrological model of
Bykekmece wetland site. Here, the blue lines represent the subcatchment borders and
the red lines represent the conduits, namely open channels.
Figure 14 shows the change of groundwater depth through time on wetland section 44s for
the cases with interaction effect and with no interaction effect by using the four set of lateral
and vertical hydraulic conductivities. As it can be seen from this figure, groundwater depth
is affected from both lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivities. For the case with
no interaction, the maximum steady state with a value of 3.98 m has been reached with
Kx = Kz = 0.01 m/hr and the minimum steady state with a value of 3.91 m has been reached
with Kx= 0.01 m/hr, Kz = 0.001 m/hr. The aquifer type with the highest conductivity values,
i.e., Kx= 0.1 m/hr and Kz = 0.01 m/hr reaches the steady state earliest, whereas the aquifer
type with the lowest conductivity values, i.e., Kx = Kz = 0.001 m/hr reaches the steady state
latest. We observe a clear difference between the cases with interaction effect included and
with no interaction effect included for each combination of lateral and vertical hydraulic
22
conductivity value. This difference is greater in the rising part with the lowest conductivity
values Kx=Kz = 0.001 m/hr and in the descending part with the highest conductivity values
Kx= 0.1 m/hr and Kz = 0.01 m/hr. Thus, we conclude that both lateral and vertical hydraulic
conductivity have a significant impact on surface and groundwater interactions.
Figure 15A shows the groundwater flow through time for the cases with interaction effect
and with no interaction effect for the four set of lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivities.
As it can be seen from this figure, we observe the largest difference between interaction
effect included and not included with the highest conductivity values Kx= 0.1 m/hr and
Kz = 0.01 m/hr. Although it is minor, there is a difference for other combinations of
conductivity values, too. Thus, the impact of both lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity
is significant also on groundwater flow. Figure 15B shows the change of surface runoff
through time over the study subcatchment (44s), under which the study aquifer lies. As it
can be seen from this figure, surface runoff is also affected due to the exchange of water
between surface and subsurface.
Fig. 13. Hydrological Model of Bykekmece wetland site developed by EPA SWMM.
Subcatchment borders are shown with blue and conduits are shown with red (not to scale).
23
4.1
3.9
3.98
Grounwater Depth h (m)
Groundwater Depth h (m)
3.7
3.5
3.3
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Time t (hour)
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
70
80
90
100
3.96
3.94
3.92
3.9
3.88
3.86
3.84
110
3.82
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h No Int.

Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h No Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
10
20
30
40
50 60 70
Time t (hour)
80
90 100 110
Fig. 14. Comparison of groundwater depth on wetland section 44s with surface and
groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction.
3.5
0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0.025
Surface Runoff Q (m3/s)
Groundwater Flow q (m3/s/ha)
0.03
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Time t (hour)
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h Int.

Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
70
80
90
100
110

Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
0
5
10
15
20
Time t (hour)
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
25
30
35
40

Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Fig. 15. Comparison of (A) groundwater flow and (B) surface runoff on wetland section 44s
with surface and groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction.
Figure 16 shows the change of concentration of total nitrogen through time at the outlet of
the wetland site which builds up on the catchment during the dry days and is washed off by
the surface runoff during a rainfall event. As it can be seen from this figure, the arrival time
of the peak concentration to the outlet changes according to different lateral and vertical
hydraulic conductivity values. Moreover, we observe different concentration curves for the
cases with interaction effect and with no interaction effect. Thus, we conclude that hydraulic
conductivity affects both the concentration curve and the arrival time of the peak
concentration of the pollutants in the surface runoff significantly.
24
Concentration C (mg/l)
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0
0.25
0.50
0.75
1.00
Time t (h)
Kx=Kz=0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.01 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Kx= 0.1 m/h Kz= 0.01 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h Int.
Kx= 0.001 m/h Kz= 0.001 m/h No Int.
Fig. 16. Comparison of total nitrogen concentration in surface runoff on wetland site with
surface and groundwater interaction and with no surface and groundwater interaction.
4. Conclusion
Surface and groundwater interactions play a crucial role in the behavior of hydrology and
contaminant transport in streams, lakes, and wetlands. Therefore, it is important to take
these interactions into account when modeling water resources. In this chapter, wetland
hydrology, wetland water quality, and surface and groundwater interactions are presented.
Then, several models, which incorporate surface and groundwater interactions in their
hydrological and contaminant transport simulations, are illustrated. These models are
WETSAND, Visual MODFLOW and EPA SWMM. Particularly, the role of hydraulic
conductivity on surface and groundwater interactions in wetlands is investigated in detail
by using these models.
An example study is given for each model. Each model presents the influence of surface and
groundwater interactions from a different point of view: WETSAND shows the effect of the
interactions on surface water depth and surface water contaminant at a wetland site; Visual
MODFLOW shows the effect of the interactions on groundwater flow and groundwater
contaminant; EPA SWMM shows the effect of interactions on surface runoff, groundwater
depth and flow, and wash off of the contaminant on land surface. Thus, each model has a
different feature and therefore is used in presenting different aspects and characteristics of
surface and groundwater interactions. Simulations are conducted for a conceptual wetlandaquifer system with Visual MODFLOW, the Duke University restored wetland site in the
Sandy Creek watershed of Durham, North Carolina in USA with WETSAND and
Bykekmece wetland site located around Bykekmece Lake in Istanbul, Turkey with
EPA SWMM.
25
The results clearly show that both lateral and vertical hydraulic conductivity influence
surface and groundwater interactions. The effects of surface and groundwater interactions
play a significant role on wetland dynamics and therefore should be taken into account
when modeling wetland hydrology and wetland solute transport.
5. Acknowledgment
The author would like to express her gratitude to General Directorate of State Hydraulics
Works (DSI), Turkish State Meteorological Service (DMI), Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality (IBB) and Istanbul Municipality Waterworks (ISKI) for providing rainfall data,
site map, soil formation, and valuable discussions on the Bykekmece wetland site.
Rainfall data for Duke University restored wetland site were obtained from a project
supported by the Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy, Grant No. DE-FG0295ER62083. The author wishes to acknowledge also the Facilities Management Department
of Duke University for partial funding and valuable discussions on stormwater and wetland
hydrologic and water quality modeling needs on Duke University Campus, and the Duke
University Wetland Center for providing water level data.
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2
Dynamics of Hydraulic
Properties of Puddled Soils
K. B. Singh
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
India
1. Introduction
Rice-wheat system has emerged as the dominating cropping system in South and South East
Asia and Indo-Gangetic plains, because of favourable soil and climatic factors, suitable high
yielding varieties, subsidized resource availability in terms of power and fertilizers and
remunerative support purchase prices backed by the procurement system.
The
sustainability of this system in many areas is threatened by the rising water table and
salinization, declining water tables and deterioration of both the chemical and the physical
fertility of soil. Chemical fertilizers, appropriate tillage operations and addition of organic
amendments supplement the low nutrient supplying capacity of the soil and can maintain
favourable soil physical conditions. But there is no substitute of water for crop production.
Rice being grown under submerged conditions requires high amount of irrigation water. In
India, about 50% of the total irrigated area is under rice cultivation and hence, 50% of
irrigation water is used for rice crop. On an average, farmers apply 32 irrigations to rice in
Indian Punjab and assuming each irrigation to be of 7 cm, a total of 224 cm water is
required. In many areas of Punjab and Haryana in India withdrawal of ground water
exceeds its recharge which leads to lowering of ground water table. In central Punjab having
good quality ground waters, the areas with water table below 10 m depth increased from 3%
in 1973 to 76% in 2002 (Hira et al. 2004). Eighty percent area of the Punjab state is facing a
rapid decline in water table which is quite alarming to the sustainability of the rice
production. Competing demands of water for domestic use, sanitation, industrial and
recreational purposes also make it all the more essential to maximize the efficiency of water
for crop production. Since, rice is the lowest productive crop per unit of water consumed
amongst cereals, therefore, optimum water management and cultural practices need to be
followed to ensure minimum losses of water. In India, about 15000 liters of water is used for
the production of one kg of rice (Sharma 1992). This low water use efficiency is because of
high (55 to 80 percent) water losses through deep percolation (Singh, 1998). Though
percolation is gain to water table but high amount of energy is required for lifting the
underground water to meet irrigation requirements of rice - wheat system. Singh et al (1990)
has shown that irrigation consumes the maximum energy in farm operations for both rice
(82%) and wheat (38%). Therefore, water and energy are main elements for the sustainability
of the rice-wheat system. Hence, to maintain desired yield levels while conserving the scarce
30
water resources and to make the system energy efficient, it is essential to increase the
productivity of rice and wheat per unit of water use. This can be achieved by curtailing the
unproductive water losses such as evaporation and deep percolation. Soil evaporation can
be manipulated by varying irrigation scheduling in wheat and staggering the date of
transplanting of rice to the period of lower climatic evaporative demand (Singh et al, 2001).
Most popularly, the deep percolation of water is controlled by manipulating hydraulic
properties of soils through puddling.
2. Mechanism of puddling
Puddling (a most common method of land preparation for transplanting of rice seedlings) is
associated with the soil disturbance through tillage operations, at or near saturation soil
moisture content. The puddling tillage usually comprises one or two ploughing to a depth
of 0.15 m and two or more harrowings and a final leveling. In puddling process the soil is
submerged under standing water to promote soil chemical reduction, reduce soil
mechanical strength and hence reduce the force and energy required for the puddling
tillage. Two forces are applied to the soil during the puddling: one is ploughing to loosen
and break clods in soils and the other is compaction of the sub-soil due to machinery used
for tillage. Puddling leads to break down of soil aggregates into ultimate micro aggregates
and individual particles forming a muddy suspension having dispersed fine particles. The
degree of dispersion is dependent on the structural stability of the soil. Different research
workers have shown that as compared to unpuddled, in puddled soils about 40 % of the
aggregates were completely broken down to fractions less than 0.05 mm and all the
aggregates were smaller than coarse sand (Naphade and Ghildyal, 1971). Due to differential
settling the larger particles of soil in the suspension settle first and the finer ones later.
Therefore, the sand fraction settles first from the muddy water and gradually is covered by
finer silt and clay, resulting in a thin layer of low permeability due to clogging of macro
pores at the surface. The thickness of the layers depends on the original texture. In sandy
soils, the clay cover is thin. In fine clay soils there may be no coarse layer. In medium
textured mineral soils stratification is well developed, with a fine textured surface layer a
few mm thick that overlies 1-2 cm of almost pure sand (Moorman & Van Breemen,
1978).The clogging process is similar to filtration. Three mechanisms may be involved in
filtration including surface clogging (large soil particles fail to pass through pore and
deposit on the soil surface area), strain filtration (soil particle moves into pore space and is
retarded by shear stress among other particles) and physical-chemical filtration (soil particle
adsorbed onto the particle surface by surface reaction). If the soil texture is not uniform and
contains a certain amount of clay particles, it is easy to develop plough sole by strain and
physical-chemical filtrations. A Japanese study showed that the upper 0-15 mm of the
puddled layer is composed of fine particles, the middle layer is thin and porous with sandy
shingles, and the lowest layer is massive without particle differentiation (Saito and
Kawaguchi, 1971). Closely packed parallel particles in puddled soils reduce saturated
hydraulic conductivity (Singh et al 2001). The amount of dispersed clay or silt +clay
increases with increasing puddling energy applied. Bodman and Rubin (1948) suggested the
term puddlability, a measure of susceptibility of soil to puddling, to mean the change in
apparent specific volume of soil per unit work extended in causing such change. From a
farmer point of view, puddling is mixing soil with water to make it soft for transplanting
and impervious to water. The ease and degree of puddling depend on moisture content, soil
31
type, tillage implement, and cultural practices. Maximum puddling occurs at moisture
content between field capacity and saturation. High clay content facilitates puddling. Soils
with predominantly kaolinitic clay are more difficult to puddle than those with
montmorillonitic clay (Sharma and De Datta, 1985). The sodium saturated clays are easier to
puddle than calcium saturated clays owing to their dispersed nature in the former type of
soil. During the puddling operation the soil layer just below the puddled soil is stamped
down by the puddling equipment. This causes crushing and blocking of the pores in the
lower unpuddled layer and results in reduction of saturated hydraulic conductivity. A
portion of clay fraction from the surface puddled horizon is also deposited as clay-skins
along pore surfaces at the top fringe of the compacted unpuddled subsurface layer. These
processes reduce macro pore volume in the upper portion of the soil profile while increasing
the bulk density in the compacted, anthropogenic subsurface horizon that is alternately
termed the plough sole or tillage pan or hardpan. The formation of hardpan in the subsoil
below the puddled layer is variable in different soils. It may take 3 to 200 years for a
hardpan to form depending on soil type, climate, hydrology and puddling frequency
(Moormann and van Breeman, 1978). Subsurface hardpans develop from physical
compaction and precipitation of Fe, Mn and Si (Sharma and De Datta, 1985). This hardpan
has lower saturated hydraulic conductivity. The non-puddled subsoil beneath this less
permeable layer usually has a higher hydraulic conductivity and consequently there can be
non-saturated subsoil flow in conjunction with saturated flow in the puddled and compact
layers. Therefore a typical soil profile of a puddled rice soil consists of a (i) ponded water
layer, (ii) a muddy layer with little resistance to water flow, (iii) a compacted hard layer
with large resistance to water flow and (iv) non puddled subsoil with high saturated
conductivity having unsaturated flow of water.
3. Effect of puddling on soil hydraulic properties

Puddling results changes in porosity and pore size distribution of the soil. Therefore water
retention and movement under saturated and unsaturated conditions are highly affected by
puddling.
3.1 Soil water retention
Puddling decreased pores >30 m (transmission pores) by about 83% and increased pores of
0.6-30 m (storage pores) and < 0.6 m (residual pores) by 7% and 52% respectively (Sharma
and De Datta, 1985). Eliminating non capillary pores in puddled soils usually lowers water
retention for potentials above -0.01 MPa. At lower potentials (-0.01 to -1.5 MPa) water
retention in puddled soils was more than non-puddled soils (Gupta et al, 1984). Water
retention at lower (-0.01 to -1.5 MPa) potentials in puddled soils always exceeds than that of
non-puddled soils depending on soil texture and initial aggregation (Taylor 1972 and
Yunsheng 1983). The change in water status is defined by the difference between the
previous and the current water contents in the paddy system when all the inflows and
outflows have been accounted for. It is therefore, the residual amount of water in the paddy
system, which can be positive or negative. Mohanty et al. (2003) reported that at harvest, on
the average, the puddled soil maintained 25% more water than the unpuddled one.
Puddling markedly increases soil water retention in soils, dominated by 2 : 1 swelling clays
and the effect was less in soils dominated by kaolinitic clays (Sanchez 1973). Increase in
water retention of 0-15 cm soil depth with puddling has also been reported by Sur et al
32
(1981). Puddling increases the water-holding capacity of soils because of compaction,

settling, and flocculation of dispersed clay particles (Sharma and De Datta, 1985). The
dispersion of soil aggregates during puddling destroys macro pore volume within soil
aggregates (Moorman and van Breemen, 1978). Puddling changes the water content-tension
relationship with more easy-to-extract water being available in puddled soils.
Measurements of water-release characteristics showed that puddling increased storage
porosity from 6 to 16 % and residual porosity from 34 to 43 % at the expense of transmission
porosity, which declined from 26 to 4 % (Painuli et al 1988).
Porosity contributed to the 5-15 cm layer by pores wider than 30 m (regardless of shape)
was decreased by roto tiller puddling under standing water, and the number of pores per
standard area were proportionally more affected (Pagliai et al ., 1987). The distribution of
porosity among pores of different shapes and sizes in the 0-5 cm layer of puddled soil
showed that elongated pores dominated the porosity, though they were in fact fewer in
number. Porosity was less in puddled than in non-puddled soil in all shape categories in 020 cm, but below 20 cm there was no statistical or practical difference.
Effect of puddling on soil water retention depends upon climate, soil texture, soil depth,
intensity of tillage, use of green and farmyard manures and crop residues incorporated into
the soil.
3.1.1 Climate, texture and soil depth
Water retained by different soils at varying suctions in the four agro climatic zones of
Punjab where puddling has been continuous from more than 15 years is reported by Singh
et al (2009). Water retention was higher in zone 1(undulating sub region), followed by zone 2
(piedmont alluvial plains) and zone 3 (central alluvial plains) and least in zone 4
(southwestern alluvial plains) (Figure 1a). These trends are in accordance with amount of
organic carbon (OC) and silt + clay contents. More the silt + clay and OC content in the soil,
more will be water retention at a given level of suction. The textural class of silty clay loam
retained more water at all the suctions which were followed by clay loam, loam and sandy
clay loam soils (Figure 1b and a values of soil moisture content () vs. suction () relations
in Table 1). More water retention in fine textured soils is due to more micro as well as total
porosity.
Soil texture
Sandy clay loam
Loam
Clay loam
Silty clay loam
Soil Depth (cm)
0-7.5
7.5-15
15-22.5
22.5-30
vs.
a
0.3028
0.3384
0.3538
0.3919
B
0.0035
0.0022
0.0020
0.0012
R2
0.83
0.82
0.80
0.81
0.3602
0.3415
0.3365
0.3455
0.2132
0.2054
0.1965
0.2051
0.81
0.80
0.79
0.80
Table 1. Parameters of the equation y = a exp b , vs. .
33
-3
Soil water content (m m )
0.5
zone 1
zone 2
zone 3
zone 4
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Soil water suction (kPa)
-3
0.5
Silty clay loam
Loam
Sandy clay loam
Clay loam
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
250
300
0.5
0-7.5
15-22.5
7.5-15
22.5-30
-3
c
3
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
50
100
150
200
Fig. 1. Soil water retention at different suctions in relation to (a) zone, (b) texture and (c)
depth in puddled soils of Punjab.
34
Water retention in different layers showed that water retention was highest in 0-7.5 cm soil
layer and lowest in 15-22.5 cm soil layers at all the suctions applied viz. 1, 3, 10 and 30 k Pa
as shown in Figure 1c and a values of () vs. () relations Table 1. More volumetric water
content in 0-7.5 cm soil layer may be attributed to its higher OC which improves
aggregation status of the soil and hence its water retention capacity. Lowest water retention
in 15-22.5 cm soil layer was due to its lower porosity (caused by more compaction) and OC
contents as compared to other layers.
3.1.2 Intensity of tillage
Yoshida and Adachi (2002) studied the influence of puddling intensity on the water
retention characteristics of a clayey paddy soil. Low intensity (one time puddling, P1),
medium intensity (two time puddling, P2) and high intensity puddling (three time
puddling, P3) were compared. They observed that at the surface layer (0-4 cm), the water
content increased over the whole range of suction and the increment of water content at a
suction of 100 kPa depended significantly on puddling intensity. Moisture content was
reduced linearly with time (Mausavi et al 2009). The line slope for P0 treatment (no
puddling) is more than P1, P2 and P3. This shows that unpuddled soil dried faster than
puddled soils. Ten days after puddling, soil moisture was reduced by 11.4, 8.3, 5.2 and 5.1 %
respectively in P0, P1, P2 and P3 treatments. This may be attributed to the greater proportion
of pore volume occupied by micro pores in the puddled soils. The effect of puddling
intensity on water retention in soil was significant up to a suction of 90 kPa (in laboratory
study) and up to 500 kPa in field study. Soil moisture retention in P1 is much higher than P2
but P2 is not very much different from P3 treatment. Higher number of micro pores in highly
puddled soil is an important factor. Puddled soils dry more slowly than unpuddled soils,
probably because of higher unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of puddled soils can keep
surface soil wet during evaporation by supplying water from lower layers. Also because of
increased water retention at a given suction, more energy is required to evaporate the same
amount of water from a puddled soil than from an unpuddled soil. Thus a puddled soil may
take several weeks or even months to dry and reach workable moisture content (Gupta and
Jaggi, 1979).
3.1.3 Organic manures
Singh et al (2000) studied the effect of incorporation of green manure (Sesbania rostrata) @
10.4 Mg ha-1 and farmyard manure (FYM) @ 6.5 Mg ha-1 on dry weight basis before rice
transplanting in combination with 100% recommended NPK for 3 years in silty loam soil.
They found that in 0-15cm soil layer, water retained at field capacity in green manured plots
increased from 28.36% (100% NPK alone treatment) to 30.87%, and in FYM treated plots to
32.33%, when measured after harvest of wheat crop. Tiwari et al (2000) reported that
incorporation of green manure (Sesbania rostrata) before puddling of loam soil for 2 years
along with 50% recommended N increased the water holding capacity of the soil from
36.45% (initial) to 37.10%, when measured after harvest of rice crop. Biswas et al (1970) in a
10-year study on alluvial sandy loam soil found that, incorporation of green manure
(equivalent to 45kg N ha-1) increased water retention from 14.4 % to 18.0% at 33 kPa tension.
However, at 1500 kPa tension increase was very small i. e. from 3.8% to 4.6%.
3.1.4 Residue incorporation
Pandey et al (1985) studied the water retention of the soil at 33 kPa suction in rice residue
management experiment. It was 23.2% in control treatment, and increased to 26.3% in rice
35
straw incorporation treatment and up to 26.8% in wheat straw incorporation treatment,

when measured at harvest of succeeding wheat crop. Under all treatments, water content
decreased abruptly up to 20 kPa suction and beyond this value decrease in water content
was gradual. Bhagat and Verma (1991) in a 5-year study on silty clay loam soil found that
straw incorporation @ 5Mg ha-1 plus farmyard manure treatment retained the highest,
whereas in control and straw burnt the lowest water content, at all suction values between 0
and 1500 kPa. At 33 and 1500 kPa, the straw incorporation plus farmyard manure treatment
had about 0.055 m3 m-3 and 0.030 m3 m-3 higher water content, respectively, compared to the
control and straw burnt. The straw incorporation alone treatment had intermediate water
retention compared to the above two sets of treatments, at all the suction values.
3.2 Saturated hydraulic conductivity
In puddled soil some soil physical characteristics which determine water conductivity are
the total porosity, the distribution of pore sizes and the pore geometry of the soil. Thus
structural destruction due to puddling may not be of much important in reducing water flux
through the soil. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a quantitative measure of ability of
saturated soil to transmit water under the hydraulic head difference. It defines the linear
relationship between flux and hydraulic gradient. So it is the slope of line showing
relationship between flux and hydraulic gradient. If the same hydraulic gradient is applied
to two different soils, the soil from which the greater quantity of water is
collected/discharged, is more conductive means have more flow rate. Mostly sandy soils
yield higher flux (i.e. more conductive) than the clayey soils. Saturated hydraulic
conductivity is affected by soil and fluid properties. It depends on the soil pore geometry as
well as the fluid density. Flux is numerically equal to Ks only when the hydraulic gradient is
equal to one. Flux is a dependent variable & hydraulic gradient is the driving force (i.e.
independent variable) and Ks is the proportionality constant that defines the relationship
between two. Puddling altered the nature of water flow, particularly in silty clay loam (Fig.
2). At lower hydraulic gradients the specific discharge versus hydraulic gradient curve does
not remain a straight line, hence Darcy Law does not hold good under puddled conditions.
However, as the gradient exceeds 1, the relationship assumes the form of a straight line. It
therefore seems that puddling induces non-Darcian flow at lower hydraulic gradients.
Evidently in puddled fine-textured soils a critical hydraulic gradient must exist beyond
which the water flux is Darcian and before which it remains non-Darcian (Fig. 2). Since
puddling reduces the non-capillary pore spaces, a closer packing of soil particles results in
higher bulk density. Reduction on the pore volume, in turn, decreases the hydraulic
conductivity and free percolation of water. Studies on laterite sandy loam soils indicated
that hydraulic conductivity of a field puddle decreased from 0.192 to 0.054 cm h-1, causing a
reduction of 72 % from the unpuddled soil.
Climate, soil texture, depth and intensity of puddling, bulk density, type of implement used
for puddling, structural regeneration, organic manures applied
and crop residue
incorporation into the puddled soil etc determine the effect of puddling on soil hydraulic
properties.
3.2.1 Climate
Saturated hydraulic conductivity of sandy clay loam soil (Fig 3) generally decreased from
agro climatic zone 2 to zone 4 in soil depths because of changes in temperature which
resulted into decrease of organic carbon content in the surface soil layers and increase in the
36
0.4
y = 0.047x - 0.1406
0.35
R = 0.9538
-1
Flux (x10 cm h )
0.3
-2
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0
10
12
Gradient
160
0-7.5 cm
7.5-15 cm
15-22.5 cm
22.5-30 cm
140
120
-2
-1
( x10 cm h )
Saturated hydraulic conductivity
Fig. 2. Relationship between flux and gradient in puddled silty clay loam soil.
100
80
60
40
20
0
Zone-2
Zone-3
Zone-4
Fig. 3. Saturated hydraulic conductivity of sandy clay loam.

bulk density of subsoil layers (Singh et al, 2009). Hence better puddling for reducing water
flux is difficult to achieve in the soil having high organic carbon leading to high structural
stability index. Therefore, the high content of organic matter increases resistance of the soil
to puddling. Dominance of loam and sandy clay loam textures in agro climatic zone 2 of
Punjab compared to other zones resulted in significantly higher Ks (Table 2). Amongst the
textural class, saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly more in sandy clay loam
due to more sand content in the soil (66 per cent) than other classes, where it ranged from
31-55 per cent. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was more in the surface soil (due to more
organic carbon and less bulk density) and it decreased with depth and was lowest in 15-22.5
cm soil layer, where bulk density and organic carbon were having reverse trend than the
surface soil (Singh et al, 2009).
37
Variables
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (mm

h-1)
Agro climatic Zones
Zone 1
0.77a
Zone 2
4.32b
Zone 3
1.77a
Zone 4
1.06a
Textures
1.05a
Silty clay loam
Loam
2.06a
4.85b
Sandy clay loam
Clay loam
1.38a
Soil depths
0-7.5 cm
4.2a
7.5-15 cm
2.02b
15-22.5 cm
1.20b
22.5-30 cm
1.91b
Rows having different letters are significantly different
Table 2. Averaged effects of agro climatic zones, textures and soil depths on saturated
hydraulic conductivity.
3.2.2 Soil texture
The decrease in hydraulic conductivity due to puddling was greater in sandy loam and clay
loam soils than in clay soil (Mambani et al., 1989). Thus the benefits of puddling as well as
dynamics of pan formation are dependent on soil type. Adachi (1990) reported that with the
same intensity of puddling in clayey soils the downward flow rate declined slowly
compared to coarse textured soils. In coarse textured soils, flow rate after puddling declined
quickly with soil consolidation. In medium textured soils, decrease in flow rate just after
puddling was caused by the consolidation in the lower part of the mixed layer and filling of
that layer by fine particles. Then from series of field and laboratory studies, Adachi (1992)
concluded that depth of least permeable layer and its formation mechanism due to puddling
depended upon texture of the soil (Table 3). For fine textured soils, the most important
mechanism for decreasing percolation rate was the blocking of layer just below the puddled
soil by fine dispersed particles. In medium textured soils the decrease in percolation rate is
because of increased bulk density at the lower part of puddled layer. In coarse textured
soils the reduction is mainly due to a very clayey layer formed in the top 0-1, 2 cm of
puddled layer. A large reduction in Ks of puddled soil was due to the disaggregation
induced by puddling. The greater the soil dispersion, the lower is the Ks. High clay content
facilitates puddling. Soils with predominantly kaolinitic clay are more difficult to puddle
than those with montmorillonitic clay. The sodium saturated clays are easier to puddle
(owing to their dispersed nature) than the calcium saturated clays. Saturated hydraulic
conductivity was exponentially related with silt content in both silty clay loam(y =2238e0.1616X, r2=0.8469) and sandy clay loam (y = 355.18 e-0.1858X, r2 = 0.86) soils of Punjab (Singh,
K.B, Personnel Communication).
3.2.3 Depth and intensity of puddling
The resistance to water flow, as evidenced by specific discharge, was increased in all the
soils following puddling. The reduction in specific discharge (cm h-1) after first puddling
varied from 6 to 10 times at different hydraulic gradients in sand. In sandy loam it was
small, especially at lower gradients. In silty clay loam soil the reduction was marginal. The
38
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm sec-1)

Soil layers
Initial
Upper part of puddled
layer
Lower part of puddled
layer
Just below the puddled
layer
Lower layer
Heavy clay
Clay loam
4x10-2
4x10-3
Loamy
sand
1x10-2
2x10-6
2x10-5
4x10-4
2x10-7
2x10-6
3x10-3
8x10-8
2x10-6
1x10-2
4x10-6
3x10-4
1x10-2
Table 3. Effect of soil texture on saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm sec-1).

second puddling was less effective than the first in reducing specific discharge except in
sandy loam soil where the second puddling might have resulted in more uniform sealing of
pores. The results of the third puddling were not any different from the second. The amount
of dispersed clay or silt + clay increased with increasing puddling energy applied (Bakti et
al 2010). Saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased rapidly when the soil was puddled
with only 50-100 Joule energy input. When the soil is puddled with greater energy (100-200
Joule) however, the additional reduction in Ks was small. Sharma and Bhagat (1993)
reported that greater the depth of puddling, the smaller is the hydraulic head gradient
across the puddled soil layer and hence smaller is the water flux. They further found that
puddling was effective in decreasing water permeability of soils, if their sand content was
less than 70% and the finer fraction was dominated by clay (13-20%). On texturally different
soils about 95% reduction in flux due to per unit increase in puddling depth was explained
by the linear function of clay content of the soil. At a given puddling depth, the relative
water flux (flux of puddled/non puddled) decreased exponentially with the increase in clay
content, the effect was more pronounced at greater puddling depths. They also reported
that relatively shallower puddling depth was required in fine textured soils. Effect of
intensity of puddling was also found to be significant on hydraulic conductivity. With
increased level of puddling there was breakdown of natural aggregates due to which the
apparent specific volume of soil decreased which in turn decreased its hydraulic
conductivity (Naphade and Ghildyal 1971). Saturated hydraulic conductivity was highest
with the moldboard treatment followed by that with mouldboard + puddling and
conventional tillage treatments (Akhtar and Qureshi, 1999). Saturated hydraulic
conductivity of the native profile, which represented by conventional tillage was 3.0 cm day1 in the 0-20 cm layer, 1.2 cm day-1 in 20-35 cm layer and 0.7 cm day-1 in 35-75 cm layer
whereas the corresponding values of saturated hydraulic conductivity for deep tilled plots
were 7.6, 4.1 and 1.4 cm day-1 respectively. Puddling after mouldboard resulted in
reduction in saturated hydraulic conductivity to the level of conventional tillage.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity of 0-20 cm layer was 3.0, 1.0 and 0.1 mm h-1 under deep
tillage, deep tillage+ puddling and conventional tillage treatments respectively. Singh et al
(2001) have found that increase in puddling intensity substantially decreased Ks in puddled
layer in sandy loam and silty clay loam soils. Generally Ks was more in the surface layers
and decreased with soil depth down to 25 cm depth with minimum at 15-20 cm (Table 4).
39
Texture & Soil

depth (cm)
Sandy loam
0-5
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-25
25-30
Silty clay loam
0-5
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-25
25-30

Puddling 2
Puddling 4
No puddling
times with
times with
disc harrow
disc harrow
LSD(0.05)
7.7(0.6)
5.3(1.84)
2.5(0.42)
2.3(0.89)
2.2(0.13)
1.3(0.54)
1.0(0.58)
1.0(0.09)
0.8(0.20)
0.7(0.18)
1.1(0.10)
1.3(0.54)
0.5(0.12)
0.9(0.02)
0.7(0.08)
0.4(0.17)
1.0(0.27)
1.3(0.54)
2.1
1.8
1.0
1.2
NS
NS
5.2(0.60)
2.1(0.72)
1.6(0.19)
0.8(0.43)
1.0(0.28)
1.1(0.78)
1.1(0.18)
1.0(0.05)
0.8(0.20)
0.7(0.07)
1.0(0.28)
1.1(0.78)
0.8(0.39)
0.4(0.04)
0.4(0.10)
0.4(0.20)
0.4(0.08)
1.1(0.45)
1.4
0.8
NS
NS
NS
NS
Figure in parenthesis are standard deviation from mean based on 18 replications.
Table 4. Effect of puddling intensity on laboratory measured saturated hydraulic

conductivity (cm day-1).
Saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly decreased with puddling intensity in all
layers upto 20 cm depth in sandy loam and upto 10 cm depth in silty clay loam. The less
effect of puddling (upto 10 cm) in decreasing Ks in silty clay loam soil is due to less depth of
puddling compared to sandy loam (Table 4). The decrease in Ks with puddling levels was
more in surface layers (0-20 in sandy loam and 0-15 in silty clay loam) compared to lower
layers. In 0-5 cm soil layer Ks decreased 7.7 times with P2 (two time puddling) and 15.4
times with P4 (Four time puddling) in sandy loam and 4.7 times with P2 and 6.5 times with
P4 in silty clay loam respectively, compared to P0 (unpuddled control). However differences
in Ks between P2 and P4 were non significant on both soils, throughout the profile (0-30 cm).
The decrease in Ks with puddling levels in due to closely packing of soil particles in parallel
orientation because of differential settling, and breakage of soil aggregates and elimination
(sealing) of non capillary pores responsible for water transmission through soils (Sharma
and De Datta, 1985 and Adachi, 1992).
3.2.4 Bulk density
Since puddling reduces the non-capillary pore spaces, a closer packing of soil particles
results in high bulk density. Reduction in the pore volume i.e increase in dry bulk density,
in turn, decreases the saturated hydraulic conductivity of water. Studies on laterite sandy
loam soils (Naphade and Ghildyal, 1971)indicated that hydraulic conductivity of field
puddle decreased from 0.192 to 0.054 cm h-1, causing reduction of 72% from the unpuddled
soil. The apparent specific volume (reciprocal of bulk density) decreased from 0.714 to 0.591
cm3 g-1 and hydraulic conductivity from 0.192 to 0.019 cm h-1 when the soil was puddled
with 0 to 2.700 watt hour energy input. The decrease in the apparent specific volume and
saturated hydraulic conductivity with decreased degree of puddling was remarkable
40
initially. However, the magnitude of decrease in hydraulic conductivity exceeded the

apparent specific volume. The apparent specific volume and the hydraulic conductivity of
the field puddle were 0.615 cm3 g-1 and 0.054 cm h-1 respectively. The reduction in the
apparent specific volume and the hydraulic conductivity of field puddle when compared
with the unpuddled soil was 13.9 and 71.9 percent respectively. These values were closely
related to those observed for the soil puddle with 0.450 watt hour indicating that puddling
the soil to this energy in the laboratory represented field puddle. The results of apparent
specific volume and Ks under different degrees of puddling were correlated significantly.
The coefficient of correlation (r=0.9292 ) was significant at 5 percent level and the regression
of apparent specific volume (X) on the hydraulic conductivity (Y) was: Y=6.17 X-3.41.
An empirical relationship (Ks= 0.3266 bd-0.1404) was established between bulk density(bd)
and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) (Behra et al, 2009). As bulk density increased hydraulic
conductivity decreased but at higher bulk density the rate of decrease of hydraulic
conductivity was low. The correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.7821) was found significant at 5 %
level of significance. Singh, K.B (Personnel Communication) has observed a linear
relationship between bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Table 5). Increase
in bulk density has resulted linear decrease in Ks.
Soil texture
Silty clay loam
Clay loam
Loam
Sandy clay loam
a
108.88
213.54
521.59
554.88
b
60.799
112.55
285.87
303.81
R2
0.904
0.893
0.834
0.881
Table 5. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (x10-2 cm h-1) as function of bulk density (Mg m-3)
(Ks = a b (Bulk density) in texturally different soils.
3.2.5 Type of implement used for puddling
Tyagi et al (1975) found that in loamy sand soil puddling with power tiller having a
rotovator resulted in the maximum reduction in saturated hydraulic conductivity when
compared with puddling with local plough, the control. The value of hydraulic conductivity
was 0.197110-2 cm h-1 in puddling with power tiller compared to 2.87110-2 cm h-1 with
local plough. When compared with control the reduction in hydraulic conductivity was 76%
with power tiller, 74 % with tractor having cage wheel, 34.6% with disc-harrow and only
18% with mould-board plough. Minimum hydraulic conductivity of 0.257 mm hr-1 was
found in case of two passes of peg type puddler which was significantly lower than that of
one pass of peg type puddler (0.315 mm hr-1) but statistically at par with one pass of rotary
puddler (0.270 mm hr-1) at 30 days after puddling (Behra et al 2009). At 60 days after
puddling, there was no appreciable variation in hydraulic conductivity over that of 30 days
after puddling. The hydraulic conductivity depends upon the amount and size of coarse
pores (transmission pores) in the soil. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly
reduced due to puddling by angular bladed puddler followed by disc harrow, mould board
plough and deshi plough and no puddling treatment (Rane and Varade 1972). All the
treatments differ significantly from each other with respect to hydraulic conductivity. The
percent reduction in hydraulic conductivity over control was 84.87, 74.44, 63.17 and 51.4
percent under angular bladed puddler, disc harrow, mould board plough and deshi plough.
41
3.2.6 Structural regeneration

Wetting/ drying cycles are known to improve the soil structure. Results clearly showed
reduction in the amount of silt+clay (<20m) and clay (<2 m) dispersed during
wetting/drying cycles in clay and sandy loam soil increased Ks (Bakti et al, 2010). Repeated
wetting/drying cycles to air dry water contents increased Ks of the puddled soil
significantly in the fine textured soil but had little effect on the sandy soil. However in the
fine textured soil the recovery of Ks was not significant. This improvement was partly the
consequences of rapid wetting. Rapid wetting causes partial slaking by inducing microcracks and these micro cracks has the effect of making the soil easily crumbled. The degree
of drying has a strong effect on the structural regeneration shown by the decrease in
silt+clay. The hydraulic conductivity increases with time after puddling due to regeneration
of soil structure through reflocculation of dispersed clays (Pagliai et al, 1990) and greater
roots proliferation (Prathapar et al, 1989). However, Tyagi et al (1975) reported that on loamy
sand the hydraulic conductivity was higher at the time of puddling and there was a general
decrease in its value after 25 and 50 days of transplanting. This decrease in hydraulic
conductivity with time was attributed to the sealing effect caused by the settlement of finer
particles in course of time.
2
y = 0.0009x - 0.0696x + 3.4095

R2 = 0.7447(No puddling)
3.5
No puddling
y = 0.0005x - 0.0402x + 1.7136 y = 0.0003x2 - 0.0173x + 0.7582

2
2
R = 0.6485 (Two puddling)
R = 0.6717(Four puddling)
Two puddling
Four puddling
3
2.5
-1
(cm day )
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1
11
16
21
26
31
36
41
46
51
56
61
66
71
76
81
Days after transplanting
Fig. 4. Effect of puddling on in situ saturated hydraulic conductivity of sandy loam.

In field conditions saturated hydraulic conductivity (of the puddled 0-20 cm layers) of sandy
loam (Fig 4) at 1 day after transplanting(DAT) was 3.8, 2.1 and 1.3 cm day-1 under
unpuddled (P0), 2 time puddled(P2) and 4 time puddled(P4) treatments respectively which
decreased to almost half after 15 days of transplanting in all puddling treatments. In silty
clay loam (Fig 5) the corresponding values of saturated hydraulic conductivity were 2.9, 1.8
and 1.7 cm day-1 which decreased to 2.0, 1.1 and 0.9 cm day-1 in P0, P2 and P4 treatments
after 28 DAT (Singh and Manchanda, 2008). This was because of more time taken for settling
of clay particles dispersed in suspension during puddling and then clogging of the pores in
the top layers and consolidation of the lower layer in silty clay loam. During puddling of
silty clay loam, more clay in suspension takes more time for settling. In the fine textured
soil, the soil consolidation development slowly from the lower part of the mixed (puddled)
layer to the upper part and consequently, the Ks was slowly reduced. However, within the
42
coarse textured soil, the Ks after puddling was quickly reduced with the settling and the
settlement rate was approximately constant. Thus it was considered that the soil settlement
phenomenon was sedimentation without soil consolidation (Adachi 1992). In sandy loam (>
50 DAT ) and silty clay loam (> 60 DAT), the daily steady water intake rate increased
gradually with the increase in root growth in all puddling treatments (Singh and
Manchanda, 2008).
y = 0.0009x2 - 0.0693x + 3.3998
R2 = 0.7368 (No puddling)
3.5
3
-1
(cm day )
y = 0.0005x2 - 0.0402x + 1.7136

R2 = 0.6485 (Two puddling)
No puddling
y = 0.0003x2 - 0.0172x + 0.7539

R2 = 0.6695 (Four puddling)
Two puddling
Four puddling
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1
11
16
21
26
31
36
41
46
51
56
61
66
71
76
81
Days after transplanting
Fig. 5. Effect of puddling on in situ saturated hydraulic conductivity of silty clay loam.
3.2.7 Organic manures
Addition of organic amendments (combination of green manures, FYM and residue
incorporation) increased in situ saturated hydraulic conductivity (Table 6)of the soil after
harvesting of rice (Singh, 2003). Incorporation of rice residues also increased Ks.
Incorporation of green manures, farmyard manures and rice straw significantly increased
the hydraulic conductivity of puddled soils (Bhagat and Verma, 1991).
Treatments
Experiment 1
Control
Green manure
FYM applied @ 12 Mg ha-1
FYM + Green Manure
Wheat straw incorporated into soil
Wheat straw + Green manure incorporated
Experiment 2
Rice straw removed
Rice straw burnt
Rice straw incorporated into soil
Ks
1.69
4.11
4.67
6.17
4.86
5.50
2.08
2.17
2.56
Table 6. Hydraulic conductivity of soil (x 10-3 ms-1) as influenced by organic amendments

(Experiment 1) and reice residue incorporation (Experiment 2).
43
3.3 Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

For the estimation the retention and movement of water under unsaturated conditions, the
knowledge of relationship between soil water pressure, water content and hydraulic
conductivity is required. Soil moisture characteristics curve obtained through pressure plate
apparatus can be fitted to the desired soil water retention model. Once the retention
function is estimated, the hydraulic conductivity and moisture content relationship can be
evaluated if the saturated hydraulic conductivity is known.
Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity k() as represented by constant b of the equation type
k() = a exp b, increased with fineness of the textural class (Singh et al, 2009). Similarly,
higher unsaturated conductivity was observed in 15-22.5 cm soil layer (having high bulk
density) as compared to other layers irrespective of the soil texture (Table 7). Wind (1961)
also reported higher unsaturated conductivity in finer textured soils in the dry moisture
range due to higher micro porosity.
Soil texture
Sandy clay loam
Loam
Clay loam
Silty clay loam
Soil Depth, cm
0-7.5
7.5-15
15-22.5
22.5-30
K( ) vs.
a (x 10-7)
70
0.8
0.1
0.001
b
39.33
46.70
49.00
56.28
R2
0.96
0.98
0.98
0.99
2
0.4
0.006
0.4
42.84
48.30
52.83
47.35
0.99
0.98
0.98
0.98
Table 7. Parameters of the equation, y = a exp b , for K () vs.

Wopereis et al (1992) found that unsaturated flow conditions prevail in the non-puddled
subsoil. The least permeable layer within the profile, as determined by the greatest gradient
in pressure head was found to be at the interface of puddle topsoil (0-15 cm) and nonpuddled subsoil. Average thickness of this layer was about 5 cm. Hydraulic conductivity of
the least permeable layer was 0.36 mm day-1 with 95 % confidence limits at 0.27 and 0.45
mm day-1. Unsaturated downward flow of water prevails below the subsoil layer (15-60 cm)
having restriction to water. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities decreased by 3 to 4 orders
of magnitude as the soil matric potential decreased from near zero to -700 cm (Hundal & De
Datta 1984). The lowest unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was found in the 45-60 cm soil
depth. The differences in conductivities observed in different layers are resulted from
differences in the pore size distribution of various layers An equation of the form:
K(h)= a(h)b
where h represents the soil matric potential in absolute cm, described the K versus h
relation with best fit (Table 8). The power function gave the best fit.
Puddled soils dry more slowly than unpuddled soils probably because the higher
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of puddled soils can keep surface soil wet during
evaporation by supplying water from lower layers. Also because of increased water
retention at a given suction, more energy is needed to evaporate the same amount of water
44
from puddled than from an unpuddled soil. Thus a puddled soil may take several weeks or
months to dry and to reach workable moisture content.
Soil depth (cm)
0-15
15-30
30-45
45-60
60-75
75-90
a
6.398 x 103
1.498 x 101
0.742
0.509
1.175
1.624
b
-2.287
-1.360
-1.005
-1.104
-1.037
-1.056
R2
0.95
0.92
0.95
0.70
0.87
0.87
Table 8. Coefficients a and b in the text equation (K(h)= a(h)b )for different soil depths.
3.4 Preferential flow
If clay soils dry long enough, the soft mud cracks and dries to a stiff paste. When the soil
floods again, the cracks do not completely close as a result of partial swelling of clays and
may cause preferential flow of water and nutrients. Bypass flow may continue unabated
until puddling seals the cracks. Introducing discontinuities in soil cracks by shallow surface
tillage (0-5 cm) after the first monsoon rain reduced bypass flow and resulted in 45-60 %
water savings, thus increasing the retention of water within the topsoil and within the
bunded field (Woperis, 1993).
4. Summary
Puddling increases micro porosity of soil which in turn results increase in water retention at
lower potentials than unpuddled soils depending on soil texture, initial aggregation. Water
retention in puddled soils is in accordance with amount of organic carbon and silt plus clay
content. Silty clay loam soil retained more water than, clay loam, loam and sandy clay loam
soils at all suctions. Incorporation of green and farm yard manures, rice and wheat straw
also increased water retention. Saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased with decrease in
organic carbon and increase in bulk density of soil. The decrease in hydraulic conductivity
due to puddling was greater in sandy loam and clay loam soils than in clay soil. Increase in
depth and intensity of puddling significantly reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity.
Reduction in water flux is directly linked with clay content of soil. Increase in bulk density
of soil significantly reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity. However with repeated
wetting and drying cycles and addition of organic amendments, the soil structure
regenerates which results in increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity. Puddling results
in close packing of soil particles which increases soil dry bulk density and unsaturated
5. Future strategies
Quantitative understanding of the puddled soil system and of the influence that soil
management can have on water fluxes and water conservation, would be advanced if the
effect of puddling on the hydraulic conductivity of various layers is better defined. Similarly
in the simulation of rice production crop-water relations and soil water transmission are
crucial components. Many soil-water simulations assume one-dimensional (vertical) water
45
flow through a succession of soil layers, and the hydraulic conductivities of such layers are
needed as parameters in the simulation. Soils with 25-50 % clay in the topsoil and a similar
or somewhat higher clay percentage in the subsoil produce the highest rice yields (Grant,
1965). Therefore, more understanding on soil hydraulic fluxes is required for the
development of mechanistic water flow models to simulate root water uptake and yield
response for increasing water use efficiency of puddled rice system.
6. References
Adachi, K. (1990). Effects of rice-soil puddling on water percolation. In: Proceedings of the
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48
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3
Variation in Hydraulic Conductivity by the
Mobility of Heavy Metals in a
Compacted Residual Soil
Rejane Nascentes1, Izabel Christina Duarte de Azevedo2
and Ernani Lopes Possato3
1Universidade
Federal de Viosa, Campus de Rio Paranaba

Federal de Viosa, Campus Universitrio
3Universidade Federal de Lavras , Campus Universitrio
Brazil
2Universidade
1. Introduction
There is a growing consciousness worldwide that progress must be linked to environmental
preservation. However, in order to preserve the environment it is necessary to know it and
only with an understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the integration of man with
nature is it possible to use the environment resources without degrading or destroying it.
Heavy metals are important environmental contaminants that are toxic above a given
concentration. Causes of soil contamination by metals include domestic and industrial solid
waste disposal, atmospheric deposition of vehicular and industrial emissions, agricultural
use of fertilizers, soil additives and pesticides and disposal of crop wastes (Alloway, 1995).
Underground waters may be contaminated when metals levels exceed the maximum soil
retention capacity.
Population growth and the consequent increase in waste generation has led to an increased
demand for technologies that decrease the environmental impact of these wastes, especially
with regard to barrier systems used to minimize the infiltration of waste leachates and
contain migration of contaminants through soils and underground water in areas of waste
disposal.
Tropical soils are common in Brazil. Compacted soils of this type is either used alone or
associated with geomembranes have been used as liners in industrial and urban solid waste
disposal areas. However a great deal of uncertainty exists with regard to use of these soils
since few studies have been undertaken to evaluate their applicability. More studies on the
interactions that occur between tropical soils and contaminant solutions are therefore
necessary because these interactions may modify properties, such as hydraulic conductivity,
which are important in controlling contaminant transport through soils.
The only legal requirements for liners are hydraulic conductivity limits. However,
sensibility to contaminants of the soil used for impermeabilization may affect its structure
and modify the liner layer by increasing its hydraulic conductivity, thus favoring
contamination. Microscopic mechanisms responsible for thecha nges are of physicochemical and/or purely chemical nature. Redistribution of the pore space driven by
50
dehydration of clay fraction, and rearrangement of clay particles (flocculation, peptization,

andmicro-migration) togetherwith chemical reactions between contaminants and
claymineral, such as dissolution of the solids are believed to be the most important causes of
the permeability evolution (Kaczmarek, et al., 1997). Laboratory testing of soils used in liner
layers should therefore be of long enough duration to allow for long term interactions to
occur between soil and leachate.
Some of the most important parameters used to express solute mobility trough soil are
diffusion, hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients and the retardation factor. Given the
scarcity of information on these parameters in Brazilian tropical soils, especially in
subsurface horizons and under compacted soil conditions, the main objectives of this study
were to evaluate mobility of six heavy metals (Mn2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+) in
residual compacted soil and to study the variation in soil hydraulic conductivity during
percolation of a multispecies metal contaminant solution through the soil.
2. Background
Underground water deposits are generally more protected from pollution sources than
surface water since in the former the overlying soil layer acts as a chemical and physical
filter. The ease with which a contaminant reaches the underground water will depend on
whether the aquifer is freatic or confined, on the aeration zone depth, the aeration zone and
aquifer permeability, the level of organic matter present in the soil and on the types of
oxides and minerals clay existing in the soil. Deeper aeration zones permit a longer filtration
time and also increase the exposure time of contaminants to oxidizing and adsorbing agents
present in this layer. Soil with a higher organic fraction has a higher capacity to adsorb
heavy metals.
A contaminant may go through a series of chemical, biochemical and photochemical
reactions and physical interactions with soil constituents before reaching underground
water. These reactions may neutralize, modify or retard the polluting effect.
The main functions of liner systems are to minimize infiltration of percolates and contain
migration of contaminants to the soil and underground water. To properly design liner
systems, not only must contaminant flux be determined but the different physicochemical
mechanisms that influence transport in contamination evolution must also be known.
Although legal requirements for liner materials only establish limits for hydraulic
conductivity (maximum value typically limited to 10-6 or 10-7 cm/s), at least four
mechanisms control contaminant transport across impermeable layers: advection, diffusion,
dispersion and sorption. For practical and economic reasons natural soils alone or combined
with geomembranes are being used in these barrier systems in domestic and industrial
waste disposal areas.
Soils in tropical climates have greatly different mineralogical compositions than those of
temperate regions since they develop under hot humid conditions and minerals in more
advanced stages of weathering are generally present. Kaolinite is the most abundant silicate
mineral, goethite and hematite are the most abundant iron oxides and gibsite is almost the
only aluminum oxide present in tropical soils.
Mineralogical composition has a profound affect on metals retention in soils. In most
tropical soils the adsorption of metals is quite intense due to the oxide composition, since
iron and aluminum oxides retain heavy metals with high energy in both specific and nonspecific interactions.
Variation in Hydraulic Conductivity by the Mobility of Heavy Metals in a Compacted Residual Soil
51
Two important classes of tropical soils are the lateritic and saprolitic soils. Lateritic soils are
often denominated as mature residual soils or red tropical clays while saprolitic soils are
called young residual soils or soils from rock alteration.
The clay soil fraction of lateritic soils is essentially composed of clay minerals of the kaolinite
group and of hydrated iron and/or aluminum hydroxides and oxides. A characteristic of
lateritic soil structure is that macropores are formed in the empty spaces between soil
aggregates and micropores are formed within the aggregates during the laterization process.
Consequently, lateritic soils in their natural state have low density, high permeability and
high porosity that are associated with the low support capacity of these soils. However,
when compacted, these soils exhibit a high support capacity.
The variation in permeability of the impermeabilization layers is as important an aspect of
soil and underground water contamination as are the soil components, their
physicochemical properties and soil retention mechanisms. Contact between the
contaminant solution and soil that can cause spatial redistribution because of clay particle
rearrangement (flocculation, dispersion, peptization and micro-migration) together with
chemical reactions between contaminants and clay minerals, such as solids dissolution and
precipitation, are the most important causes of variations in permeability.
The initial soil structure varies with compaction humidity, energy and degree of
compaction. According to Boscov (1997), significant variations in permeability may occur
within a relatively small range of compaction humidity and density because of the
formation of different structural arrangements.
In order to better understand the interactions that occur between tropical soils and
contaminant solutions and how these interactions can alter soil properties it is necessary to
perform laboratory tests for sufficient time so that long term interactions between soil and
the percolating solution may occur.
3. Heavy metals
The meaning of the term heavy metals is controversial and a variety of definitions based on
different criteria can be found in the literature. In the density based definition, heavy metals
are high density ( 6.0 g/cm3) chemical elements and their ions belonging to the transition
and non-transition groups of the periodic table (Matos et al., 1999). According to Guilherme
et al. (2005), the term trace element has been preferred over heavy metal in several recent
publications since the latter has never been formally defined by an official organization of
chemistry professsionals.
Some heavy metals, such as Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni and Zn, are essential human, animal
and plant elements. Other elements, such as Cd, Hg and Pb, have no known biological
function (Srivastava & Gupta, 1996). Both essential and non-essential metals can cause
metabolic problems in living beings if absorbed above a certain amount (McBride, 1994).
These elements capacities to accumulate in living tissue and to concentrate along the food
chain increases the chance of their causing disturbances in ecosystems that may occur even
after the release of the metals is stopped. (Tavares & Carvalho, 1992).
Studies on the behavior of heavy metals in soils have concluded that soil retention of these
elements depends on the nature of the solid phase and the proportions of its constituents,
the properties of the liquid phase and the metal species present in the soil solution (Sposito,
1984; Yuan & Lavkulich, 1997; Naidu et al., 1998).
52
The concentration of heavy metals in the soil solution results from equilibrium between
precipitation, dissolution, complexation and adsorption reactions and is affected by various
factors, such as soil type, climate, vegetative cover, and chemical form of the elements
(Cooker & Matthews, 1983). However, given the equilibrium changes and chemicals forms
of metals in wastes and soil and the possibility of exceeding the soil pollutant retention
capacity, the metals may be leached, especially under acid conditions, and may thus reach
the underground water. The specific surface area, texture, apparent density, temperature,
pH, redox potential, cation exchange capacity (CTC), organic matter content, amount and
type of clay minerals and metals and ion competition are among the soil properties that
affect the metals reactions and their mobility in soil (Matos, 1995).
The existence of competition for adsorption sites between ions has been recognized by many
researchers (Matos, 1995), and it has been observed that the rate of adsorption of any ionic
species decreases with the increase in number of competing species. Factors such as solution
pH, concentration and the nature of competing species affect the competitive adsorption.
Soils generally have a large variety of adsorption sites with different bonding properties and
contain abundant aqueous ionic and non-ionic complexes capable of participating in
adsorption processes and possibly in metals precipitation processes.
The soil CTC is one of the most important indicators of heavy metals retention capacity in
the soil solid phase. Soils with higher CTC values generally have greater metals adsorption
capacity than those with lower CTC values (Lake, 1987).
4. Mass transport mechanisms in porous media

The accumulation of contaminants in soil is a consequence of soil-solute physicochemical
interactions arising from transport through the soil. Physical, chemical and biochemical
mechanisms can govern solute transport in hydrogeological environments. The most
important mechanisms in contaminant transport across saturated clay soil layers are the
physical mechanisms of advection and diffusion. In the case of transport in aquifers,
advection and dispersion are usually the most important mechanisms.
The transfer of the solute from the interstitial fluid to the solid soil particles is as important
as the physical mechanisms. The transfer processes depend on the chemical composition of
the solute, its reactivity and organic and inorganic content as well as on soil constituents and
characteristics and system pH. These processes may include ion exchange sorption reactions
(adsorption and desorption), precipitation and complexation. Biodegradation and
radioactive decay are other mechanisms that may be involved.
According to Rowe et al. (1995), the most important factor in soil-contaminant interaction
processes and substance transport through soil is probably the diffuse double layer
expansion-contraction phenomenon.
5. Diffuse double layer

The thickness of the diffuse double layer (Equation 1) depends on charge density, surface
electric potential, electrolyte concentration, valence, pH, dielectric constant of the medium
and temperature. Changes in any of these variables may cause alterations in system
behavior since forces of repulsion and attraction depend on interaction between adjacent
double layers. In general, an increase in thickness of the diffuse double layer corresponds to
a lower tendency of the particles in suspension to flocculate. That is, the thicker the double
53
layer, the thinner and more torturous will be the path of percolating solutions in the soil and
consequently, the lower the hydraulic conductivity will be.
1
1 0 D k T 2
=
K 2 n0 e 2 2
(1)
where 1/K is the electric double layer thickness; (= 8,8542 x 10-12C2J-1m-1; D is the dielectric
constant; k is the Boltzman constant; T is the temperature; n0 is the ionic concentration; v is
the cationic valence and e is the electron charge.
For a constant void volume, contraction or flocculation of the diffuse double layer causes
an increase in voids between soil particles, and increases the hydraulic conductivity and
accelerates the advance of percolating fluid. If, on the contrary, an ion exchange reaction
that favors expansion of the diffuse double layer takes place, the hydraulic conductivity
will decrease and the percolating fluid will be slowed. At a constant void volume,
substitution of monovalent cations by bivalent or trivalent cations on the clay particle
surface and an increase in temperature are among the factors that cause diffuse double
layer contraction and can lead to dramatic increases in hydraulic conductivity (Rowe et al,
1995).
Hydraulic conductivity is inversely proportional to resistance that the medium offers to
fluid flow caused by a hydraulic gradient and depends on the characteristics of both the
fluid and the porous medium. According to Lambe (1969), the factors with greatest effect
on soil permeability are its composition, void index, structure, degree of saturation as well
as fluid characteristics, including chemical composition, since the compounds present in
the fluid interact with the minerals that form the soil (Mesri & Olson, 1971; Folkes,
1982).
6. Case study - city of Viscount of Rio Branco - Minas Gerais / Brazil

The material used in this study was collected from the B horizon of a red-yellow latosol
classified according to Unified Soil Classification (USC) as high plasticity silt, located on line
A (MH/CH), and according to the Highway Review Board (HRB) system as A-7 soil with
group index 12 (Nascentes, 2005). The geotechnical soil characterization is presented in
Tables 1 and 2.
Granulometry
Atterberg Limits
Clay
(%)
Silt
(%)
Sand
(%)
Rock
(%)
LL
(%)
LP
(%)
PI
(%)
42
10
47.1
0.9
52
30
22
LL liquid limit; LP limit of plasticity; PI Plasticity index.
Table 1. Granulometry and Atterberg limits for the soil used in this study.
54
S
(kN.m-3)
Activity
dmax1
(kN.m-3)
woptimum1
(%)
dmax2
(kN.m-3)
woptimum2
(%)
27
0.52
16.45
22.3
15.82
24.1
s specific weight of solids; dmax and woptimum dry soil specific weight and optimum soil humidity: 1 at
Normal Proctor energy; 2 at an energy of 233 kJ/m3.
Table 2. Physical indexes of the soil used in this study.

X-ray analyses were performed on three sample types: (i) natural clay randomly placed in
powdered form on a glass well slide, (ii) an oriented sample, prepared with natural clay
spread as a paste to orient minerals and clay and (iii) an oriented sample, after treatment to
remove ferric oxides in order to better identify clay silicates and aluminum oxides possibly
present in the soil sample. Analyses were performed in the Mineralogy Laboratory of the
Soils Department of the Federal University of Viosa using a Rigaku D-Max X-ray
difractometer. A cobalt tube and curved graphite monochromator was used to obtain Co-K
radiation. The difractometer was operated at 40 kV and 30 mA.
The presence of various peaks that permit identification of kaolinite, goethite and small
quantities of hematite can be observed in the difractogram of the random natural clay
fraction (Figure 1a). Given its yellow color, it was assumed that only a very small amount of
hematite was present in this soil since the presence of hematite, even in small quantities
imparts a reddish color to the soil (Fontes & Carvalho Jr., 2005), which was not the case for
the sample used.
The attempt to orient the clay minerals in the presence of ferric oxides was not successful, as
can be seen in Figure 1b. Face to face alignment of kaolinite minerals was not possible due
mainly to the presence of goethite, resulting in a large series of peaks characteristic of
kaolinite. The difractogram of the clay fraction of the soil after removing ferric oxides is
presented in Figure 1c. Only two large kaolinite peaks (1st and 2nd order) were observed
proving that when the kaolinite is perfectly aligned only peaks characteristic of this
minerals base atomic planes will appear.
Through combined evaluation of the difractograms the soils clay fraction composition was
defined as kaolinite and goethite with very little hematite.
The Fe content was determined using the dithionite extraction method (Coffin, 1963) to
quantify iron oxides. Iron oxides corresponded to 13.3% of the clay fraction and were
assigned to goethite. It is important to determine the presence of iron oxides since they have
the capacity to retain heavy metals with high energy even when present in small quantities.
Important chemical and physicochemical characteristics of the soil are presented in Table 3.
Ca2+
1.23
Mg2+
0.11
K+
0.026
Al3+
H++Al3+
cmolc
kg-1
0.0
0.7
CTCef
CTCpot
pH
MO
dag kg-1
1.37
2.07
6.01
0.0
CTCef- Effective cation exchange capacity at natural soil pH; CTCpot- Cation exchange capacity at pH 7
Table 3. Results of chemical and physicochemical soil analyses.
55
900
800
2500
Ct
Ct
Ct
700
Si
500
I n te n s ity
I n te n s ity
Ct
2000
600
Gt
400
Ct
Hm
300
Si
Ct
Ct
1000
Gt
200
Ct
Gt
100
1500
Si
Gt
500
Ct
Ct
Ct
Gt + Hm
0
0
10.000
20.000
30.000
40.000
50.000
60.000
70.000
10.000
20.000
30.000
40.000
50.000
60.000
70.000
2 Teta
()
2
Co K
22 Co
K
Teta(}
(a)
(b)
2500
Intensity
2000
Ct
Ct
1500
1000
500
0
0
5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000 30.000 35.000 40.000 45.000

2 Teta ()
2 Co K
(c)
Fig. 1. Difractogram of the clay fraction. (a) Randomly oriented natural clay in a well slide;
(b) Oriented natural clay (c) Oriented clay after iron removal.
6.1 Contaminant solution
A contaminant solution was prepared by mixing nitrates of manganese, zinc, cadmium,
copper, lead and chrome since these are the metals most commonly found in urban landfill
leachates. The pH and concentrations of the heavy metals in the leachate (Table 4) are within
the range cited in the literature for Brazilian landfill leachates (Oliveira & Juc, 1999;
Barbosa & Otero, 1999).
Parameter
pH
Cr3+
(mgL-1)
Cd2+
(mgL-1)
Pb2+
(mgL-1)
Cu2+
(mgL-1)
Mn2+
(mgL-1)
Zn2+
(mgL-1)
Value
5.2
0.7
1.6
1.6
5.0
36.0
62.0
Source: Azevedo et al. (2006)
Table 4. Contaminant solution.
56
6.2 Column tests

Column tests were performed on eight soil samples adjusted to 22.5% humidity to evaluate
hydraulic conductivity of compacted soil leached by the contaminant solution and to
determine the transport parameters of the metals studied.
All samples were compacted to a specific weight of approximately 15.63 kN/m3 (95% of the
maximum normal Proctor compaction degree). Compaction energy was such that the
samples were compacted until reaching 10 cm height and 5 cm diameter (233 kJ/m3).
Compaction data for each sample are presented in Table 5.
Soil columns were saturated with distilled water until a constant flow was obtained before
percolating the contaminant solution. A flexible walled permeameter that resembled a
triaxial chamber (Azevedo et al., 2003), constructed in the Geotechnical Laboratory of the
Civil Engineering Department of the Federal University of Viosa was used for the tests.
Tests were conducted in a temperature controlled room (17 to 20 C).
GC (%)
Gradient
Void index
Porosity
Void vol. (mL)
Degree of
saturation (%)
h (%)
CP 01
94.9
13.4
0.729
0.422
81.4
CP 02
94.8
13.4
0.731
0.422
81.4
CP 03
95.1
7.3
0.726
0.421
80.7
CP 04
94.5
7.3
0.737
0.424
82.0
CP 05
94.5
13.4
0.737
0.424
81.7
CP 06
94.9
13.4
0.729
0.422
81.5
CP 07
95.1
7.3
0.726
0.421
81.0
CP 08
94.8
7.3
0.731
0.422
81.3
83.2
83.0
83.6
82.4
82.4
83.3
83.6
83.0
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
Table 5. Compaction assays.

6.2.1 Analyses
Chemical, physical and micromorphological analyses of the samples were performed at the
end of the column tests to evaluate soil retention of the heavy metals and variation in
hydraulic conductivity caused by the percolating contaminant solution. The following
determinations were made: hydraulic conductivity when percolating distilled water;
hydraulic conductivity when percolating contaminant solution; leachate cation (Na+, Ca2+,
Mg2+) concentrations; effluent pH; effluent electric conductivity; metals retardation factors
of (Rd); metals hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients (Dh) of; sequential extraction; dispersed
clay; scanning microphotography.
6.2.2 Chemical analyses
Samples from columns CP01 (control), CP03, CP05 and CP07 were sliced into five 2 cm thick
layers, placed in plastic bags to avoid water loss and kept in a humidity chamber for up to
24h for chemical analyses. Sequential extraction was used to determine speciation of each
heavy metal in the compacted samples (article in press).
At the end of the column tests three samples of distilled water were collected from each
permeameter used to apply the confining pressure and analyzed for the six heavy metals
(Mn, Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and Cr). No differences were detected among the samples indicating
that no contaminant migration occurred into the water chamber.
57
6.2.3 Physical analyses

Percentage of dispersed clay was determined in the upper half of samples CP02, CP04, CP06
(control) and CP08. Slow and fast mechanical dispersion were employed to examine the effect
of type of dispersion on the results. The methodology used was described by Ruiz (2005).
6.2.4 Micromorphological analyses
The lower half of samples CP02, CP04, CP06 and CP08 were used for micromorphological
analyses. Samples were oven dried at 60C, for 48h and then impregnated with a mixture of
acrylic resin (60%) and styrene (40%) plus 5 mL of catalyst for each 1000 mL of mixture. The
samples were left to soak in a well vented environment for 20 days to permit penetration in all
the sample pores. Thin slides were prepared for optical and scanning electron microscope
observations. The microphotographs were taken in the Microscopy Laboratory of the Geology
Department of the Federal University of Ouro Preto. Some microphotographs were also taken
of carefully withdrawn 1 cm3 subsamples from the compacted samples. These subsamples
were oven dried at 50C and fixed on aluminum stubs using double faced adhesive tape,
covered with about 20 nm of a gold-palladium mix using a model FDU 010 (Balzers, Inc, USA)
metalizer and observed under a VP 1430 scanning electron microscope (LEO Electron
Microscopy, Oberkochen, Germany) operated at a voltage of 15 kV. This procedure was
performed at the Center for Microscopy and Microanalysis of the Federal University of Viosa.
The images obtained were used to observe changes in soil microstructure.
6.3 Results
6.3.1 Column tests
6.3.1.1 Distilled water percolation
Soil hydraulic conductivity curves (corrected to 20C) for distilled water percolation are
presented in Figure 2. Concentrations of Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the column leachates are
presented in Figures 3a, 3b and 3c. Electrical conductivity and pH values measured in the
column leachates are presented in Figures 4 and 5, respectively. T is a dimensionless
parameter corresponding to the ratio of effluent volume to column void volume and is
equivalent to the pore volume.
5.0E-07
4.5E-07
CP01
4.0E-07
CP02
k (m/s)
3.5E-07
CP03
3.0E-07
CP04
2.5E-07
CP05
2.0E-07
CP06
1.5E-07
1.0E-07
CP07
5.1E-08
CP08
1.0E-09
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Fig. 2. Hydraulic conductivity in samples percolated with distilled water.
58
70
14
CP 01
CP 03
10
CP 04
8
CP 05
CP 06
CP 07
CP 08
CP 01
60
CP 02
C a c o n c e n tra tio n (m g /L )
N a co n ce n tra tio n (m g /L )
12
CP 02
50
CP 03
40
CP 04
30
CP 05
CP 06
20
CP 07
10
CP 08
0
0
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
20
40
80
60
80
(a)
b)
M g co n ce n tra tio n (m g /L )
7
6
CP 01
CP 02
CP 03
CP 04
CP 05
CP 06
CP 07
CP 08
0
0
20
40
60
80
(c)
Fig. 3. Cations in soil column leachates percolated with distilled water (a) sodium, (b)
calcium, (c) magnesium.
Fig. 4. Electrical conductivity (EC) in soil columns percolated with distilled water.
8.0
59
CP01
CP02
CP03
7.0
CP04
pH
CP05
CP06
CP07
6.0
CP08
Distilled
water
5.0
0
20
40
60
80
Fig. 5. Leachate pH of soil column percolated with distilled water.

The significant variation (up to one order of magnitude) in hydraulic conductivity with the
number of pore volumes percolated (T) is shown in Figure 2. The increase in hydraulic
conductivity at the beginning of the test may have been caused by the gradual increase in
degree of sample saturation due to expulsion of air from the voids.
Distilled water percolated through the soil led to a decrease in ionic concentration (Na+,
Ca2+, Mg2+ etc.) of the soil solution (Figures 3 (a), (b), (c)) as a result of expansion of the
diffuse double layer. This expansion may have contributed to colloidal dispersion including
that of material that acted as cementing agent of primary particles. The dispersion of
cementing agents led to partial disaggregation of the soil structure, causing the greatest
effect on soil macroporosity. Given the high correlation between soil hydraulic conductivity
and macroporosity, it is clear that a decrease in macroporosity would lead to a proportional
reduction in hydraulic conductivity.
Values of electrical conductivity were higher at the beginning of the column test (Figure 4)
when greater leaching of basic cations occurred.
Leachate pH values varied somewhat during soil saturation with distilled water. All sample
leachate pH values were higher than the influent water (pH=6.2) due to leaching of the
bases Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ adsorbed on the soil exchange complex. Their leaching to the aqueous
solution resulted in an increase in hydroxide concentration (OH-), and consequently in
leachate pH.
6.3.1.2 Percolation of contaminant solution
Soil hydraulic conductivity curves for all samples percolated with the contaminant solution
are presented in Figure 6. Control samples CP01 and CP06 were percolated with distilled
water and served as references. Concentration curves for the leached cations versus pore
volumes are presented in Figures 7a, 7b and 7c. Graphs of effluent electrical conductivity
and pH versus pore volumes are presented in Figures 8 and 9, respectively.
60
1.2E-07
CP 02
1.0E-07
CP 03
k (m/s)
8.1E-08
CP 04
6.1E-08
CP 05
4.1E-08
CP 07
CP 08
2.1E-08
1.0E-09
0
50
100
150
200
Fig. 6. Hydraulic conductivity in soil samples percolated with contaminant solution.
70
CP 02
5.0
4.0
C a C o n c e n tra tio n (m g /L )
N a C o n c e n tr a tio n ( m g /L )
CP 03
CP 04
CP 05
3.0
CP 07
2.0
CP 08
1.0
0.0
CP 02
60
CP 03
50
CP 04
40
CP 05
30
CP 07
CP 08
20
10
0
50
100
150
200
50
100
150
200
(a)
(b)
M g Concentration (m g/L)
7
CP 02
CP 03
CP 04
4
CP 05
CP 07
CP 08
1
0
0
50
100
150
200
(c)
Fig. 7. Cation concentrations concentration in leachates from soil columns percolated with
contaminant solution: a) sodium, b) calcium e c) magnesium.
61
600
CE (MS/cm)
500
CP02
CP03
400
CP04
300
CP05
200
CP07
100
CP08
0
0
50
100
150
200
Fig. 8. Electrical conductivity in leachate from soils columns percolated with contaminant
solution.
8.0
CP02
CP03
7.0
pH
CP04
CP05
6.0
CP07
5.0
CP08
affluent
solution
4.0
0
50
100
150
200
Fig. 9. pH of leachate from soil columns percolated with contaminant solution.

A significant decrease in hydraulic conductivity with percolation of contaminant solution
was seen for all samples (Figure 6). The decrease was not homogeneous among samples due
to the different structures formed after the initial percolation with distilled water (Figure 2).
The large difference in water volume percolated directly influenced the hydraulic
conductivity behavior when percolating the contaminant solution. In samples CP04 and
CP05, the small difference observed between number of pore volumes and amount of
leached cations when percolating water led to a similar hydraulic conductivity behavior
when the contaminant solution was percolated through these columns.
The decrease in hydraulic conductivity in all samples was caused by obstruction of soil
pores by heavy metals precipitation. According to Alloway (1995), the solubility of Cr3+
decreases at pH values greater than 4, with complete precipitation of the metal at values
above 5.5. Evidence of metals precipitation from the contaminant solution are indicated by
the pH versus T curves in Figure 9. Curves obtained for samples CP04 and CP05 are shown
in Figure 10 because of the large amount of data overlay in Figure 9. Hydraulic conductivity
versus T curves presented the same trend in variation as the pH versus T curves in all
samples tested.
62
Column CP04 presented lower hydraulic conductivity than CP05 for number of pore
volumes between 13 and 50 (Figure 6). CP04 leachate pH was greater than that of CP05 over
this pore volume interval, indicating greater precipitation in CP04. From that point on the
pH values approached the hydraulic conductivity values up to T=104. At that point CP05
leachate pH increased compared to that of CP04 and consequently the hydraulic
conductivity of CP05 decreased more than that of CP04. This occurred in all samples.
Column CP08 presented the highest leachate pH value (Figure 11) and lowest final
hydraulic conductivity (Figure 6) of all samples. Higher pH values were observed at the
beginning of the test (maximum of 7.6) for T values up to about 17, decreasing afterwards to
T=38. From that point on, the pH increased indicating an increase in metals precipitation
and consequent decrease in hydraulic conductivity.
More colloidal dispersion also occurred in the samples after percolation with contaminant
solution than after percolation with distilled water. Microphotographs of sample CP06
(control) and CP02 are presented in Figures 12 and 13. It can be seen that the soil mass was
more uniform in sample CP02 than in sample CP06, indicating more clay dispersion in the
former. It is therefore possible to conclude that clay dispersion occurred during contaminant
solution percolation and the dispersion contributed to the decrease in hydraulic
conductivity.
8
pH
CP04
CP05
3
0
50
100
150
200
Fig. 10. Comparison of pH values of leachate collected from soil columns CP04 and CP05
percolated with contaminant solution.
8.0
7.0
6.0
pH
CP08
5.0
4.0
3.0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Fig. 11. pH values of leachate collected from soil column CP08 percolated with contaminant
solution.
63
Fig. 12. Microphotograph of sample CP02.
Fig. 13. Microphotograph of sample CP06 (control).

Alterations in of all sample leachate pH values were attributed to an initial washing of the
bases Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ (distilled water percolation increased the concentration of OH- in
the leachate because the bases are accompanied by hydroxyl) present in the soil solution
exchange complex (Figures 7a, 7b and 7c).
In aqueous solution the bases promoted an increase in hydroxide concentration (OH-), and
thus an increase in solution pH. The fact that the leachate pH value remained above that of
the influent solution may be due to the fact that ion exchange of metals by the bases
adsorbed in the soil solid phase continued over the course of the test. It is believed that
when sample saturation with all the metals is reached the leachate pH will tend to equal the
influent pH, as was observed by Azevedo et al. (2005).
Cation leaching occurred due to substitution by heavy metals added to the soil. The initially
high exchange of Ca2+ and Mg2+ decreased as the exchange sites occupied by these cations
were occupied and their soil concentration decreased. Na+ was leached in small concentrations
during almost the entire test. The concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+ in the leachate of some
samples tended to increase at the end of the test, indicating greater leaching of these cations
caused by adsorption of metals with greater affinity for the soil matrix.
Electrical conductivity values presented fluctuations. The final portion of the curve in Figure
8 presented a decline that indicates that a greater adsorption and/or precipitation of metals
occurred.
64
6.4 Determination of transport parameters

Only the metals Mn (in all samples) and Zn (only in CP04) reached a steady state
concentration (Figures 16 and 17c) in the column tests, that is they saturated the soil
adsorption sites. Therefore it was only possible to determine the retardation factor (Rd) and
hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient (Dh) using the cumulative mass method (Shackelford,
1995) for these two these metals. The curves of cumulative mass ration (CMR) versus
theoretical and experimental T values are presented in Figures 14 and 15.
CP 02
CP03
12
15
10
CMR
CMR
10
6
4
2
0
0
0
10
20
30
40
10
20
T
Theory
Lab
Theory
(a)
40
Lab
(b)
CP04
CP05
20
30
25
CMR
15
CMR
30
10
5
20
15
10
5
0
0
10
20
30
40
20
T
Theory
40
60
T
Theory
Lab
Lab
..................................(c).......................................................................(d)
CP07
CP08
10
20
15
CMR
CMR
10
5
0
0
10
20
30
40
10
(e)
30
40
T
Theory
20
Lab
Theory
Lab
(f)
Fig. 14. Manganese cumultative mass ratio curves. CP02, (b) CP03, (c) CP04, (d) CP05, (e)
CP07 e (f) CP08.
65
CP04
50
CMR
40
30
20
10
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
T
Theory
Lab
Fig. 15. Zinc cumultative mass ratio curve (CP04).

CP03
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
CP02
1.50
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
20
40
60
80
100
20
40
T
Lab
Lab
Theory
(a)
Theory
CP05
1.50
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
80
(b)
CP04
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
50
100
150
20
40
60
80
100
T
Lab
120
140
160
180
T
Theory
Lab
(c)
Theory
(d)
CP08
CP07
1.50
1.50
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
60
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
0.00
20
40
60
80
20
40
Lab
(e)
60
80
T
Theory
Lab
Theory
(f)
Fig. 16. Manganese elution curves from soil columns: (a) CP02, (b) CP03, (c) CP04, (d) CP05,
(e) CP07, (f) CP08.
66
CP03
CP02
1.25
1.25
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
1.00
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
20
40
60
80
100
20
40
(b)
CP04
CP05
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
80
Lab
Lab
(a)
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
25
50
75
100
Lab
125
150
175
T
Theory
Lab
(c)
Theory
(d)
CP08
CP07
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
60
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
20
40
60
80
20
40
60
80
100
Lab
Lab
(e)
(f)
Fig. 17. Zinc elution curves from soil columns: (a) CP02, (b) CP03, (c) CP04, (d) CP05, (e)
CP07, (f) CP08.
67
CP03
1.25
1.00
1.00
0.75
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
CP02
1.25
0.50
0.25
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
0
20
40
60
80
0.00
100
20
40
T
Lab
(b)
CP05
CP04
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)Co
80
Lab
(a)
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
50
100
150
50
100
150
200
60
80
T
Lab
Lab
(c)
(d)
CP07
CP08
1.25
1.25
1.00
1.00
Ce(t)/Co
Ce(t)/Co
60
0.75
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0
20
40
(e)
60
80
20
40
Lab
Lab
(f)
Fig. 18. Cadmium elution curves from soil columns: (a) CP02, (b) CP03, (c) CP04, (d) CP05,
(e) CP07, (f) CP08.
68
Mn, Zn and Cd elution curves are presented in Figures 16 to 18. The desorption of Mn
(Figure 16) and the increase in adsorption of Zn (Figures 17a, b, d, e, f) and Cd (Figures 18c,
d, f) at the end of the column tests were observed in some samples.
The metals Cu, Pb and Cr remained totally retained in the soil, since these metals have low
mobility and high affinity for iron oxides present in the soil. These elements can also form
precipitates depending on their concentrations as well as on soil and solution pH.
No large data dispersion was observed in the CMR versus T curves (Figures 14 and 15) and
the experimental curves adjusted well to the theoretical curves. The transport parameters Rd
and Dh are presented in Table 6.
The relative Mn concentration (C/Co) in the elution curve (Figure 16) was greater than
unity, evidence of desorption. For Zn (except CP04) and Cd, the C/Co ratio never reached
unity (and decreased in some cases), due to the decrease in hydraulic conductivity,
principally in CP08. It is thus possible to conclude that Zn and Cd replaced the desorbed Mn
on the soil adsorption sites.
A Mn retardation factor of 18.8 was reported by Azevedo et al. (2005), close to the average
value presented in Table 6. Given the greater hydraulic conductivity values (10-5 to 10-6 cm s1) in the work by Azevedo et al. (2005) as compared to those in the present study (10-6 to 10-7
cm s-1), the mobility of Mn was found to be practically independent of soil hydraulic
conductivity. The average Dh value equal to 4.3E-04 cm2 min-1 (Table 6) was a little lower
than the 8.64E-03 cm2 min-1 presented in Azevedo et al. (2006), probably because the lower
average percolation velocity used in that study caused less Mn dispersion.
Metal
Manganese
Zinc
Sample
CP02
CP03
CP04
CP05
CP07
CP08
Average
CP04
Rd
20
20
18
20
20.5
20.4
19.8
38
Dh (cm2 min-1)
4.6E-04
3.9E-04
4.4E-04
8.0E-04
2.0E-04
2.7E-04
4.3E-04
1.4E-03
Table 6. Rd and Dh obtained by the cumulative mass method.

6.5 Soil physical analyses
Results of dispersed clay in samples withdrawn from the soil columns were quite similar for
both fast and slow dispersal methods. Average results are indicated in Table 7. The values of
dispersed clay indicated little dispersion of fine material in the soil samples analyzed.
Greater values were expected since the hydraulic conductivity results indicated that clay
dispersion occurred when distilled water was percolated through the columns. However the
samples were stored for two months and 23 days (justified by the time necessary to decide
on the appropriate sample analyses) and it is believed that they suffered a tixotropic effect.
Compacted clays may exhibit a considerable tixotropic effect (increase in resistance and
rigidity with time) leading to a natural tendency to flocculate during storage. According to
Boscov (1997), the structure of adsorbed water may change in stored compacted samples
and can be detected by measurements that show the decrease in neutral pressure with time
after compaction.
Sample
Dispersed clay (kg/kg)
FI*
CP02
0.002
0.99
CP04
0.002
0.99
CP06
0.005
0.988
69
CP08
0.003
0.99
*Floculation index
Table 7. Dispersed clay in samples withdrawn from the soil columns.

6.6 Micromorphological analyses
Mosaics were prepared from 50% of the photos of slides taken in the optical microscope to
better visualize pores. The photos taken with the scanning electron microscope (SEM)
permitted visualization of a greater quantity of sample fissures in the control (CP06) than in
the columns percolated with contaminant solution (CP02, CP04 and CP08). Mosaics of
samples CP02, CP04 and CP06 are presented in Figure 19. No mosaic was made of CP08 due
to insufficient sample quantity for evaluation.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 19. Optical microscope mosaic of samples withdrawn from soil column: (a) CP02;
(b) CP04; (c) CP06 (control)
A greater quantity of dark stained macropores can be observed in control column CP06 that
had the greatest hydraulic conductivity. Sample CP04 presented larger pores than sample
CP02, consistent with the larger final hydraulic conductivity of sample CP04, which could
be attributed to less plugging of macropores.
The presence of fissures in photos of samples CP06 (control) and CP08 obtained by SEM are
indicated by arrows in Figures 20 and 21. More fissures are present in CP06 (Figure 20) than
in the other samples. The fissures in the other samples may possibly have been blocked by
precipitates formed during the percolation of the contaminant solution in the soil columns
and also by particle washout during the test (Figure 21).
70
Fig. 20. Various fissures present - CP06
Fig. 21. Few fissures present - CP08.
7. Conclusions
Of the various conclusions to be drawn, it should be emphasized that initial percolation of
distilled water to saturate the soil without counter pressure influenced the column test
results since the soil structure was altered, especially when a large pore volume was
percolated.
Hydraulic conductivity values decreased significantly in all soil columns, although the
difference differed among the samples.
The difference in number of pore volumes percolated (T) and the amount of cations leached
during percolation of distilled water in the soil columns directly affected hydraulic
conductivity when the contaminant solution was percolated possibly because of an
alteration in soil structure caused by initial percolation with distilled water.
Evidence of pore obstruction caused by heavy metal precipitation was observed, explaining
in part the decrease in hydraulic conductivity. The decrease was also partially attributed to
dispersion of colloidal material
Greater leaching of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+ was observed at the end of the soil column tests
resulting in greater adsorption of some metals.
71
At the end of the column test, Mn was desorbed and a proportionally greater amount of Zn
(except for CP04) and Cd were adsorbed due to decrease in hydraulic conductivity
(especially in CP08), suggesting that Zn and Cd dislocated Mn from the adsorption sites.
Dispersed clay measurements indicated high flocculation indexes but the results may have
been influenced by a trixotropic effect occurring in the stored samples.
Comparison of Mn transport parameters determined in the present study with those
obtained in a previous study showed that Mn mobility was practically independent of soil
hydraulic conductivity when all other factors were held constant. Hydraulic conductivity
affected metal mobility of the other five metals studied.
8. Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge CNPq and CAPES for financial support and the
Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, and Soil Departments of the Federal University
of Viosa, MG, Brazil, for carrying out tests.
9. References
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Geotecnia. So Paulo: v. 26:3, p229-249.
Azevedo, I.C.D.; Nascentes, C.R.; Matos, A.T.; Azevedo, R.F. (2005). Determination of heavy
metal transport parameters in residual compacted soil. (In Portuguese). Revista
Brasileira de Engenharia Agrcola e Ambiental, v.9, n.4, p.623-630. Campina
Grande, PB.
Azevedo, I.C.D.A.D., Nascentes, C. R., Matos, A.T., Azevedo, R.F. (2006). Determination of
transport parameters for heavy metal in residual compacted soil using two
methodologies. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. 33(7), 912-917.
Barbosa, R.M.; Otero, O.M.F. (1999). Characterization of a pollution plume caused by urban
waste disposal. (In Portuguese). Geochimica Brasiliensis, Rio de Janeiro, v.13, n.1,
p. 51-65.
Boscov, M.E.G. (1997). Contribution of design of systems of hazardous waste containment
using lateritic soils. PhD Dissertation (In Portuguese). Universidade de So Paulo,
Escola Politcnica. So Paulo, 259p.
Coffin, D.E. (1963). A method for determination of free iron oxides in soils and clays. Can.
Journal of Soil Science 43, p.9-17.
Cooker, E.G., Matthews, P.J. (1983). Metals in sewage sludge and their potential effects in
agriculture. Water Sci. Technol., v.15, p.209-225.
Folkes, D.J. (1982). Fifth Canadian Geotechnical Colloquium: Control of contaminant
migration by the use of liners. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. V.19. p. 320-344.
Fontes, M.P.F; Carvalho Jr., I. (2005). Color attributes and mineralogical characteristics,
evaluated by radiometry, of highly weathered tropical soils. Soil Science Society of
America Journal, 69: 1162-1172.
72
Guilherme, L.R.G, Marques, J.J., Pierangeli, M.A.P, Zuliani, D.Q., Campos, M.L., Marchi, G.
(2005). Trace elements in soils and aquatic systems. (In Portuguese). Topics in Soil
Science. Soc. Bras. de Cincia do Solo. v. 5. p 345-390.
Kaczmarek, M., Hueckel, T., Chawla, V., Imperiali, P. (1997). Transport Through a Clay
Barrier with the Contaminant Concentration Dependent Permeability. Transport in
Porous Media 29: 159-178.
Lake, D.J. Sludge disposal to land. (1987). Heavy metals in wastewater and sludge tretment
process. Florida. CRC. V.2: treatment and disposal. p.92-124.
Lambe, T.W. (1979). Soil Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons Inc. New York. 553 p.
McBride, M.B. (1994). Environmental chemistry of soils. New York: Oxford University Press.
406 p.
Matos A.T. (1995). Retardation factors and dispersion-diffusion coefficients for zinc,
cadmium, copper and lead in soils from the county of Viosa, Minas Gerais.
Doctoral Thesis in Soils and Plant Nutrition. (In Portuguese). Universidade Federal
de Viosa, Viosa, MG, 183 p.
Matos, A.T.; Costa, L.M.; Fontes, M.P.F.; Martinez, M.A. (1999). Retardation factors and the
dispersion-diffusion coefficients of Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb in soils from Viosa MG,
Brazil, Transaction of the ASAE, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, V.42
(4), p. 903-910.
Mesri, G. & Olson, R.E. 1971. Mechanisms controlling the permeability of clays. Clay and
Clay Minerals. V. 19. p. 151-158.
Naidu, R., Sumner, M.E., Harter, R.D. 1998. Sorption of heavy metals in strongly weathered
soils: an overview. Environ. Geochem. Health. v.20. n.1. p.5-9.
Oliveira, F.J.S.& Juc, J.F.T. (1999). Study on contamination of subsoil of the landfill region in
Muribeca, Pernambuco. (In Portuguese). In: Brazilian Environmental
Geotechnology Congress, REGEO IV, 1999, Salvador. Proceedings. Salvador:
REGEO, p. 455-460.
Rowe, R.K., Quigley, R.M. & Booker, J.R. (1995). Clayey Barrier Systems for Waste Disposal
Facilities, E&FN Spon, London. 390 p.
Ruiz, H.A. (2005). Incremento da exatido da anlise granulomtrica do solo por meio da
coleta da suspenso (silte+argila). Rev. Bras. Cincia do Solo. Viosa, MG. 29(2). p.
297-300.
Shackelford, C.D. (1995). Cumulative Mass Approach for Column Testing. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, American Society for Civil Engineers, 121: 696-703.
Sposito, G. 1984. The surface chemistry of soils. New York: Oxford University Press. 234 p.
Srivastava, P.C., Gupta, U.C. (1996). Trace elements in crop production. Lebanon: Science
Publishers. 356p.
Tavares, T.M., Carvalho, F.M. (1992). Evaluation of human exposure to heavy metals in the
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n.6-8. p. 571-587.
4
Evaluation of Cover Systems for the
Remediation of Mineral Wastes
Francis D. Udoh
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering

University of Uyo, Uyo - Akwa Ibom State
Nigeria
1. Introduction
Lean ore and waste rock stockpiles, unless controlled, may pose significant environmental
problems. Precipitation which enters a mining stockpile is a potential source of surface and
groundwater contamination. Minerals present in the stockpile will dissolve in the presence
of oxygen and water. Precipitation which percolates through the rock subsequently
transports the dissolved minerals from the stockpiles downstream. The degree of transport
of the dissolved minerals is dependent upon the chemistry of the component released, the
chemistry of the transporting solution and the solids and biota which come in contact with
the flow.
Often drainage from mineral wastes can be reduced by proper sitting or diversion of surface
and groundwater. Further reduction can only be achieved by minimizing the rate of water
infiltration into the waste itself. Infiltration reduction is generally the first step in stemming
the water quality problem associate with stockpile drainage. One method of minimizing
infiltration into mineral stockpiles is to cover the pile with a low permeability material and
route the water off the pile before it becomes contaminated. The purpose of this study was
to use the EPA HELP (Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance) model to simulate
field conditions in order to identify the capping options that could be used to stem
infiltration into mineral waste stockpiles.
2. Materials and methods

Numerous materials were sourced and screened for use as potential stockpile capping
systems (Eger et. al, 1990). Laboratory tests were performed on the selected materials (which
included, among others, glacial till, glacial till plus bentonite, fine tailings plus bentonite,
paint rock and silty clay). Each material was subjected to a variety of tests using ASTM
standards (Table 1). Material property criteria were proposed by the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency (MPCA) and are listed in Table 2. Additionally, each material was selected
based on availability, cost, workability, expected hydraulic conductivity, and any potential
environmental problems which could result from the use of that material. A summary of the
physical properties of the materials for the stockpile capping study is shown in Table 3.
Based on the final evaluation of laboratory data, cost and other potential environmental
problems, glacial till, glacial till mixed with 5 per cent bentonite, and a 20 mil PVC
74
membrane were chosen for field evaluation. Fine tailings were rejected since the hydraulic
conductivity was greater than 2 x 10-6 cm/sec., and they might contain asbestiform fibers.
Paint rock, although having a suitable hydraulic conductivity, produces red water
(suspended iron oxides), and was eliminated due to its prohibitively high cost. While the
glacial till had an acceptable hydraulic conductivity, the till contained large boulders which
would not be suitable for a barrier layer. Therefore, the glacial till was screened through a
Read Screen-All to produce a more uniform sized material.
Test or Classification
Description of Soils
Classification of Soils
Water Content Determination
Specific Gravity Determination
Particle Size Analysis
Including Sieve and Hydrometer
Modified Proctor Moisture - Density Relationship
Permeability Testing in Conjunction with the
Falling Head Procedure
Atterberg Limits
ASTM*
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
ASTM
Procedure
D-2488
D-2487
D-2216
D-854
D-421, D-422
D-1140, and D-4217
D-1557
D-1557
D-4318
*ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
Table 1. Material Testing Procedures.

Component of Cap
Cover
Barrier
Buffer
Specifications
1. Minimum thickness - 12 inches.
2. Must be capable of sustaining vegetation.
1. Soil barriers must be at least 12 inches thick.
2. Each layer must be placed in 6-inch lifts and compacted at
or above optimum moisture content to achieve greater than
90% Standard Proctor Density.
3. Barrier material should not contain more than 1% by weight
coarse sand and gravel.
4. At least 3% dry mass bentonite must be used in bentonitesoil barriers.
5. The hydraulic conductivity of the barrier must be less than
or equal to 2 x 10-6 cm/sec.
Buffers serve to protect the barrier from tears, cracks, punctures
and other deteriorations. The buffer can not contain any coarse
fragment greater than 6 inches. 12-inch thickness was chosen as a
suitable buffer.
Table 2. Material Specifications for Stockpile Capping Program.

In order to study the effectiveness of the selected capping systems to stem infiltration, the
HELP (Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance) model was used to simulate field
conditions. To accomplish this objective, a three layer capping system consisting of a cover,
a barrier and a buffer was required (Table 2). Laboratory results in Table 3 along with
synthetic materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were used to simulate the field
Evaluation of Cover Systems for the Remediation of Mineral Wastes
Table 3. Summary of Physical Properties of Materials for the Stockpile Capping Study.
75
76
conditions for the various stockpile capping options. Simulations were also performed for a
control (untreated) stockpile, standard reclamation (two feet of cover), and the MPCA
hydraulic conductivity barrier requirement of 2 x 10-6 cm/sec. The HELP model is a
sophisticated water balanced model that can model multilayered capping systems. The
HELP model uses climatologic, soil and design data to produce daily estimates of water
movement across, into, through and out of mineral stockpiles considered in this study. The
climatologic data, which included daily precipitation and mean monthly temperatures in 0F
were from Babbitt, Minnesota (Udoh, 1993). The solar radiation data in langleys, were the
monthly averages from Winton, Minnesota (Eger et. al, 1990). Other climatologic data such
as leaf area indices, evaporative zone depth, and winter cover factors were selected from the
HELP model built-in default data files. Leaf area index (which is the area of leaves per unit
area of ground) affects the total evaporation from the stockpile capping systems. Maximum
leaf area index ranges from about 1.5 for grass up to about 5 for a plant like soybeans. The
maximum leaf area index used in the simulations ranged from 1 to 1.5. Typical default
values for evaporative zone depth (which is related to root depth) range from 4 inches for
bare ground to 18 inches for excellent grass. Fair grass, which is the general cover class
found at most landfills (Eger et. al, 1990), has an evaporative zone depth of 10 inches, the
default value used in the HELP model simulation. The soil data used in the simulation also
came from the built-in default data files for soil texture classes 3, 6 and 20 for the top,
drainage and barrier layers respectively. However, the hydraulic conductivities for each soil
class were estimated to reflect the hydraulic conductivities required for typical mineral
capping projects. The hydraulic conductivity of the buffer layer was computed as 70% of
that of the top layer since the layer was assumed to be partially compacted.
The HELP program models a number of hydrologic processes by performing daily,
sequential analysis using a quasi-two-dimensional, deterministic approach. The model
computes surface runoff using the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) runoff curve number
method. The equation developed relates daily runoff, Q, to daily precipitation, P and a
watershed retention parameter, S, thus:
Qp
( P 0.2S )2
( P 0.8S )
(1)
Where
Q, P, and S are in inches
Infiltration, I, is computed in the HELP model as:
I = P Q SE
(2)
Where:
I = infiltration
P = daily precipitation
Q = daily runoff
SE = surface evaporation
Potential evapotranspiration, E0 is computed as:
Eo
1.28 AH
A 0.68
(3)
77
Where:
Eo = potential evapotranspiration
A = slope of saturation vapour pressure curve
H = net solar radiation in langleys
Percolation, Qp, modeled as Darcian flow, is computed as:
Qp Kp
TH Tc
Tc
(4)
Where:
Qp = the rate of percolation through the barrier soil layer
Kp = the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the barrier soil layer
TH = the total head in the profile above the barrier soil layer
Tc = the thickness of the barrier soil layer
The lateral drainage rate, QD, based on a linearization of the steady-state Boussinesq
equation is computed as:
QD
2 K D yho
L2
(5)
Where:
QD = lateral drainage rate
KD = hydraulic conductivity for lateral flow
y = average thickness of flow
ho = elevation of water surface
L = maximum length to drain
With a correction factor, the lateral drainage equation rewritten as:
QD
2 K D y(0.510 0.00205 L )[Y ( y / l )0.16 L ]

L2
(6)
Where: = fractional slope at surface of cover

The surface vegetation was assumed to be fair grass. A default runoff curve number of 69.76
was determined by the HELP model based on surface vegetation and the minimum
infiltration rate of the top soil, and this number was used in the simulations. Additionally,
the total area of cover was considered to be 40,000 square feet with a drainage distance of
200 feet. The input parameter values along with the results obtained are summarized in
Table 4.
3. Results and discussion

The HELP model is a water balanced model that models multilayered capping systems.
Simulations are most accurate when actual field and laboratory data are available for many
of the input parameters that are needed to simulate field conditions. However, since data
were not available for all of the parameters, various estimates were made for some of the
input parameters to the HELP model. By using the materials presented in Table 3 along with
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) liners, simulations were carried out (using different scenarios) to
evaluate the effectiveness of various capping design systems in minimizing water
78
Table 4. Summary of Preliminary Results with HELP Model.
79
infiltration into mineral stockpiles. Simulations were run for the MPCA barrier requirement
of 2x10-6 cm/sec, 20 mil PVC liner, a control (untreated) stockpile, standard reclamation (2
feet of cover), MPCA reference case with drainage layer at 3% and 5% slope, and lower
permeability with liner, etc. All the materials (Table 3) except fine tailings alone and mixed
with 1/2% bentonite had permeability which were equal to or less than 2x10-6 cm/sec,
which was the maximum value established by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
The first scenario involved the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) case which
was a barrier with hydraulic conductivity of 2 x 10-6 cm/sec. Results from model
simulations indicated an average infiltration of 8.6 inches with a surface runoff of 1.2 inches
and no lateral drainage. With a 3% drainage slope, the MPCA case registered an average
infiltration of 3.1 inches with lateral drainage of 8.4 inches. With a 5% drainage slope, the
MPCA case recorded an average infiltration of 2.7 inches with drainage of 9.3 inches. With
the PVC liner, the MPCA case had neither infiltration nor drainage but the surface runoff
was 4.4 inches.
With no reclamation, the average infiltration from model simulations was 13.7 inches with
neither surface runoff nor lateral drainage. The standard reclamation, which required a
cover thickness of at least 24 inches, had an average infiltration of 12.1 inches with neither
surface runoff nor lateral drainage. The lower permeability barrier with liner with hydraulic
conductivity of 1 x 10-7 cm/sec had a surface runoff of 4.4 inches with neither infiltration nor
lateral drainage. The results obtained from the HELP model are presented in Table 4, and
the simulated annual infiltration into stockpiles using the various capping options is
graphically depicted in Figure 1. Thus far, synthetic liners appear to be the perfect cover
systems, since if intact, they would not transmit any water. Regrettably, a leak-proof liner
does not really exist. In general, the thicker the liner system and the better the installation,
the smaller the leakage. For the synthetic liner barrier system used in this study, the effective
hydraulic conductivity is a function of the leakage factor, f. A leakage factor, f is directly
proportional to the area of opening and inversely proportional to the area of the liner
system. Typical values for liners range from 0.01 for a 20 mil PVC liner poorly installed to
0.00001 for an 80 mil HDPE with a perfect installation (Eger et. al, 1990). The results from the
HELP model simulation imply that the 20 mil PVC liner system has a leakage factor of about
0.001, which is within the expected range. When the flow from a stockpile has been reduced,
more efficient use can be made of additional passive treatment systems such as alkaline and
wetland treatment. Thus, uncontaminated surface and barrier flow from a stockpile capping
system could be collected and used to augment flow downstream of additional passive
treatment systems.
From the foregoing results, the three variables that have the greatest effect on the amount of
water that infiltrate the cap are the hydraulic conductivity of the barrier layer, the hydraulic
conductivity of the cover, and the type and rooting depth (evaporative zone depth) of the
vegetation. From the results of the HELP model simulation, none of the barriers reduced
flow to a level consistent with a barrier with hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-7 cm/sec. The
United States Environmental Protection Agencys guidelines for capping landfills require a
barrier layer with an effective hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-7 cm/sec. This value is also
required for new landfills by present MPCA solid waste rules. Simulations conducted with
the HELP model showed that when the hydraulic conductivity of the barrier was reduced
from 2x10-6 cm/sec to 1 x 10-7 cm/sec, infiltration decreased by over 90 per cent. Therefore,
to minimize the volume of contaminated flow in any stockpile capping system, the
hydraulic conductivity of the barrier should be less than or equal to 1 x 10-7 cm/sec.
80
Fig. 1. Simulated annual infiltration into stockpiles using various capping options.
4. Conclusion and recommendations

One key component in mitigating the water quality problem associated with stockpile
drainage is the reduction of the amount of water which infiltrates into the stockpiles. While
a reduction in infiltration will not change the drainage water quality, the overall mass of
contaminants released per year will be reduced as the drainage flow is reduced. Based on
the results from the HELP model simulations, the three variables that have the greatest
effect on the amount of water that will infiltrate the cap are the hydraulic conductivity of the
barrier layer, the hydraulic conductivity of the cover, and the type and rooting depth
(evaporative zone depth) of the vegetation. The results from the model simulations showed
that, when the hydraulic conductivity of the barrier was reduced from 2 x 10-6 cm/sec to 1 x
10-7 cm/sec, the infiltration reduced by over 90%. Therefore, to minimize bottom flow, the
hydraulic conductivity of the barrier layer should be less than or equal to 1 x 10-7 cm/sec.
81
As earlier alluded to, simulations are most accurate when actual field and laboratory data
are available for the many input parameters needed to run the HELP model. Unfortunately,
data was not available for all the parameters and various estimates had to be made.
Additional field and laboratory data are needed to better determine and model the
effectiveness of the various capping alternatives to stem infiltration. Generally, infiltration
parameters are often established based on samples which are not representative of field
profiles. In other words, laboratory test samples are homogeneous, and thus lack the
variability that is associated with similar samples in the field (Udoh, 2008). Since field
permeability tests are more likely to yield accurate estimates of hydraulic conductivity than
laboratory test, they are recommended as part of either the final design process or
construction verification.
Based on the results obtained, a cap design consisting of a three-layer soil barrier is
recommended for final capping of any mineral stockpile capping project. Therefore, the
selection of materials for the capping of any mineral stockpile and/or waste disposal site
should be based on optimizing those properties that have the greatest influence on the longterm performance of the material.
5. References
Barr Engineering Company (1986). Feasibility Assessment of Mitigation Measures for
Gabbro and Waste Rock Stockpiles: Dunka Pit Area. Prepared for Erie Mining
Company, Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota.
Eger, P.; Antonson, D. and Udoh, F. (1990). Stockpile Capping Report. Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources, Division of Minerals, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Hauser, V. L. and Jones, O. R. (1991). Runoff Curve Number for the Southern High Plains.
Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, ASAE Vol. 34(1): 142148.
Ogunlela, A. O. (2001). Predicting Effects of Land Use Changes on Runoff Using the Curve
Number Method. Nigerian Journal of Tropical Engineering. Vol. 2 (1):25-32.
Ogunlela, A. O. and Kasali, M. Y. (2002). Evaluation of Four Methods of Storm Hydrograph
Development for an Ungauged Watershed. Nigerian Journal of Technological
Development Vol. 2 (1): 15-24.
Ritter, J. B. and Gardner, T. W. (1991). Runoff Curve Numbers for Reclaimed Surface Mines
in Pennsylvania. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. Vol. 117(5):656666.
Schroeder, P. R. et al (1984). The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP)
Model. Volume 1. Users Guide for Version I. EPA/530-SW-84-009, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response,
Washington, D. C.
Schroeder, P. R. and Peyton, R. L. (1987). Verification of the Hydrologic Evaluation of
Landfill Performance (HELP) Model Using Field Data. U.S. Department of
Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia.
Soil Conservation Service (1972). National Engineering Handbook Section 4: Hydrology. U.S.
Printing Office, Washington, D. C.
82
Udoh, F. D. (1993). Minimization of Infiltration into Mining Stockpiles Using

low Permeability covers. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Wisconsin Madison.
Udoh, F. D. (2008). An Integrated Program for Infiltration Control of Gabbro and Waste
Rock Stockpiles at the Dunka Mine Site. Journal of Ecology, Environment and
Conservation, Vol. 14, No. 4, p. 589-594.
Part 2
Hydraulic Conductivity and Plant Systems
5
Plant and Soil as Hydraulic Systems
Mirela Tulik and Katarzyna Marciszewska
Warsaw University of Life Science SGGW (WULS-SGGW)

Poland
1. Introduction
Soil is usually defined as a natural body consisting of mineral constituent layers that are
different in structure and variable in thicknesses. It is composed of particles of broken rock
that have been affected by chemical and environmental processes as weathering and
erosion. Soil particles are packed loosely, forming a soil structure such containing pore
spaces. These pores are filled with soil solution (liquid) and air (gas). This chapter shows
that soil and plant are similar hydraulically. The pathway for water moving is from soil
through plant to the atmosphere and can be described with the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere
Continuum (SPAC) model. Hydraulic conductivity is the property of both soils and higher
plants and the resulting analogue model for water transport is supported by the similar
structure and the same source for water movement. This continuum hypothesis
characterizes the state of water in different components of the SPAC as expressions of the
energy level or water potential of each. Also the review of methodology of hydraulic
conductivity measurement has been presented in detail.
2. Major physical properties of water

The surface of the Earth is covered in ca. 70% by water - a chemical substance including one
atom of oxygen and two of hydrogen connected by covalent bonds (Fig. 1).
covalent bonds
Fig. 1. Model of dipole water structure (http://ffden2.phys.uaf.edu/212_fall2009.web/Yngve_margaretJ/ice/pg1.htm, modified).

Because water is a polar molecule it has a high surface tension and capillary forces. The
capillarity basically makes water move up in narrow tubes against the force of gravity (what
occurs in soil and all vascular plants in mechanism of water transport). Polar structure of
water causes also the cohesion and the adhesion of water molecules, which contributes to
the capillary water threads not to collapse.
86
The water circulates above and below the surface of the Earth and can change states among
liquid, vapour, and ice at various places in its cycle (Fig. 2). Although the balance of water
on Earth remains constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go, in and
out of the atmosphere. During the physical processes as evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow, water moves from one reservoir to
another.
Fig. 2. Water cycle (Clarke, 1991, modified).

According to vertical distribution of water content two main zones in soil profile are
distinguished: vadose and saturated (Fig. 3).
Well
Land surface
Unsaturated zone
Capillary fringe
Saturated zone
Water table
Fig. 3. Vertical distribution of water content in soil profile.
87
The vadose zone called also unsaturated, is located between the land of Earth surface and
zone of saturation and extends from the top of the ground surface to the water table. In this
zone water is under less than atmospheric pressure, which is a result of the process of
adhesion and capillarity. Water moves predominantly in a vertical direction (Heath, 1983).
Within the zone of vadose soil pore spaces usually contain air or other gases. The area below
the water table where all open spaces are filled with water under pressure that is equal to or
greater than that of the atmosphere makes up the zone of saturation.
3. Hydraulic conductivity of soils and plants

Hydraulic conductivity, which is a property of soils, vascular plants, or rocks describes the
ability of water to move through pore spaces or fractures using hydraulic gradient.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity expresses water movement via saturated media.
Symbolically hydraulic conductivity is written as K while saturated conductivity as Ksat.
The hydraulic conductivity of soil depends on the soil grain size, the soil matrix structure,
the type of soil fluid and is defined by Darcys law that could be written as follows:
U = -K/ x dP/dl
(1)
where U is the velocity of the soil fluid via a geometric cross-sectional area within the soil, K
is a hydraulic conductivity, is a coefficient of the viscosity of water, dP/dl is the pressure
gradient (Neuman, 1977). On the basis of the above mentioned equation, the hydraulic
conductivity is defined as a ratio of soil fluid velocity (U) to the applied hydraulic gradient
(dP/dl), because is a constant.
Soil and vascular plants are similar hydraulically; the same physical laws might be applied
to describe soil and plants hydraulic conductivity (Sperry et al., 2003). Both in the soil and
the vascular plants structure the pores filled with water occur and although the pores in
plants are highly organized in comparison to soil there is a close analogy between the soil
and the vascular plants hydraulics. Additionally soil water potential is the driving force
behind water movement. The main advantage of the "potential" concept is that it provides a
unified measure by which the water state can be evaluated at any time and everywhere
within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (Hillel, 1980).
For the theoretical calculation of the volume of water flow in the plant conducting elements
the law of Hagen-Poiseuille, a special case of Darcys law, describing the laminar flow
through long cylindrical pipe is applied:
dV/dt = -K x dP/dl = - r4xdP/8xdl beaucause K = r4/8
(2)
where K is hydraulic conductivity, is the viscosity of water, r the radius of the capillary
and dP/dl is the pressure gradient along the capillary (Tyree et al., 1994; Tyree &
Zimmermann, 2002). K can also be considered as the coefficient of the Hagen-Poiseuille law.
It is important to note that flow rate dV/dt, is proportional to the fourth power of the
capillary diameter. Thus a slight increase in vessel or tracheid diameter causes a
considerable increase in conductivity. In a transverse section of the stem, branch or root
many capillaries of different diameters di are present in parallel thus the aforementioned
formula is written as follows:
dv/dt = - dp/dl x Ki = - dp/dl x r4/8
(3)
88
The pressure gradient is the driving force for water flow via tracheary elements and is
caused by transpiration. Both in the case of soils and plants hydraulics the volume flow of
water occurs by reason of decreasing pressure gradient.
4. Methods of hydraulic conductivity determination

To determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity of water in soil both empirical and
experimental (field and laboratory) methods could be applied (Jennsen, 1990) (Fig. 4). The
empirical approach correlates the hydraulic conductivity with soil properties as: pore and
grain size, their distribution and soil texture. The methodology of measurement for
laboratory and field experiments is based on Darcys law and has been described by Klute
and Dirkesen (1986) as well as Amoozegar and Warrick (1986).
Experimental methods
based on Darcys formula
Empirical ( correlation)
methods
Size pores distribution

Size grains distribution
Texture of soil
Laboratory tests
In situ field methods
Constanthead
Failling-head
Methods used in
unsaturated
region of soil
Methods used in saturated

region of soil
Augerhole
Piezometer
Wellpumping (slug)
Dry augerhole
Ring infiltrometer
Airentry
permeameter
Constanthead test in
a single drill hole.
Fig. 4. Scheme of methods for measurement of hydraulic conductivity.

The selection of methods could depend on the objectives to be achieved (Tab. 1).
The laboratory methods are used to delimit the vertical and horizontal hydraulic
conductivity in small soil samples collected in accordance with core drilling programs. The
results of these methods are considered as point representation of the soil features because
of the small sizes of the soil samples. If the structure of soil samples is not disturbed
(naturally) the measurement of hydraulic conductivity represents the in situ saturated
hydraulic conductivity at the particular sampling point.
In the case of the field methods, the evaluation of the hydraulic conductivity is based on a
large region of soil, therefore the results of these tests should present the effects of both
89
vertical and horizontal directions and the main value of K. It is important if soil is highly
stratified and the values of K measured by means of field methods could reflect the most
permeable and dominate layer in soil profile.
4.1 Empirical methods
Empirical approach contains the Shepherd formula (1989) that correlates grain size and
hydraulic conductivity. The formula expresses the approximate hydraulic conductivity from
grain size analyses:
K = a(D10)b
(4)
where a and b are empirically derived terms based on the soil type, and D10 is the diameter
of the 10 percentile grain size of the material.
Another specialized empirical estimation of hydraulic conductivity is the pedotransfer
function method (PTF). It is described primarily in the soil science literature, but has been
increasingly applied in hydrogeology. There are many different PTF methods, however,
they all attempt to evaluate soil properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, several given
measured soil properties, such as soil particle size, and bulk density.
The hydraulic conductivity is affected not only by grain size but also by the viscosity and
quality of the water, the shape of the soil particles, density of the soil, cementation of the soil
and the degree of soil saturation. All these factors strongly influence hydraulic conductivity
and relationship between these factors and hydraulic conductivity can be expressed by
following formula based on Darcy law:
K= 2gD2e3/vCs1 +e
(5)
where:
K hydraulic conductivity,
g the acceleration due to gravity,
v the kinematic viscosity of water,
Cs - particle shape factor,
D the weighted or characteristic particle diameter,
e void ratio.
The characteristic particle diameter D is calculated from a grain size distribution analysis
using the following equation:
D= Mi/[ Mi/Di]
(6)
where:
Mi the mass retained between two adjacent sieves,
Di the mean diameter of two adjacent sieves.
Glser and Candemir (2008) using pedotransfer method to determine the saturated
hydraulic conductivity on the base of the soil physical properties concluded that direct effect
of some physical properties on K in soils could be expressed in following order: permanent
wilting point > bulk density > clay > silt > field capacity. The hydraulic conductivity
generally decreases according to soil textural class (Fig. 5) and it may be described as
follows: sandy soil > loamy soil > clay soil. If sand and silt contents in soil texture increase
the soil bulk density increases generally (Hillel, 1982) while total porosity decreases and
ratio of macro porosity in total porosity increases.
90
Fig. 5. Diagram of soil textural classes.

(http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/sweetpotato/key/sweetpotato%20diagnotes/media/ht
ml/TheCrop/CropManagement/SoilFertilityManagement/Soil%20structure.htm)
Generally, large particles (sand and stones) pack loosely with large spaces between. Very
fine particles (clay) pack very densely with little space. A well structured soil has small
particles clumped together in aggregates, so that there are both small spaces (between the
particles within the aggregates) and larger spaces (between the aggregates).
Larger spaces allow water to infiltrate easily, and to drain freely enabling air to re-enter after
wetting. Smaller spaces are primarily important to hold water, and to ensure contact
between soil particles and soil water so that nutrients can dissolve and become available to
plant roots.
4.2 Experimental methods
4.2.1 Laboratory tests
While estimating of the hydraulic conductivity of soil by means of laboratory methods,
different instruments are used. They contain permeameters, pressure chambers and
consolidometers. The samples of soil are placed in a small cylindrical receptacle
representing onedimensional soil configuration which, the circulating liquid is forced to
flow through. On the basis of the flow pattern via the soil samples some kinds of the
laboratory methods for measuring of K are distinguished. The first one is constant-head test
with a steadystate flow regimen and the second with unsteady flow regimen called falling
head test. The constanthead method is mainly used on granular soil with an estimated K
91
above 1.0x 102 m/yr, while the fallinghead method is used on soil samples with K below
1.0x 102 m/yr (Freeze & Cherry, 1979). The important considerations concerning the
estimation of value of the hydraulic conductivity by means of laboratory methods are the
procedure of the soil collection and preparation of the test specimen and circulating liquid.
The collection of the soil samples should be performed so as to avoid changes in matrix
structure of the soil. It is possible to apply walled tube sampling methods. In this technique
undisturbed soil sample is received by pressing a thin walled metal tube into the soil,
removing the metal tube filled with soil and then sealing its ends to avoid physical
disturbance in the structure of the soil matrix.
4.2.1.1 Constanthead method
The procedure of constanthead method allows water to move through the soil under a
steady state head condition while the quantity (volume) of water flowing through the soil
specimen is measured over a period of time (Fig. 6). By knowing the quantity Q of water
measured, length of specimen L, cross-sectional area of the specimen A, time required for
the quantity of water t, and head h, the hydraulic conductivity can be calculated thus:
Q = Avt
(7)
where v is the flow velocity. Using Darcy's Law:

v = Ki
(8)
i = h/L
(9)
and expressing the hydraulic gradient i as:
where h is the difference of hydraulic head over distance L:

Q = AKht/L
(10)
K = QL/Ath
(11)
solving for K gives:
4.2.1.2 Faillinghead method

The basis of this test is very similar to the foregoing constanthead method, but it is used for
both finegrained and coarsegrained soils. The soil sample is first saturated under a
specific head condition. The water is then allowed to flow through the soil, a constant
pressure head not to be maintained. To determine the hydraulic conductivity by use of the
failinghead method, a cylindrical soil sample of crosssectional area A, and length L is
placed between two high conductivity plates. The soil sample column is connected to a
standpipe of crosssectional area a, in which the percolating fluid is introduced into the
system. Therefore, by measuring the changes in head in the standpipe from h1 to h2 during
the time t, the hydraulic conductivity can be expressed as follows:
K = (aL/At) ln (h1/h2)
(12)
A common problem of the foregoing, two laboratory methods using permeameter is related
to the degree of saturation achieved within the samples of soil during the test. Air bubbles
are usually trapped within the pore space, and although they could disappear slowly by
92
Continuous supply of water
Overflow
h
Volume V
in time t, Q = v/t
Screen plates
Cross sectional area A
Fig. 6. Constant head permeameter (Beers, 1983, modified).

dissolving into the deaerated water, their presence in the system may influence the results of
measurement. For more accurate results of K measurement in soil samples in which the air
bubbles could appear and be critical, the conductivity test with back pressure is
recommended.
4.2.2 Field methods
The field methods contain several tests for in situ determination of hydraulic conductivity
that could be divided into two groups: (1) those which refer to sites near or below a shallow
water table and (2) those that are applicable to sites above a deep water table or in absence
of water table. Similarly to the laboratory procedures, in these groups, to determine the
hydraulic conductivity (K), the Darcys formula is used after the measuring the gradient of
hydraulic head at the site and the resulting soil water flux.
4.2.2.1 Field methods used in saturated regions of the soil
These methods will be applied to determine the hydraulic conductivity for saturated zones
of soil within a groundwater formation under unconfined and confined conditions. This
method contains (1) the augerhole and piezometer methods, which are used in unconfined
shallow water table conditions and (2) well pumping tests, which are used for determination
of aquifer properties in confined and unconfined groundwater systems.
4.2.2.1.1 Augerhole method
If the water table is shallow, the augerhole method could be used for evaluating the
hydraulic conductivity below the water table. This method concerns four steps as follows:
a. drilling of the augerholes
93
b. removal of water from the augerhole

c. measurement of the rate of rise
d. computation of the value of K from the measurement data.
This method is fast, simple and usually used to design drainage systems in waterlogged
land and in canal seepage studies.
4.2.2.1.2 Piezometer method
The piezometer method is designed for applications in layered soil aquifers and for
determining either horizontal or vertical components of the saturated hydraulic
conductivity. In this method piezometer tube or long pipe are used to penetrate the
unconfined system.
4.2.2.1.3 Wellpumping (slug) method
A slug test is a particular type of aquifer test where water is quickly added or removed from
a groundwater well, and the change in hydraulic head is monitored over time, to determine
the near-well aquifer characteristics. It is a method used by hydrogeologists and civil
engineers to determine the transmissivity/hydraulic conductivity.
4.2.2.2 Field methods used in the unsaturated region of the soil
The measurement of the value of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils located above
the water table (or if there is no water table) by in situ methods is more difficult in
comparison to estimation of K for saturated soils because primarily unsaturated soil must be
first saturated to perform the measurements. Therefore, the results of these in situ
measurements are commonly called the fieldsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The
available methods for measuring field saturated K comprise: (1) the shallow-well pumpin
or dry augerhole, (2) the doubletube, (3) the ring infiltrometer, (4) the airentry
permeameter, (5) the constanthead test in a single drill hole.
The shallowwell pump-in, is otherwise known as dry augerhole method or well
permeameter method. It is used to measure the rate of water flow from a cased or uncased
augerhole when a constant height of water is maintained in hole. To maintain a water level
with a large water tank providing the water supply a float valve is usually used. The
hydraulic conductivity values are calculated by use the steady state outflow rate and a
shape factor determined from nomographs or equation. The position of water table or
impermeable layer below the bottom of the well must be known. This procedure is easy but
is limited by the time requirements needed to reach steady state and to replicate
measurements.
Double tube method uses two concentric tubes that are placed in the soil to a given depth.
The water flow is manipulated to move from the inner to outer tube at a high and changing
rate of hydraulic head. Hydraulic conductivity values are then determined from tables and
graphs and express the combination of vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities.
Ring infiltrometer method is similar to cylinder permeametr procedure. A large hole is
prepared to appropriate depth. A metal sleeve is installed in the center of the hole. The same
water level is maintained outside and inside the sleeve. The saturated hydraulic
conductivity is taken to be the rate of infiltration when soil suction at the bottom of the ring
equals zero (saturated conditions). This method allows measuring the vertical conductivity
of layered soils.
Airentry permeameter method. In this method a small covered cylinder is driven into
ground. To this cylinder water is applied until all air is driven out. At the top of cylinder a
94
Table 1. The review of standard experimental methods applied in measurements of soil

saturated hydraulic conductivity (K).
95
96
large constant head is kept in a reservoir until saturation is reached at the bottom of the
cylinder. The water level is then allowed to fall and the conductivity is calculated by the use
of falling head equations. Due to airentry permeameter method the hydraulic conductivity
in vertical direction is obtained.
5. Wood elements as structural basis for hydraulic conductivity of higher

plants
Vascular plants also known as tracheophytes or higher plants are those that have developed
specialized conductive (vascular) tissues which circulate resources through the plants body.
In these plants, the xylem tissue is a space where long-distance transport of water takes
place. The xylem tissue consists primarily of dead, lignified cells named tracheary elements.
Either of two types of water conductive cells, tracheids and vessel elements, are found in
xylem of vascular plants. Tracheids are found in all vascular plants and are the chief waterconducting elements in most of living gymnosperms and seedless vascular plants (Bailey &
Tupper, 1918; Gifford & Foster, 1989), whereas vessel elements are unique to angiosperms
and are the chief water-conducting elements for these plants. Both kinds of cells are
elongated, die at maturity, but their lignified cell walls remain as the conduits through
which water is carried in the xylem. Tracheids are closed at both ends but have pits where
the cell wall is modified into a thin membrane, through which water flows from tracheid to
tracheid. Vessel elements are stacked one on top of another in long columns, called vessels.
In contrast to the tracheids the final walls of the single vessel element are perforated
(composed plate) or, completely resolved (simple plate). Water flows almost unimpeded
from cell to cell along these columns through perforations in the cell walls.
The size of tracheids is limited as they comprise a single cell. By the end of the Devonian,
tracheid diameter had already increased to its maximum of ca. 80 m (Niklas, 1985). Greater
tracheid diameter would be advantageous only if accompanied by increased conduit length.
Actually the wider tracheids are longer up to 10 mm (Schweingruber, 1990). However,
further increase in length and diameter of tracheid may be impossible beacause of limits to
the maximum cell volume. Vessels, consisting of a number of cells overcame this limit and
allowed larger conducts to form, reaching diameters of up to 500 m, and lengths of up to
10 m (Zimmerman, 1983).
Important feature of the xylem structure is its connectivity i.e. the interconnected conduits
form a network (Cruciat et al., 2002; Tyree & Zimmerman, 2002). The spatial arrangement of
conduits was investigated by Burgraff (1972), Zimmerman (1971) and more recently by
other authors (Steppe et al., 2004; Kittin et al., 2004) giving the support to define vascular
system as a network integrating all main parts of the plants body, i.e. roots, branches and
leaves. Any root in the system is more or less directly connected with any branch and not
with a single one. Moreover, the xylem network is redundant in two meanings: at a given
level of the stem several xylem element are present in parallel and they develop lateral
contacts with other tracks of vessels or tracheids.
Scholander et al. (1957) proposed and experimentally tested the hypothesis that the waterconducting xylem in the stem is essentially a flooded, continuous, micropore system,
scattered with elongate macrocavities (vessels). The stem may accordingly be compared to a
pipe filled with a sinter of fine sand, throughout which large longitudinal cavities are
dispersed. If water fills such a system and flows through it, the cavities will offer the paths
of least resistance, and through them most of the water will flow. If the hydrostatic pressure
97
is below atmospheric and outside air enters a cavity, this will press the water out of the
cavity, but no farther, as the air-water menisci will hang up in the micropores of the cavity
walls.
The above way of describing the stem xylem emphasises that there is a great degree of
structural similarities between the stem xylem of plants and the soil pore system. Tracheary
elements have dimensions of capillaries and thus the same mechanism as for soil hydraulic
conductivity might have been applied. Water moves spontaneously through tracheary
elements only from places of higher water potential () to places of lower water potential,
i.e. along a decreasing gradient (Fig. 7).
air (50% relative humidity): - 940 bar
leaves:
-5 to 25 bar
moist soil: -1 bar
tracheal sap:
-5 to -15 bar
roots: -2 to -4
bar
Fig. 7. The scheme of the pathway of water in the soilplantatmosphere continuum with
the representative values for the water potential (Mohr & Schopfer, 1995, modified).
6. Mechanism of water transport in vascular plants

The water transport in xylem of vascular plants is explained by the cohesion - tension theory
formulated by Dixon and Joly (1894) as well as Askenasy (1895). The attractive force
between water molecules is one of the principal factors responsible for the occurrence of
surface tension in liquid water allowing plant to draw water from the root through the
xylem to the leaf. Two phenomena cause xylem sap to flow: transpirational pull and root
pressure.
Water is constantly lost by transpiration in the leaf. This creates tension (negative pressure)
in the mesophyll cells. Because of this tension water is being pulled up from the roots into
leaves, helped by cohesion (the pull between individual water molecules, due to hydrogen
bonds) and adhesion (the stickiness between water molecules and the hydrophilic
components of cell walls of plants). This mechanism of water flow works because of water
98
potential (waters flows from high to low potential) and rules of diffusion. Transpirational
pull requires that conduits transporting the water are small in diameter, otherwise
cavitation would break the water column. As water evaporates from leaves, more is drawn
up through plant to replace it. When the water pressure within the xylem reaches extreme
levels due to low water input from roots, then the gases come out solution and form a
bubble an embolism forms, which will spread to adjacent cells, unless bordered pits are
present.
Water potential of the root cells is more negative than that of the soil, usually due to high
concentrations of solute, water can move by osmosis into the root from the soil. This causes
a positive pressure that forces sap up the xylem towards the leaves. In some circumstances
the sap will be forced from the leave through a hydathode in a phenomenon known as
guttation. Root pressure is highest in the morning, before stomata open allowing
transpiration to begin.
Comparing plant to a hydraulic system evokes the search for basic elements of such a
system i.e. a driving force, pipes, reservoirs and regulating systems. In case of plants the
driving force is most of the time, the transpiration, which pulls water from the soil to the
leaves and creates and maintains a variable gradient of water potential throughout the
plant. Pipes in the hydraulic systems correspond to very complex network of fine capillaries
(vessels and tracheids) forming plant conducting system.
7. Environmental factors affecting hydraulic conductivity of SPAC

The root hairs play role in water uptake from the soil into plants: having close contact with
soil solution they prevent the formation of air-filled cavities between root and soil particles
during the process of water uptake. Such spaces could be a barrier zone to the transfer of
water from soil to the roots. (Fig. 8.).
Fig. 8. Longitudinal section of soil profile with root hairs that increase the root surface and
have extensive contact with the soil solution (Stocker, 1952 modified).
99
As mentioned above the continuous movement of water molecule from the soil via plant
into atmosphere is driven by the differences in water potential between the perirhizal soil
and the atmosphere and is maintained by solar energy. Resulting continuity of water
columns from soil pores throughout the plant to leaf cells, linked to evaporative flux, is
known as the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). Maintenance of this hydraulic
rope is needed to ensure a continuous water supply to leaves.
The traditional view of plant hydraulics considered stomatal conductance and root
conductivity as the main controlling factors of water flow in plants (Jones, 1983). This view
is now expanding to include dynamic responses of xylem flow resistance to environment.
Xylem conducivity is determined by the structure and size of the vessels (Schultz &
Matthews, 1993; Thyree & Ewers, 1991) and by their efficiency, which may be affected by
presence of embolism (Tyree & Sperry, 1989). One of the consequence of the cohesiontension theory of water ascent in plants is the state of tension in the xylem sap and the
occurrence of cavitation, which is the abrupt change from liquid water under tension to
water vapour. As water is withdrawn from the cavitated conduit, vapour expands filling the
entire lumen. Then air diffuses in causing the pressure rising to atmospheric. The conduit
becomes embolized i.e. air-blocked. The same occurs in soil, where the larger pores in soil
became filled in air, leaving only the smaller pores to hold and transmit water under the
drought conditions.
Several reports have shown that water stress induces embolism and loss of function of the
vessels (Sperry &Tyree, 1990; Hargrave et al., 1994) contributing to the reduction of water
flow across the shoot (Schultz & Matthews, 1988). The resistance to cavitation and embolism
is thus an important parameter determining the drought resistance of a plant and its
hydraulic conductivity. The relation between the tension of the sap in the xylem and the
corresponding degree of embolism is called a vulnerability curve. These curves are
measures of the plants drought resistance (Cruziat et al., 2002; Sperry et al., 2003) and to
much extend correspond to the unsaturated conductivity of soil while drying and wetting
cycles (Sperry et al., 2002).
A negative effect of water stress on vessels size, hypothesized by Zimmermann and Milburn
(1982) and implied in the observation that in periods of drought, wood xylem rings are
narrower was directly evidenced in experiments with grapevine plants subjected to water
stress of different intensity (Lovisolo & Schubert, 1998). It is also suggested that in large vessel species reduction of vessel size may be an adaptation to a persistent situation of
moderate waters stress, while embolism may be induced by a short or more severe water
stress. Drought stress is frequently mentioned as an environmental factor implicated in the
induction of trees decline recently observed in case of several species in Europe (Lygis et al.,
2005; Kowalski & ukomska, 2005) and North America (Ward et al., 2007; Bricker & Stutz,
2004).
Recently the relevance of xylem network structure for plant hydraulics (Loepfe at all, 2007)
has been introduced into the theoretical discussion emphasizing that maximum hydraulic
conducivity and vulnerability depend on multiple factors, including the connectivity of the
network. The aforementioned authors have stated that connectivity increases both
maximum hydraulic conducivity and vulnerability to drought-induced embolism and is
therefore an element to be taken into account in any discussion on the efficiency vs. safety
trade-off in the xylem. Our own preliminary data on connectivity in Fraxinus excelsior L.
xylem in relation to the decline process were shown at the 55th Congress of Polish Botanical
Society in 2010 and further investigations are currently carried out on that issue.
100
8. Conclusions
Soil and xylem are similar hydraulically and can be described as systems consisting of the
same basic elements: a driving force, pipes, reservoirs, regulating systems. For plants the
driving force is mainly the transpiration pulling water from the soil to the leaves and
creating and maintaining a variable gradient of water potential throughout the plant. Pipes
in plants correspond to a complex and highly organized network of very fine capillaries
(vessels and tracheids), which form the xylem conducting system.
The water transport models for soils have been much mechanically based and complete than
the corresponding description of plant hydraulics. The physical nature of flow throughout
the soil makes it to some extent more amenable to quantitative treatment. An unsaturated
conductivity curve for soil corresponds to the vulnerability curve for xylem and the
underlying physical basis is the same. Thus any transport model that treats unsaturated soil
conducivity provides an opportunity for the SPAC model to incorporate more mechanistic
and predictive treatment of plant hydraulics and a better understanding of how the SPAC
model is influenced by repeated droughts.
9. Acknowledgments
The publication was, in part, supported by Grant, No N N309 077438 from The Ministry of
Science and Higher Education.
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Zimmerman, M.H & Milburn, J.A. (1982). Transport and storage of water. In: Encyclopaedia of
plant physiology, O.L. Lane, P.S. Nobel, C.B. Osmond, H. Ziegler, (Eds), Vol. 12B, pp.
135-151, Springer Verlag, ISBN 038712103X ,New York
6
Plant Hydraulic Conductivity:
The Aquaporins Contribution
Mara del Carmen Martnez-Ballesta, Mara del Carmen RodrguezHernndez, Carlos Alcaraz-Lpez, Csar Mota-Cadenas,
Beatriz Muries and Micaela Carvajal
Dpto. Nutricin Vegetal. Centro de Edafologa y Biologa

Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC)
Campus de Espinardo, Murcia
Spain
1. Introduction
In the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum the major resistance to water flux is the leafatmosphere interface which determine the rate of transpiration for a specific evaporative
demand. In this scenario, the hydraulic resistance of the different plant tissues is minor;
however, the hydraulic conductivity of the whole plant is subjected to a tight physiological
regulation in which the aquaporins role may result fundamental. The expression of a large
number of aquaporins occurs predominantly in roots and different experimental procedures
have demonstrated that aquaporins activity is linked to the hydraulics of some species
during abiotic stress. However, the plants roots hydraulic properties also depend on the
morphology and anatomy of roots and the length of the absorbing region in addition to the
influence of aquaporins. These features change during the plant development and in
response to environmental stimuli by altering the hydraulic conductivity of the root. To
fully understand root system hydraulics and the contribution of native aquaporins,
comprehensive studies at different scales are required. In this chapter the definitions used to
describe the plant hydraulic resistances are mentioned and the influence of the root anatomy
and morphology on hydraulic conductivity is reviewed. Also, the variations in the hydraulic
resistances under different abiotic stresses and distinct environmental conditions have been
explored. Finally, the different properties and characteristics among various measuring
methods are reviewed.
2. Hydraulic resistances: the physiological significance

The water pass from soil though plant to atmosphere has been classically described as a
system of hydraulic resistors arranged in series (van den Honert, 1948). However, plants can
vary this resistance (and conductance) of the pathways to maintain the water balance of the
shoot (Steudle, 2000). When water exists in the vapour phase, the greatest resistance is the
stomatal aperture. However, in the liquid phase, the root system constitutes a highly
significant and important resistance to overall flow of water in the plant (Steudle, 2000).
104
A common error in plant water relations is the interchangeable use of hydraulic

conductance and conductivity although both parameters are related. Hydraulic conductance
is a measure of the ability of an entity to conduct water, independent of the specific entitys
dimensions, whereas hydraulic conductivity is a property of an entity with specified
dimensions, usually surface area. Conductance or conductivity may be normalized to
various dimensions of the particular organ or system relevant to the flow-path, thus
conductance of the root system may be normalized to root length or root weight (Tyree et
al., 2002). When water transport across a surface is considered (a cell or a root) the concept is
expressed by surface area to give what is also termed hydraulic conductivity (Lp, m s-1 MPa1). Conductivity of a stem segment or petiole can be normalized to xylem cross sectional area
of a stem segment. Leaf hydraulic conductivity is generally measured as the flux (mmol s-1)
divided by the gradient in water potential, (MPa), and leaf surface area to give units of
mmol m-2 s-1 MPa-1 (Sack & Holbrook, 2006).
Root hydraulic conductivity (Lpr), is one of the major parameters reflecting root water
uptake ability. It has a close correlation with plant water relations under both normal and
stressed conditions. The root ability to respond rapidly to fluctuating conditions suggests
that Lpr may participate in plant adaptation to diverse environments (Steudle, 2000). The
study of root water uptake has been made progress recently from the anatomical structure
of the root to molecular level, i.e., aquaporins activity (Steudle, 2000; 2001). Aquaporins are
transmembrane proteins that belong to the Mayor Intrinsic Proteins (MIP), a large family of
water channel proteins located in plasma and intracellular membranes and are the main
determinants of water flow across plant cells and tissues. Aquaporins can be divided into
different subfamilies depending on the sequence homology and subcellular localization, the
plasma membrane proteins (PIP, with two phylogenic subgroups PIP1 and PIP2), the
tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIP) the nodulin- 26like intrinsic membrane proteins (NIPs)
and the small basic intrinsic proteins (SIPs) (Javot et al., 2003; Maurel et al., 2008).
The dynamic changes in Lpr in response to chemical or environmental stimuli may result
from modifications of aquaporin abundance or activity (Carvajal et al., 1996; TournaireRoux et al., 2003; Boursiac et al., 2005). However, due to the high plasticity of plant root
systems both in architecture and metabolism (Liang et al., 1997; Joslin et al., 2000; Linkohr et
al., 2002; Lpez-Bucio et al., 2003), and the different properties among various measuring
methods and experimental conditions, the root hydraulic conductivity could be highly
variable even for the same plant.
Also, leaves contribute to a substantial part of the hydraulic resistance in whole plants (Sack
et al., 2003; Sack & Holbrook 2006). Leaf hydraulic conductance may also be linked to
transpiration efficiency through regulation of water transport by aquaporins and effects on
mesophyll cell water status (Zwieniecki et al., 2007). In fact, ABA (abcisic acid) controls
aquaporin PIP levels in the leaf (Morillon & Chrispeels, 2001; Aroca, 2006; Lian et al., 2006;
Parent et al., 2009), thereby contributing to the leaf hydraulic conductivity (Morillon &
Chrispeels 2001). However, this is not always the case and it has been reported that an
antisense inhibition of PIP1 and PIP2 expression did not affect the leaf hydraulic
conductance in Arabidopsis (Martre et al., 2002).
3. The root anatomy influence on the hydraulic conductivity

In the radial pathway, the water absorbed by the roots has to pass through living tissue,
through the walls of the root before reaching the xylem vessels. In the axial plane, the flow
Plant Hydraulic Conductivity: The Aquaporins Contribution
105
of water occurs along the xylem vessels and tracheids. The relationship between radial and
axial resistances determines the resistance of the whole root and distribution of water
uptake (Zwieniecki et al., 2003). The composite transport model of water proposed in the
roots (Steudle & Frensch, 1996; Steudle & Peterson, 1998) accounts for variable contributions
of transmembrane (where aquaporins may exert a control) and apoplastic (independent of
aquaporin activity) pathways to the overall root water uptake, depending on the nature and
the intensity of the driving force. The model explains why hydrostatic gradients may result
in higher root hydraulic conductivity (Lpr) than for osmotic gradients (Steudle, 2000).
However, higher root Lpr for hydrostatic than for osmotic gradients is not always observed
(Bramley et al., 2007b). For example, Lpc of epidermal and cortical cells was much greater
than Lpr in Hordeum distichon and Phaseolus coccineus roots, indicating that water flow
mainly via the cell-to-cell pathway (Steudle & Brinckmann, 1989). By contrast, analogous
measurements on maize (Zea mays) roots revealed a predominantly apoplastic flow (Steudle
et al., 1987). Comparing the measured values of Lpr and Lpc for each cortical cell layer
indicated that radial water flow through wheat (Triticum aestivum) roots occurs by a similar
contribution of the parallel pathways, but radial water flow in the roots of narrow-leafed
lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) and yellow lupin (Lupinu luteus) appears to be predominantly
apoplastic (Bramley, 2006).
In addition, the dynamics of root permeability to water has been also associated with the
anatomical and morphological features (Kramer, 1983; Moreshet & Huck, 1991). In cereal
roots, a maximum of water absorption in the region of less than 100 mm from the root apex
has been observed (Sanderson, 1983) since the water flow resistance is higher in both the
radial and the axial pathway in the root zones where there is a developed xylem (Steudle,
2001). Also, the Lpr of wheat roots decreased with the distance from the root tip, indicating
that water absorption occurs preferentially in the apical region (Bramley, 2006).
Rieger and Litvin (1999) found that the root diameter was negatively correlated with Lpr in
five species and that drought stimulated the suberisation and other anatomical changes that
reduced the Lpr. Thus, the apoplastic pathway can be inhibited by the presence of
Casparian bands, which are deposits of suberin or lignin in the cell wall (Steudle, 2000).
Casparian bands occur in radial and transverse walls of the endodermis and exodermis
(Steudle & Peterson, 1998). Hydraulic conductivity uses to decline with root age which is
likely due to suberization and loss of the cortex reducing surface area available for water
uptake (Wells & Eissenstat, 2002). Frequently, suberized layers may assist in reducing water
loss to soil during water deficits. Huang and Eissenstat (2000) determined that structural
differences in the radial pathway were the main factors that determined the Lpr in the roots
of citrus rootstocks. In maize plants the development of an exodermis in the roots reduced
the radial hydraulic conductivity (Hose et al, 2000; Zimmermann et al, 2000). By contrast,
Steudle et al. (1993) demonstrated that the endodermis of young maize roots did not affect
the Lpr. In a similar way, Barrowclough et al. (2000) found that in the roots of onion plants
(Allium cepa), the highest values of radial hydraulic conductivity were correlated with the
presence of exodermis. Thus, the anatomical changes are slow and depend on the plant
growth and the genotype, and can act as a survival strategy to reduce long-term Lpr when
environmental changes are slow.
In addition, depending on the length of the root species the absorption region can change
(Kramer, 1983). For example, the wheat root length is two to ten times higher than the
lupino plants (Gallardo et al., 1996). However, despite these differences in root length, the
roots of eudicotyledon species tend to have a higher specific rate of water uptake than
106
cereals. Moreover, these higher rates of water absorption appear to be due to greater
hydraulic conductivity (Bramley, 2006; Gallardo et al., 1996) as occurred in wheat roots
where aquaporin activity increased causing an overshoot in Lpr (Bramley et al., 2010).
Although it was believed that the relation between root water uptake and Lpr was due only
to differences in axial and radial anatomy (Hamza & Aylmore, 1992a; Gallardo et al, 1996),
the discovering of the aquaporins supposed a tight regulation mechanism of water flux.
Since a significant proportion of radial flow of water occurs from cell to cell through the cell
membrane, Lpr can be controlled by the activity of aquaporins. Thus, measurements of the
radial hydraulic conductivity after removal of tissue layers and the application of mercury
have shown variable activity of aquaporins in different regions of Agave deserti, where
aquaporins were to be active in regions associated with living cells with high metabolic
activity (Martre et al., 2001; North et al., 2004). Also, in Arabidopsis thaliana roots the relative
contribution of the apoplastic pathway increased when aquaporin activity was inhibited by
mercury treatment which was reflected in L0 (Martinez-Ballesta et al., 2003).
Finally, the absorption of water for several or all of the individual roots can contribute to Lpr
of the entire root system (Bramley, 2006). There is also evidence that individual roots are
capable of varying its hydraulic conductivity. In several experiments Vysotskaya et al.
(2004a, 2004b) removed four of the seminal roots of durum wheat (Triticum durum) and an
increased Lpr of the remaining roots was observed maintaining the shoot water supply.
4. Hydraulic conductivity and environmental stress

It is known that roots offer the greatest resistance to water flow and that the hydraulic
conductivity of the root (Lpr), may be affected by diverse forms of abiotic stress. Although
the hydraulic conductivity of the tissues could be regulated by changes in the level of
specific aquaporins, regulation could also occur by changing the activity of these proteins
(Carvajal et al., 2000; Zimmermann et al., 2000). Thus, the ability to increase or decrease the
water permeability of a cell seems to justify the enormous effort in expressing large amounts
of these proteins (Schffner, 1998). However, water uptake by roots is a variable process that
depends on the structure and anatomy of roots which, in turn, is affected by environmental
factors such as drought, temperature and heavy metals (Azaizeh et al., 1992; North and
Nobel, 1996; Peyrano et al., 1997; Schreiber et al., 1999).
4.1 Water stress
Some stresses, such as drought, could be perceived by the roots and transduced to the aerial
part as a hydraulic signal reducing cell turgor in the leaves (Christmann et al., 2007). This
change increases the leaf ABA levels and subsequently induces the stomatal closure. The Lpr
drop due to the water deficit could amplify this root-shoot signal, decreasing finally the
plant transpiration rate. It has been found a correlation between Lpr and the transpiration
rate for eucalyptus (Franks et al., 2007) or grapevine (Vanderleur et al., 2004). However,
under specific physiological context, stomatal regulation and Lpr are uncoupled and more
research about the root-shoot hydraulic signalling is necessary. Thus, it has been reported
than under low evaporative demand the stomatal conductance was not affected by the
application of aquaporin inhibitors on roots. Consequently, transpiration was steady and
the water potential gradient between the root medium and the xylem at the leaf base was
increased and counteracted the Lpr reduction. However, this chemical manipulation of root
hydraulic conductivity caused simultaneous effects on leaf growth rate and on cell turgor in
107
the growing zone suggesting that turgor and growth are coupled (Ehlert et al., 2009). By
contrast, under higher evaporative demand, which induced a dramatic decrease in leaf
water potential, Lpr was reduced to values similar to those observed in maize in field
conditions (Tardieu & Simonneau, 1998). Also, previous studies of aspen (Populus species)
(Wan & Zwiazek, 1999) and pepper (Capsicum annuum) (Martinez-Ballesta et al., 2003a) also
reported that, on a slightly longer term exposure of the roots to HgCl2 induced a significant
decrease in stomatal conductance.
The effects of drought on the root hydraulic conductivity depend on the stress level
(Siemens & Zwiazeck, 2004) and plant genotype (Saliendra & Meinzer, 1992). If water
uptake becomes limiting, the up-regulation of aquaporins expression could enhance cellular
water permeability, increasing root hydraulic conductivity, relieves osmotic pumps, and
supports the survival during dry periods (Siefritz et al., 2002).
Gene expression studies in various plant species have shown variable responses of
aquaporin isoforms to water stress, with both up- and down-regulation of genes evident
(Alexandersson et al., 2005; Jang et al., 2004; Sarda et al., 1999; Suga et al., 2002; Yamada et
al., 1997). The down-regulation of PIP gene expression and Lpr by drought stress may result
in reduced membrane water permeability, and may promote cellular water conservation
during periods of dehydration stress (Jang et al., 2004). In desert plants, the closure of water
channels during drought would help prevent root water loss to a soil that generally has a
lower water potential than does the plant (North et al., 2004). In leaves, roots, and twigs of
olive (Olea europaea), OePIP1;1, OePIP2;1, and OeTIP1;1 were significantly reduced at 3 and
4 weeks after water was withheld (Secchi et al., 2007). Overexpression of AtPIP1b in
transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) caused plants wilting faster when water was withheld
(Aharon et al., 2003). In contrast, Siefritz et al. (2002) observed reduced resistance to water
stress in antisense tobacco plants with reduced expression of NtAQP1, the homologous
aquaporin. Recently, Sade et al. (2009) showed that the tonoplast aquaporin SlTIP2;2, is a
key to isohydric to anisohydric behaviour conversion, increasing transpiration under
normal growth conditions and limiting the reduction in transpiration under drought and
salt stresses. This characteristic attributable to overexpression of the TIP isoform SlTIP2;2 do
not appear to exist in many PIP-overexpressing plants.
Effects of drought on root hydraulic conductivity will then have different consequences on
whole hydraulic resistance and on leaf water potential depending on species. Isohydric
cultivars are those that keep their leaf water potential above a certain threshold regardless of
soil water availability or atmospheric water demand. The finding of no variation in
transcript level of most important root PIP aquaporins and suberisation implies a lower
hydraulic conductance in water deficit conditions. This supports the hypothesis of tight
control on stomatal regulation that is typical of isohydric cultivars, which aims to avoid
excessively negative xylematic water potential and, therefore, cavitation (Schultz, 2003a;
Soar et al., 2006; Vandeleur et al., 2009). Anisohydric cultivars are those in which leaf water
potential drops with decreasing soil water availability or increasing atmospheric water
demand.
4.2 Salinity
It has been reported that salinity affect negatively to the hydraulic conductivity (Munns &
Passioura, 1984; Joly, 1989). Although the reductions in root hydraulic conductivity or
hydraulic conductance of salinised plants have been suggested as being due to the
hyperosmotic stress and ionic imbalance caused by the high apoplastic concentrations of
108
Na+ and Cl (Evlagon et al., 1990), it has been suggested that these reductions could be due
to changes either in the aquaporins functionality or in the amount of this protein in the
plasma membrane (Carvajal et al., 2000).
In any case, the L0 results for the plant roots cannot be always explained in terms of
aquaporins abundance in the plasma membrane, as shown in several reports (Lpez-Prez
et al., 2007; Muries et al., 2011). Thus, in root cells of Brassica oleracea plants grown with
NaCl, apparent disagreement between L0 values and PIP protein abundance has been
observed (Muries et al., 2011). In these plants the most-important modification in the
anatomy of the root was phi thickening, which increased in salinity-stressed plants and
could be a physical barrier to apoplastic water transport (Lpez-Prez et al., 2007). The
down-regulation of L0 under saline conditions and the increased protein amount
observed could be interpreted as a mechanism to restore and compensate water uptake by
roots. Other explanations for the disagreement between L0 values and PIP protein
abundance under stressing conditions could be differences in the contribution of PIP
isoforms to the L0 values or different PIP localisation along the root axis (Benabdellah et al.,
2009) or among cellular membranes (Boursiac et al., 2005; Zelazny et al., 2007). Furthermore,
a reduction of the phosphorylation state of PIP proteins could cause the observed reduction
in L0 (Wilder et al., 2008) and this and other post-translational modifications as gating
control mechanism may be considered.
4.3 Anoxia
Soil compaction or flooding which restrict oxygen diffusion in the soil, result in root anoxia
which, in turn, down-regulates Lpr in certain plant species. Thus, Zhang & Tyerman (1991)
using the cell pressure probe showed a 10-fold decrease in the hydraulic conductivity of root
cortical cells of wheat under anoxia conditions. These changes in the root hydraulics largely
reflected the variations in the transport properties of root cell membranes. Thus, anoxia may
reduce the rate of active pumping of nutrients without affecting the passive permeability of
roots. Because of the reduction of root hydraulic conductivity, anaerobic conditions should
have great consequences for the supply of the shoot with water and, hence, for the whole
plant water status. Aquaporins that are highly expressed in roots and facilitate water
transport across membranes tended to be down regulated after a few hours of hypoxia
(Bramley et al., 2007b). Also, the closure of aquaporins in membranes decreased the
hydraulic conductivity and hence increased the half-time of the rate of water exchange
across the cell (Bramley et al., 2010).
In Arabidopsis plants, hydraulic conductivity inhibition under anoxia or O2 deprivation by
the gating of aquaporins was related to cytosolic acidosis (Tournaire-Roux et al., 2003).
Thus, the closure of the plant plasma membrane aquaporin was triggered by the
protonation of a conserved hystidine residue under anoxia conditions (Tournaire-Roux et
al., 2003). Similarly, in spinach an acidification of the cytosol due to anoxia, would cause a
protonation of His 193 in loop D of SoPIP2;1 thereby closing the channel (TrnrothHorsefield et al., 2006). Also, it has been characterized two protein kinases phosphorylating
Ser 115 and Ser 274 in SoPIP2;1 which optima pH reflects the normal cytosolic pH (SjvallLarsen et al., 2006). Thus, inactivation of these kinases due to an acidification of the cytosol
would lead to a dephosphorylation of Ser115 and Ser274 of SoPIP2;1 and represent an
alternative mechanism for aquaporin closing (Trnroth-Horsefield et al., 2006).
These changes in cytosolic pH and H2O2 have recently emerged as cellular signals triggered
by various external stimuli and mediating pronounced and rapid changes in Lpr (Aroca et
al., 2005; Lee et al., 2004a; Tournaire-Roux et al., 2003).
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4.4 Low temperatures

Also, the root system can respond very quickly to changes produced by low temperatures
through the variations in its root hydraulic conductivity (Fennell & Markhart, 1998).
Chilling induced water stress in plants and it was initiated by the decreased of 17-23% in the
root hydraulic conductance followed by a large decrease in leaf water and turgor potential
(Aroca et al., 2001). Thus, the water deficit is caused by a reduction in the root water uptake
greater than the leaf transpiration rate during chilling (Aroca et al., 2001). The effect of
chilling on the root hydraulic conductivity can be attributed to changes in abundance
and/or activity of aquaporins (Aroca et al., 2004; Cochard et al., 2007). Thus, in tulip Azad et
al. (2004) identified the temperature as an environmental stimulus that induced
phosphorylation or dephosphorilation of aquaporins accompanied by changes in the cells
water permeability. Reversible phosphorylation is considered as a potent mechanism for
plant aquaporin regulation, during development and in the response of plants to
environmental stimuli (Luu & Maurel, 2005).
Aroca et al. (2001) reported that chilling-tolerant maize genotype showed an acclimation of
Lpr and root hydraulic conductance was recovered in chilling-tolerant but not in chillingsensitive varieties. Lee et al. (2004b) showed that in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), a cold
sensitive species, a brief exposure to low temperature reduces root pressure, hydraulic
conductivity, and active nutrient transport. These authors also postulated that changes in
the activity of aquaporins underlie the changes in hydraulic conductivity (Aroca et al., 2005;
Lee et al., 2004a). Thus, it was concluded that water permeability of cucumber root cell
membranes was related to changes in the activity (open/closed state) of aquaporins that
were effectively at low temperature (Lee et al., 2005).
In addition to the aquaporins, increased water viscosity accounted for part of the decrease in
the L0 early during chilling (Matzner & Comstock, 2001). Thus, it has been suggested that it
is the result of low-temperature-induced alteration of membrane properties that lowers the
hydraulic conductance of the symplastic component of radial root water flux (Sanders &
Markhart, 2001).
5. Effect of light intensity on hydraulic conductivity

The plant water status is constantly changed by diurnal variations of light intensity as the
stoma opening to fix CO2 is occurring. Therefore, as plants lose substantial amounts of water
using the same pathway, they have to develop strategies to optimize the use of water
efficiently in response to changes in the light regime, such as variations in hydraulic
conductivities of the root (Lpr) and hydraulic conductance of the leaf (Kleaf) (Postaire et al.,
2010).
It is well-described that plant leaves respond to light in a short time scale by adjusting leaf
hydraulic efficiency. There is also a general consensus that up- or down-regulation of water
channels in the plasma membrane of leaf cells plays a central role in the underlying
mechanisms. In many plant species it has been reported that the Kleaf, can be increased
several folds by high irradiance (Nardini et al., 2005, 2010; Lo Gullo et al., 2005; Sack &
Holbrook, 2006; Cochard et al., 2007) and can depend on both light duration and intensity
(Sellin et al., 2008). Other experiments showed no effect of light conditions on Kleaf as it
occurs in laurel in laboratory experiments (Laurus nobilis) (Cochard et al., 2004) or on Klam
(leaf lamina hydraulic conductance) of trembling aspen trees (Voicu et al., 2009). Despite of
it, there is current agreement that aquaporin activation and/or expression plays a role in the
110
underlying mechanisms as the increase in Kleaf (Nardini et al., 2005; Voicu et al., 2008). In
addition, other studies suggest that this light-induced enhancement involves expression or
activation of plasma membrane aquaporins in mesophyll or bundle sheath cells (Tyree et al.,
2005; Cochard et al.; 2007, Voicu et al., 2008). This idea is supported by the results obtained
by Cochard et al. (2007) who found a very good kinetic correlation between the increase in
Kleaf and the increase in two walnut aquaporin (JrPIP2,1 and JrPIP2,2) expression during a
transition from dark to high light. In the same way, pressure probe measurements revealed
that the effect of light on leaf water transport was mediated in part through changes in cell
hydraulic conductivity (Lpc) in midrib parenchyma cells of maize leaves (Kim & Steudle,
2007) where an increasing light intensity increased both Lpc and aquaporin activity.
However higher light intensities (800 and 1800 mol m-2 s-1) dramatically decrease Lpc
probably due to an oxidative gating of aquaporins by ROS (Kim & Steudle, 2009). There
should be an optimal light intensity to maximize water flow across leaf cells, but enhanced
water flow could be inhibited at a certain light intensity.
Although recent findings showed an inhibition of aquaporin-mediated water transport in
tobacco and bur oak leaves exposed to high irradiance (Lee et al., 2009; Voicu et al., 2009),
these papers rather indicate that regulation of the aquaporin-mediated water transport
processes is more complicated and can not always be explained merely by changes in the
transcript level. On the other hand, it has also been shown that exposure of Arabidopsis
plants to darkness increased the hydraulic conductivity of excised rosettes (Kros) by up to
90% and enhanced the transcript abundance of several PIP genes, including AtPIP1;2 which
represent a key component of whole-plant hydraulics (Postaire et al., 2010).
The impact of high irradiance on stem (Kstem) and leaf lamina (Klam) hydraulic conductance
has also been demonstrated with an increase in Kstem (field-grown laurel plants - Nardini et
al, 2010; silver birch - Sellin et al., 2010) and in Klam (Voicu et al., 2008) whereas some data
suggest that petiole hydraulic conductance (Kpet) was unchanged upon illumination (Voicu
et al., 2008). The quality of light was also found to have an effect in Klam with a higher
increase ranked in descending order as follows, white, blue and green, red and amber light,
after a 30-min exposure to high irradiance (Voicu et al., 2008) but not in Kpet. Neither of
these studies demonstrated a direct involvement of the aquaporins on hydraulic
conductance changes.
6. Hydraulic conductivity and biological rhythm

The plant water status is not only challenged by light intensity or darkness but also by
diurnal variations (biological rhythm). Since the transport of water and certain other small
solutes is facilitated by the function of aquaporins, whose expression and functionality
follows the changing demands of the plant physiology during the day or night, it is not
surprising that root hydraulic conductivity which is indicative of plant water uptake may
also be regulated in a day/night-dependent manner and modified by aquaporin activity
(Siefritz et al. 2002). In classic experiments, it was observed that the root hydraulic
conductivity declined towards the end of the light period and rose again at the end of the
dark period (Parsons & Kramer, 1974). In addition, a diurnal variation of Lpr was shown in
young roots of Phaseolus coccineus (Peters & Steudle, 1999) and in excised roots of the legume
Lotus japonicus grown in aeroponic (mist of nutrient reservoir around the plant roots) or in
sand culture (Henzler et al., 1999) where Lpr was found to vary over a 5-fold range during a
day/night cycle, with a maximum around noon. This was correlated to the expression of a
111
putative PIP1 aquaporin (Henzler et al., 1999) probably due to the conductivity of
membranes of endodermal and stellar cells rather than first four cell layers of the cortex
where there was no evidence of any diurnal fluctuation.
Diurnal changes in Kleaf have been reported in numerous species, but, in most cases, Kleaf
was increased during the day, concomitantly to a higher transpiration demand (Nardini et
al., 2005; Tyree et al., 2005; Sack & Holbrook, 2006; Cochard et al., 2007). A midday
depression of Kleaf has been reported in the tropical tree species Simarouba glauca (Brodribb
& Holbrook, 2004), but in this case, it was due to a vulnerability of the vascular system to
cavitation rather than aquaporin regulation. Contrary as it occurs in roots, a higher
expression of most of the ZmPIP genes during the first hours of the light period than at the
end of the day or at night (Hachez et al., 2008) was correlated with changes in the membrane
water permeability measured using a cell pressure probe in maize leaves (Heinen et al.,
2009).
7. Effect of plant nutrition on hydraulic conductivity

An excess or absence of the main elements in plant nutrition can cause disorders in some
parameters of water relations such as hydraulic conductance of roots and the activity of
aquaporins at the cellular level (Clarkson et al., 2000).
Several works revealed that both N- and P- deficient conditions decreased the Lpr (Carvajal
et al., 1996; Shaw et al., 2002; Shangguan et al., 2005; Fan et al., 2007) and the Lpc (Radin &
Matthews, 1989) in many plant species. This suggests that the lowered root Lpr of N-, or Pdeficient plants may be due to the decreaseds water channel activity or abundance on the
plasma membrane (Carvajal et al. 1996, 1998; Clarkson et al., 2000; Shangguan et al., 2005).
Such a decrease has also been observed in SO42--deprived barley (Hordeum vulgare) roots,
where Lpr decreased to 20% of controls over a 4-d period (Karmoker et al. 1991) On the
other hand, Mg2+ and K+ starvation produced a positive effect on L0 (Cabaero & Carvajal,
2007) and Lpr (Benlloch-Gonzlez et al., 2010) respectively. Nevertheless, available data
regarding the effect of K+ deprivation on aquaporin activity are sparse and contradictory.
Prolonged deprivation is reported not to lead to any increase in the activity of mercurysensitive aquaporins in plant roots of several plant species (Maathuis et al., 2003; Cabaero
& Carvajal, 2007; Benlloch-Gonzalez, 2009), even though a greater PIP and MIP aquaporin
activity has been observed in the early stages of deprivation (Maathuis et al., 2003). This
would suggest that transcriptional regulation of aquaporins by low external K+ at early
stages could provide a potential means of preventing osmotic stress during long-term K+
deprivation.
Concerning nutrient supply or excess, Adler et al. (1996) were among the first to suggest
that lower Lpr under NH4+ supply was due to an effect on aquaporin activity. In addition,
the excess of nutrients such as of K+ and Ca+ produced a toxic effect on L0 in agreement with
aquaporin functionality in pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) (Cabaero & Carvajal, 2007)
while NO3- induction of root Lpr in maize was not correlated with aquaporin expression
(Gorska et al., 2008).
8. Different methods for root hydraulic conductivity measurements

Root resistance is an important parameter in determining plant water relations and
influencing whole plant responses to multitude of environmental changes and stress
112
situations, as it accounts for a significant fraction of the entire hydraulic resistance in most
plants. Methods for determining the hydraulic conductivity of the entire root system relate
the ratio of xylem sap flow, or change in flow, to the difference in water potential,
hydrostatic pressure or osmotic potential gradient across the root system, or change of it.
These methods include transpirational water flow, osmotically induced flow and
hydrostatic pressure-induced flow through the root xylem. Hydrostatic pressure may be
applied either to the soil or root medium to induce root exudation (Martnez-Ballesta et al.,
2003) or the root xylem through the cut stem surface following excision of the shoot, to
induce reverse flow through the roots to the surrounding medium (Frensch & Steudle, 1989;
Zhu & Steudle, 1991; Garthwaite et al., 2006; Knipfer et al., 2007).
8.1 Evaporative water flow method
Determination of the root hydraulic conductivity by means of the transpirational water flow
method involves the ratio of transpiration to the water potential difference induced across
the xylem (root surface to xylem) of the root system. By this method, the measurements are
carried out under undisturbed conditions, since the use of transpiration require that the
hydraulic pathway is followed by transpiration (Tsuda & Tyree, 2000) without imposed
gradients. This method is very practical in the field conditions but its accuracy is limited by
the relatively low precision by which the water potential and transpiration can be measured
in the field, particularly with large plants. However, under controlled environment
conditions with adequate evaporative demand, steady-state transpiration and differences in
the osmotic pressure may be readily attained, preventing changes in tissue water content.
8.2 Hydrostatic pressure-induced root exudation method
Measurements of root hydraulic conductivity by pressurising roots are one of the methods
most frequently used under laboratory conditions. The entire root system of a detached pant
is sealed in a pressure vessel with the cut stem surface exposed to ambient pressure through
a seal in the top. Hydrostatic pressure is applied to the root system inducing nutrient
solution to flow through the root to the unpressurised cut stem surface (Martinez-Ballesta et
al., 2003). The method imposes a unnatural gradient in water potential, and could lead to
irreversible changes in the soil-root interface, so that root conductance determined by this
method may not accurately reflect the true value under natural conditions, particularly with
root systems grown in soil. However, this method, in plants grown in hydroponic solution,
the root exudation is more readily attained and more linearly related to applied pressure.
8.3 Natural exudation method
Collecting root exudates under natural root pressure for measuring hydraulic conductance
is also widely used (Lpez-Perez et al., 2007). However the flow rate detected by this
method hardly represents the natural status of transpiring plants (Emery and Salon, 2002).
Using the hydrostatic pressure chamber to force xylem sap out from decapitated plants, it is
difficult to know exactly how high the applied pressure should be, because different values
of over pressure can result in different xylem water fluxes (Else et al., 1995). In any case, the
flow rate is influenced by the inherent hydraulic conductivity of root systems, measured as a
conductance. Therefore different values will be obtained, those using the pressurising
chamber will be higher as a consequence of pressurizing the roots. In this case, water
movement will occur through the apoplast to a greater extent than when the measurements
113
are obtained by natural exudation. Therefore, the resulting root hydraulic conductance will
be higher.
8.4 Root pressure probe method
Root pressure probe (RPP) is one of the most reliable techniques able to measure hydraulic
conductivity of plant roots. RPP have been used to measure root pressure and water and
solute flows (Steudle, 1993). Other important issues is the ability for separating the axial
hydraulic resistance of xylem vessels from that related to flow across the root cylinder and
to measure the radial hydraulic resistance of individual root zone (Lee et al., 2004b). In this
method, the excised segment of the root or whole root system (excised close to its base) from
plants is fixed to pressure probe for continuously recording of the root pressures with the
aid of a pressure transducer. Water flow across the root could be induced either by changing
the hydrostatic pressure in the probe by moving a metal rod with the aid of a micrometer
screw or by exchanging the root medium by a medium containing a test solute of known
osmotic pressure (Frensch and Steudle, 1989; Lee et al., 2004b). Transient responses in root
pressure allow Lpr to be calculated from rate constant or half-times of pressure relaxations
(Steudle et al., 1987).
Root pressure probe has been used to work out the water and solute permeability of roots.
As for some species, the results indicate a considerable cell-to-cell component, whereas in
others, the apoplast seemed to be preferred (Lpez-Perez et al., 2007). However, the relative
contribution of pathways also depended on the nature of the forces applied. In osmotic
experiments, the cell-to-cell path was preferred, whereas in hydrostatic experiments the
flow was predominantly in the apoplast. The results obtained with the pressure probe
measurements indicated the consistence of the technique since the extended osmometer
model in which the osmotic barrier in the root is looked at a composite membrane system.
However, in spite of all these methodologies, the mechanism of water ascent has been the
subject of much controversy during years. The development of thermocouple
psychrometers and of the pressure chamber technique permitted indirect estimates of the
xylem pressure on a large number of species.
A major difficulty with the use of psychormeters approach is the extreme sensitivity of the
measurement to temperature fluctuations. For example, a change in temperature of 0.01C
corresponds to a change in water potential of about 0.1 MPa. Thus, psychrometers must be
operated under constant temperature conditions. For this reason, the method is used
primarily in laboratory settings. Because of its feasibility and its simplicity, the pressure
chamber technique is widely used by plant physiologists, but also by farmers to measure
plant water stress and schedule irrigation. For many species, hydraulic conductance, as
determined with these techniques, typically ranges between 1 and 2MPa. Also, direct
measurements of hydraulic conductance have been attempted by the pressure probe. In this
case, the pressures that were recorded with this technique were much less negative (in the
range of 0 to 0.5MPa) than the values produced by the pressure chamber, although new
experiments have recently been conducted with the pressure probe (Wei et al., 1999) and
were found to agree with the pressure chamber.
Thus by the pressure probe the hydrostatic pressure of individual cells may be measured
directly. However, the primary limitation of this method is that some cells are too small to
measure. Furthermore, some cells tend to leak after being stabbed with the capillary, and
others plug up the tip of the capillary, thereby preventing valid measurements. However,
114
technical problems with cavitation limit the measurement of negative pressures by this
technique.
9. Conclusion
Root hydraulic conductivity is one of the main parameters that reflect the capacity of the
root to uptake water. It confers to the root the ability to respond rapidly to fluctuating
conditions suggesting that this parameter may be involved in the plant adaptation to
diverse environments. After the aquaporins discovery the dynamic changes in the hydraulic
conductivity were attributable to the modifications of the abundance or activity of these
water channels. However, root plasticity and its ability to adapt the water uptake to the
variable environment is also the consequence of root architecture and metabolism. Thus, the
anatomical and morphological features of the roots, such as the diameter or length, the cell
layer and its degree of suberisation and the radial and axial water transport pathway have a
great influence on the hydraulic conductivity. Thus, the heterogeneity of aquaporins and of
root hydraulic properties feed each other and play critical roles in the integrated root
functions.
Several abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, soil compaction or flooding and low
temperatures as well as the light intensity, diurnal variations and the nutritional status affect
the hydraulic conductivity of the tissues changing their resistance to water flow and where
the role of aquaporins may be essential. The combination of aquaporin genetics with
integrated plant physiology will provide critical insights into the hyadraulic conductance
architecture in response to these stresses.
Regarding hydraulic conductance methodologies the Scholander chamber is the best option
for field measurements, however, the validity of the pressure chamber technique has been
seriously challenged and new experimental evidences are needed to rehabilitate the
technique.
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7
Impacts of Wildfire Severity on Hydraulic
Conductivity in Forest, Woodland,
and Grassland Soils
Daniel G. Neary
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

United States of America
1. Introduction
Forest, woodland, and grassland watersheds throughout the world are major sources of
high quality water for human use because of the nature of these soils to infiltrate, store, and
transmit most precipitation instead of quickly routing it to surface runoff. This characteristic
of these wildland soils is due to normally high infiltration rates, porosities, and hydraulic
conductivities generated by biological and physical processes (Neary et al. 2009). Many of
these ecosystems are subject to prescribed fires and wildfires that affect not only aboveground natural resources but also the soil and hydrologic systems (Ice et al. 2004).
Watershed condition is a term that describes the ability of a watershed system to receive,
route, store, and transport precipitation without ecosystem degradation. When a watershed
is in good condition, rainfall infiltrates into the soil, and baseflows are sustained between
storms. Well-vegetated watersheds in good condition generally do not produce damaging
peakflows (flash floods) and large amounts of erosion. However, in some regions of the
world, these destructive streamflows are common irrespective of watershed condition.
Severe fires, poor harvesting practices, over-grazing, conversion to agriculture and urban
uses, and other disturbances alter watershed condition, reducing it to a moderate or poor
level (Ffolliott et al. 2003). With poor watershed condition, rainfall infiltration and hydraulic
conductivities are reduced significantly. Rainfall then runs over the surface of the soil, and
there is little or no baseflow between storms. Erosion is considerable during high
stormflows. This process is referred to as desertification and is, unfortunately, all too
common in ecosystems currently being subjected to excessive wildfire (Neary 2006).
The surface conditions that determine watershed condition include: 1) the presence or
absence of an organic litter layer (<5 mm to > 20 cm) and coarse woody debris, 2)
herbaceous, shrub, and woody vegetation (variable cover), and 3) the geologic material (soil
and rock). Disturbances like wildfire that destroy, remove, redistribute, or increase plant
litter and vegetation, and change soil physical properties, alter the infiltration and
percolation capacity of soil (DeBano et al. 2005). When watershed conditions deteriorate, the
result is increased flood flows and erosion as watershed condition deteriorates.
Plant litter is a key factor in determining watershed condition (Neary 2002, DeBano and
Neary 2005). In a forest, the organic "floor" consists of the Oi, Oe, and Oa horizons (also
known as the L, F, and H layers; or the O1, O2, and O3 in other nomenclatures; Buol et al.
124
2003). The Oi layer consists of freshly fallen tree litter (leaves, branches). The Oe layer is
made up of partially decomposed litter, and the Oa layer consists of well-decomposed
organic matter. The term woodland refers to less dense vegetation units with lower
vegetative structure that is sometimes referred to as shrubland or scrubland in the literature.
In these ecosystems the distinct Oi, Oe, and Oa layers may occur only under continuous
woody vegetation. In grassland ecosystems, easily identifiable layers may not be present
and will be much thinner. Mesic grasslands have a complete herbaceous plant cover and
well-developed organic soil horizons, but those in semi-arid climates may have only bare
soil between plants. Organic material on the soil surface moderates the impact of rain drops,
allowing water to infiltrate rather than running off over the surface. Loss of organic material
by severe burning, harvesting, respiration, oxidation, site preparation, or other disturbances
could result in adverse changes in hydrologic conditions in some instances.
Wildfires affect many water cycle processes. The specific hydrologic processes effects are
summarized in Table 1. Changes in baseflow and stormflow definitely affect the quantity of
water delivered from forested catchments, and can ultimately alter water quality. The
occurrence and magnitude of these effects is a function of the general climate, precipitation,
aspect, latitude, severity of fire, and the percentage of a watershed affected. The first three
hydrologic processes affected by wildfire (interception, litter storage, and transpiration)
listed in Table 1 are due to combustion of tree and herbaceous plant cover. Litter storage is
the main process that is linked directly to hydraulic conductivity and infiltration. Loss of the
litter layer during combustion is a highly significant process in producing direct effects on
infiltration and the resulting watershed responses of streamflow, baseflow, and stormflow
(DeBano et al. 1998 Moody et al. 2008). The heat flux during wildfire affects soil structure
and porosity and produces water repellency that degrades hydraulic conductivity.
This paper examines the range of hydraulic conductivities measured in forest, woodland,
and grassland soils produced by different levels of fire severity. It then discusses reductions
in saturated hydraulic conductivities (Ksat) produced by degrees of severity-linked water
repellency and O horizon destruction.
2. Forest, woodland, and grassland soils

Forests, woodlands, and grassland ecosystems usually develop deep and extensive root
networks (Neary et al. 2009). Deposits of leaf, needle, limb, and herbaceous plant litter on
the soil surface result in a surface soil horizon with relatively high levels of organic matter.
The resulting soil environment produces a diverse micro- and macro-fauna as evidenced by
the many invertebrates, insects, and small vertebrates found in these soils. Root growth and
decay, cracking due to freeze/thaw and wetting-drying processes, animal burrowing,
windthrow of weak trees, subsurface erosion, and other natural processes all increase soil
porosity (ratio of void space to total soil volume), the number and size of macropores (>0.06
mm in diameter), and the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. Leaf and herbaceous plant litter
on the soil surface dissipates raindrop energy and facilitates rainfall infiltration into the soil.
The relatively high organic matter content of wildland soils increases the stability of soil
aggregates, thereby preventing soil crusting by reducing detachment of small soil particles.
This helps maintain high surface infiltration and hydraulic conductivity rates. For these
reasons, most rainfall reaching the organic matter surface horizon infiltrates, and classical
Hortonian overland flow occurs only during very intense rainfall events. Surface runoff
occurs mainly as variable source area runoff (Hewlett and Troendle 1975) from rock
Impacts of Wildfire Severity on Hydraulic Conductivity in Forest, Woodland, and Grassland Soils
125
outctrops, shallow soils, or low lying areas such as floodplains, wetlands, and ephemeral
stream channnels where the surface water table rises to the soil surface during rainfall.
These areas comprise only 515% of most wildland landscapes. Most of the infiltrated water
either is used for plant transpiration needs or reaches streams by subsurface pathways
(Jackson, 2006).
Forest, woodland, and grassland watersheds throughout the world are used as sources of
municipal water supplies because of the stability of water yield and quality of the water
(Neary 2002). High infiltration rates due to high hydraulic conductivities support baseflow
hydrologic regimes that provide adequate supplies for human use.
Hydrologic Process
1. Interception
Type of Change
Specific Effect
Canopy consumed by fire Moisture storage smaller
Greater runoff in small storms
Increased short-term water yield
2. Litter Storage
Litter Consumed
Less water stored (0.5 mm cm-1 of litter)
Mineral soil exposed to raindrop impact
Litter Scorched
No change
3. Transpiration
Temporary Elimination Baseflow increased
Soil moisture increased
Reduced
Hydraulic conductivity decreased
4. Infiltration
Overland flow increased
Increased in most ecosystems
5. Streamflow
Changed
Decreased in snow systems
Decreased in fog-drip systems
6. Baseflow
Changed
Decreased with less infiltration
Increased with less transpiration
Summer low flow changes (+ and -)
7. Stormflow
Increased
Volumes greater
Peakflows larger
Time of concentration to peakflow
shorter
Fires <4 ha, increased snowpack
8. Snow accumulation Changed
Fires > 4 ha, decreased snowpack
Snowmelt rate increased
Evaporation/sublimation increased
Table 1. A summary of the changes in hydrologic processes after wildfires (Adapted from
Neary 2002).
3. Fire effects on ecosystems

3.1 Fire regime
The general character of fire that occurs within a particular vegetation type or ecosystem
across long succession time frames, typically centuries, is commonly defined as the
characteristic fire regime (Neary et al. 2005). The fire regime describes the typical or modal
fire severity that occurs. But it is recognized that, on occasion, fires of greater or lesser
severity also occur within a vegetation type. For example, a stand-replacing crown fire is
common in long fire-return-interval forests (Figure 1).
126
The fire regime concept is useful for comparing the relative role of fire between ecosystems
and for describing the degree of departure from historical conditions (Hardy et al. 2001,
Schmidt et al. 2002). Brown (2000) contains a discussion of the development of fire regime
classifications based on fire characteristics and effects, combinations of factors including fire
frequency, periodicity, intensity, severity, season, size, pattern, and depth of burn. There are
four commonly used fire regime classifications that are aggregated into fire regime groups
depending on frequency of fire occurrence (0 to 35 years, 35 to 100+ years, and greater than
200 years) (Neary et al. 2005). Understory fire regimes are characterized by fires that are
generally nonlethal to the dominant vegetation. They do not substantially change the
structure of the dominant vegetation, and have minimal soil hydraulic conductivity effects.
Stand replacement fire regimes frequently have fires that are lethal to most of the dominant
aboveground vegetation. Approximately 80% or more of the vegetation is either consumed
or dies as a result of fire, substantially changing the aboveground vegetative structure. Soil
properties that influence hydraulic conductivity are frequently affected by this regime. In
mixed fire regimes the severity of fires varies between nonlethal understory and lethal stand
replacement fires with the variation occurring in space or time. Spatial variability occurs
within the same fire when fire severity varies, producing a spectrum from fire effects
characteristic of understory fire regimes to those of a stand replacement regimes. Hydraulic
conductivity is affected in a spatial pattern that reflects the severity. The last fire regime is
the non-fire regime which occurs in vegetation types that are not prone to fire such as
temperate or tropical rain forests. However, hydraulic conductivity can be affected when
large accumulations of woody debris burn during periodic droughts.
Fig. 1. High severity, stand replacing wildfire, Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona.
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service).
127
At finer spatial and temporal scales, the effects of a specific fire can be described at the stand
and community level (Wells et al. 1979, DeBano et al. 1998, Ryan 2002, Neary et al. 2005).
However, the fire regime concept does not work well for describing the soil impacts that
alter hydrologic properties such as hydraulic conductivity. The commonly accepted term for
describing the ecological effects of a specific fire is fire severity. Fire severity describes the
magnitude of the disturbance and, therefore, reflects the degree of change in ecosystem
components. Thus severity integrates both the heat pulse above ground and the heat pulse
transferred downward into the soil. It reflects the amount of energy (heat) that is released by
a fire that ultimately affects resources and their functions. Fire severity can be used to
describe the effects of fire on the soil and water system, ecosystem flora and fauna, the
atmosphere, and society (Simard 1991). It reflects the amount of energy (heat) that is
released by a fire that ultimately affects soil hydraulic conductivity.
3.2 Fire intensity and severity
Although the literature historically contains confusion between the terms fire intensity and
fire severity, a fairly consistent distinction between the two terms has been emerging in
recent years. Fire managers trained in the United States and Canada in fire behavior
prediction systems use the term fire intensity in a strict thermodynamic sense to describe the
rate of energy released (Deeming et al. 1977, Stocks, 1991). Fire intensity is concerned mainly
with the rate of aboveground fuel consumption and, therefore the energy release rate
(Albini 1976, Alexander 1982). The faster a given quantity of fuel burns, the greater the
intensity and the shorter the duration (Rothermel and Deeming 1980). Because the rate at
which energy can be transmitted through the soil is limited by the soils thermal properties,
the duration of burning is critically important to the effects on soils (Frandsen and Ryan
1986, Campbell et al. 1995). Fire intensity is not necessarily related to the total amount of
energy produced during the burning process. Most energy released by flaming combustion
of aboveground fuels is not transmitted downward (Packham and Pompe 1971). Only about
5% of the heat released by a surface fire is transmitted into the ground. Therefore, fire
intensity is not necessarily a good measure of the amount of energy transmitted downward
into the soil, or the associated changes that occur in physical, chemical, and biological
properties of the soil. Because one can rarely measure the actual energy release of a fire, the
term fire intensity has limited practical application when evaluating ecosystem and soil
responses to fire. Fire severity is the preferred measure of the magnitude of negative fire
impacts on natural ecosystems and their components (DeBano et al. 1998).
3.3 Fire severity classification
Ryan and Noste (1985) and Ryan (2002) combined fire intensity classes with depth of burn
classes to develop a two-dimensional matrix approach to defining fire severity. Their system
was based on two components of fire severity: (1) an aboveground heat pulse due to
radiation and convection associated with flaming combustion, and (2) a belowground heat
pulse. In the literature there is common usage of a one dimension rating of fire severity
(Wells et al. 1979, Agee 1993, DeBano et al. 1998, and many others). The single-dimension
rating describes the overall severity of the fire and usually focuses primarily on the effects
on the soil resource. At the spatial scale of a soil mapping unit, a tree stand, or a plant
community, fire severity needs to be based on a sample of the distribution of fire severity
classes. All fires produce a matrix of fire severities that cover the range of severity from low
128
to high. The commonly accepted classes, definitions, and visual indicators of fire severity
were noted in DeBano et al. (1998) and Neary et al. (2005). The classes are described as:
Low severity: This class is typically indicated by scorching of smaller trees and
seedlings, partial or complete combustion of herbaceous plants, <50% of plant brush
canopy consumed, and >50% of trees showing no fire damage. Litter (Oi horizon) is
charred or consumed with a 10-15% reduction. The Oe horizon (duff layer) is mostly
intact and woody debris just charred. Mineral soil properties are usually unchanged
and ash is mostly black. <2% of the area is severely burned, <15% is moderately burned,
and the remainder of the area is burned at a low severity or unburned.
Moderate severity: At this level of severity brush canopies are 60-80% charred or
burned and 20-50% of tree canopies exhibit no visible scorch. There is extensive
scorching of sapling and small tree crowns. The Oi horizon (litter) is consumed with a
50% reduction of cover and mass. The Oe horizon (duff) is deeply charred or consumed.
Woody debris is extensively charred and the mineral soil is mostly unaffected. The
signature ash color is gray. <10% of the area is severely burned, but >15% is burned
moderately, and the remainder is burned at low severity or unburned.
High severity: At this level of severity, <90% of brush canopies are charred or burned.
Fewer than 20% of tree canopies exhibit no visible scorch, and all saplings and small
trees are consumed. The entire organic horizons (Oi, Oe, and Oa) are consumed and
woody debris is reduced to ash and charcoal. The mineral soil is often visible and
exhibits a reddish or orange color. White ash is commonly found as the signature color.
>10 percent of the area has spots that are burned at high severity, >80 percent
moderately or severely burned, and the remainder is burned at a low severity.
Fire severity classifications were once done by on-the-ground visual surveys using these
general definitions. They are currently being done by remote sensing from aircraft or
satellites (van Leeuwen et al. 2010) using a BARC (Burned Area Reflectance Classification)
system (Robichaud et al. 2007).
4. Fire severity effects on soils

4.1 General effects
Fire and associated soil heating can destroy soil structure, affecting both total porosity
and pore size distribution in the surface horizons of a soil (DeBano et al. 1998). These
changes in organic matter decrease both total porosity and pore size, and ultimately
infiltration and hydraulic conductivity. Loss of macropores in the surface soil reduces
infiltration rates and produces overland flow. Alteration of organic matter can also lead to
a water repellent soil condition that further decreases infiltration rates and greatly
decreases hydraulic conductivity. The scenario occurring during the destruction of soil
structure by fire is:
The soil structure collapses and increases the density of the soil because the organic
matter that served as a binding agent has been destroyed.
The collapse in soil structure reduces soil porosity (mainly macropores) and hydraulic
conductivity.
The soil surface is further compacted by raindrops when surface soil particles and ash
are displaced, and surface soil pores become partially or totally sealed.
Finally, the impenetrable soil surface reduces infiltration rates into the soil and
produces rapid runoff and hillslope erosion. Loss of surface soil horizons leads to
129
further declines in soil and catchment hydraulic conductivities, and ultimately

degradation of water resources.
The energy generated during the ignition and combustion of fuels provides the driving
force that is responsible for the changes that occur in the physical, chemical, and biological
properties of soils during a fire (DeBano et al. 1998). Mechanisms responsible for heat
transfer in soils include radiation, conduction, convection, mass transport, and vaporization
and condensation. The heat that is generated by the combustion of surface and aboveground fuels is transferred to the mineral soil surface where it is transferred down into the
underlying soil by a series of complex pathways. Quantifying these different pathways for
heat flow requires the mathematical modeling of fire behavior, duff ignition and
combustion, and the transfer of heat downward to and through moist and dry mineral soil
(Dimitrakopoulos and others 1994).
The heat radiated downward during the combustion of aboveground fuels is transferred
either to the surface of the forest floor, or directly to the surface of mineral soil if organic
surface layers are absent. In most forest ecosystems, heat is usually transferred to an organic
layer of litter and duff. When duff is ignited it can produce additional heat that is
subsequently transferred to the underlying mineral soil. The depth that heat penetrates a
moist soil depends on the water content of the soil, and on the magnitude and duration of
the surface heating during the combustion of aboveground fuels, litter, and duff (Frandsen
1987). During long-duration heating, such as that occurring under a smoldering duff fire or
when burning slash piles, substantial heating can occur 40 to 50 cm downward in the soil.
(Figure 2). This prolonged heating produces temperatures that are lethal to soil organisms
and plant roots, and create water repellency that greatly diminishes hydraulic conductivity.
Fig. 2. White and gray ash typical of high severity fire remaining after a spruce-fir stand that
was burned at high temperatures for a long duration, Coon Creek Fire of 2000, Tonto
National Forest, Arizona. (Photo by Daniel G. Neary).
130
4.2 Water repellency

The creation of water repellency in soils involves both physical and chemical processes. It is
discussed within the context of physical properties because of its strong, influence on
infiltration and heat transfer (both physical processes). Although hydrophobic soils were
observed in the early 1900s (DeBano 2000a, 2000b), fire-induced water repellency was first
identified on burned chaparral watersheds in southern California in the early 1960s. In
southern California, both the production of fire-induced water repellency and the loss of
protective vegetative cover play a major role in the post-fire runoff and erosion. Normally,
dry soils have an affinity for adsorbing liquid and vapor water because there is strong
attraction between the mineral soil particles and water. In water repellent soils, however, the
water droplet beads up on the soil surface where it can remain for long periods and in
some cases will evaporate before being absorbed by the soil. Water, however, will not
penetrate some soils because the mineral particles are coated with hydrophobic substances
that repel water.
Water repellency is produced by soil organic matter and can be found in both fire and nonfire environments (DeBano 2000a, 2000b). Water repellency can result from the following
processes involving organic matter: 1) An irreversible drying of the organic matter, 2) The
coating of mineral soil particles with leachates from organic materials, 3) The coating of soil
particles with hydrophobic microbial byproducts (for example, fungal mycelium), 4) The
intermixing of dry mineral soil particles and dry organic matter, and 5) The vaporization of
organic matter and condensation of hydrophobic substances on mineral soil particles during
fire.
The magnitude of fire-induced water repellency and the reduction in hydraulic conductivity
depend upon several parameters, including: 1) The severity of the fire, 2) Type and amount
of organic matter present, 3) Temperature gradients in the upper mineral soil, 4) Texture of
the soil, and 5) The water content of the soil. The more severe the fire, the deeper the layer,
unless the fire is so hot it destroys the surface organic matter. Most vegetation and fungal
mycelium contain hydrophobic compounds that induce water repellency. Steep temperature
gradients in dry soil enhance the downward movement of volatilized hydrophobic
substances that produce water. Early studies in chaparral showed that sandy and coarsetextured soils were the most susceptible to fire-induced water repellency (DeBano 1981).
However, more recent studies indicate that water repellency frequently occurs in soils other
than coarse-textured ones and that high water repellency may exist prior to wildfires
occurring (DeBano 2000a, 2000b; Doerr et al. 2000). Soil water affects the translocation of
hydrophobic substances during a fire because it affects heat transfer and the development of
steep temperature gradients.
5. Forest, woodland, and grassland soil hydraulic conductivity

5.1 Examples of hydraulic conductivity rates
Table 2 shows the range in Ksat for a variety of forest ecosystems across the world. The Ksat
rates for most undisturbed forests range from 143 to 4990 mm hr-1. The rates for associated
pastures that are up to 70 times lower are included for reference purposes. The highest
Ksat rates in Table 2 are associated with thick Oe or Oa horizons (Lal 1996, Godsey and
Elsenbeer 2002, Sauer and Logsdon 2002, Giertz and Diekkrger 2003, and Sheridan et al.
2007).
131
5.2 Role of organic horizons in soil hydraulic conductivity

Plant litter is a key factor in determining watershed condition because the relatively deep
organic layers have extremely high infiltration rates that exceed all but the most intense
rainfall rates (Neary 2002, DeBano and Neary 2005). Organic horizons can range from a
few centimeters deep to over 60 cm. Mollisols of grasslands have deep organic rich
horizons that function in much the same manner as the O horizons of forest and
woodland soils. However their Ksat levels are generally lower. Fiedler al. (2002)
documented a Ksat of 83 mm hr-1 in a lightly grazed northern Colorado grassland
compared to 8 mm hr-1 on a heavily grazed and mostly bare soil. On a mixed species
grassland in southern Alberta, Canada, Dormaar et al. (1989) measured a Ksat of 45 mm hr1 compared to 33 mm hr-1 on a grassland that was used for only short duration grazing. Li
and Shao (2006) reported similar Ksat levels for climax oak forests and Acer Carex
shrubland on the central loess plateau of China (33-34 mm hr-1). Grassland soils were
lower at about 14 mm hr-1, but double levels in agricultural fields.
Deep organic horizons found in forests have a profound effect on site hydrology because of
their high hydraulic conductivities. The higher Ksat rates in Table 2 (e.g. Lal 1996 - 4,990 mm
hr-1; Sheridan et al. 2007 - 1,000 mm hr-1; Sauer and Logsdon 2002 444 mm hr-1) reflect the
presence of these organic horizons. For the most part, these Ksat rates are well in excess of
peak rainfall intensities. Shallow soils with bedrock, clay-textured horizons, or saturated
conditions are the most limiting factors for infiltration and hydraulic conductivity in forest
soils. Grace et al. (2006) provided a good example in their study of an organic soil in a
hardwood forest of the Tidewater Region of eastern North Carolina. The surface horizon
(Oa) of a loam-textured, thermic Terric Medisaprist soil varied between 0 and 60 cm deep.
The Ksat was measured at 3540 mm hr-1, well in excess of the most intense rainfalls for the
humid climate of eastern North Carolina. The A horizon below the organic Oa ranged in
depth from 60 to 107 cm, but the Ksat drops to 140 mm hr-1. In the B horizon below the A
horizon, Ksat fell to 40 mm hr-1. The C horizon at 2.1 to 2.5 m below the surface is still above
sea level (4.5 m below the soil surface) but it showed diagnostic characteristics of being
poorly drained and it often had a shallow water table. The Ksat of the C horizon fell to 10 mm
hr-1. The impact of a potential wildfire fire on the site described by Grace et al. (2006),
especially a high severity fire that consumes the surface organic horizon, is the reduction in
the Ksat from 3540 to 140 mm hr-1. Without factoring in water repellency or pore sealing by
ash, the Ksat could be significantly reduced just by the removal of the Oa horizon. The
importance of surface organic horizons in forest soils can also be demonstrated by data from
Luce (1997). The Ksat of lightly disturbed forest soils in a harvested northern Idaho forest
stand was reduced from 60 to 80 mm hr-1 to 1 mm hr-1 by road construction. Deep ripping of
the road raised the Ksat to 22 to 35 mm hr-1. Adding an artificial organic horizon of mulch
raised the Ksat up to 80 to 85 mm hr-1.
Woodlands tend to have the lowest hydraulic conductivities because they are less
productive ecosystems and their soils are often lithic, shallow, poorly structured, less
permeated by roots and soil organisms that develop macroporosity, and lower in organic
matter content. The O horizons are thinner and they tend to be discontinuous. Thus the
relationships of Ksat in these wildland soils is forests > grasslands > woodlands. The
importance of surface organic horizons in determining the levels of Ksat in forest, woodland,
and grassland soils cant be overstated.
132
Continent/Country
Asia
Nepal: Undisturbed Forest
Pasture Converted to Pine
Pasture
China:
Forest
Agriculture
Bare Soil
Turkey:
Forest
Grassland
Africa
Nigeria:
Forest
Deforested area
Uganda:
Native Forest
Eucalypt Forest
Benin:
Forest
Pasture
Australia
New South Wales: Undisturbed Forest
Logged
Capital Territory: Eucalypt Forest
Pasture To Pine
Western Australia: Jarrah Forest Sand
Victoria: Eucalypt Forest
Europe
Czech Republic: Forest Spodosols
Finland: Forest Spodosols
Sweden: Forest Spodosols
North America
Canada:
Jack Pine
USA North Carolina:
Forest
Pasture
USA Arkansas:
Forest
Pasture
South America
Brazil:
Forest
Pasture
Columbia: Forest
Pasture
Peru:
Forest
Pasture
Reference
Gilmour et al. 1987
Chen et al. 2009
Gol 2009
Lal 1996
Majaliwa et al. 2010
Giertz andDiekkrger 2003
Moore et al. 1986
Hydraulic
Conductivity Ksat
mm hr-1
370
183
39
480
360
6
83
8
4990
460
219
149
750
240
Carbon et al. 1980

Sheridan et al. 2007
263
19
926
147
120
1000
Jacka et al. 2011

Mecke et al. 2000
Lind and Lundin 1990
152
5
20
Cuenca et al. 1997

Price et al. 2010
80
63
8
444
113
Talsma and Hallam 1980
Sauer and Logsdon 2002
Godsey and Elsenbeer 2002

Martinez and Zink 2004
Allegre and Cassel 1996
250
15
143
2
420
41
Table 2. World-wide examples of Ksat measurements reported in the literature in surface

horizons in forest soils and pastures.
133
6. Fire effects on hydraulic conductivity

6.1 Observed changes
Fire impacts on watershed hydrology have been reported for many years (DeBano et al.
1998, Neary et al. 2005, Moody et al. 2008). Wildfires exert a tremendous influence on the
hydrologic conditions of watersheds in many forest ecosystems in the world depending on a
fires severity, duration, and frequency. Fire in these forested areas is an important natural
disturbance mechanism that plays a role of variable significance depending on climate, fire
frequency, and geomorphic conditions. This is particularly true in regions where frequent
fires, steep terrain, vegetation, and post-fire seasonal precipitation interact to produce
dramatic soil impacts (DeBano et al. 1998, Neary et al. 1999). A number of components of the
hydrologic cycle can be impacted (Table 1), but Ksat reductions are often implicated as a
major factor affecting baseflow and stormflow responses of burned watersheds. One clear
signature of Ksat parameters is that they are highly variable (Doerr et al. 1998, Doerr et al.
2006).
A number of recent studies reporting changes in Ksat listed in Table 3 demonstrate clear
reductions in conductivity after fires (Parks & Cundy 1989, Greene et al. 1990, Robichaud
2000, Ekinci 2006, Fox et al. 2007, Ekinci et al. 2008, Blake et al. 2009, Novk et al. 2009, and
Nyman et al. 2011). Fire severity plays a key role in some of these reductions, but other
investigators have demonstrated a surprising lack of correlation with severity (Rab 1996,
Valzano et al. 1997, Sheridan et al. 2007, and Blake et al 2009). In the latter case, severityrelated reductions in Ksat were measured in coniferous forests but not in oak woodlands. Ksat
reductions of 20 to 48% are commonly reported (Table 3). Blake et al. (2009) also noted Ksat
reductions of 88 to 92% with high severity wildfire.
An interesting trend emerging out of some of the recent Australian research on the impacts
of wildfires on soil hydrologic properties including Ksat is that the soil surface Ksat values can
be similar regardless of severity (Rab 1996 and Nyman et al. 2011) and that natural water
repellency may produce Ksat values less than those measured in burned soils (Sheridan et
al.2007). There also appears to be seasonal effects where natural summer water repellency
breaks down and Ksat values return to the expected relationship of unburned soils > burned
soils in the winter. It is obvious from these results that the fire severity water repellency
hydraulic conductivity relations are more complex than once believed (DeBano 2000b, Doerr
et al. 2000).
6.2 Mechanisms
A number of mechanisms have been discussed as the causative factors in post-wildfire
hydrologic changes and Ksat reductions (DeBano et al. 1998, Neary et al. 2005, Doerr et al.
2000). The development of water repellency has received the most attention and is a test that
is frequently carried out as part of wildfire Burned Area Emergency Response assessments
(Keeley 2009, Neary 2009). Other mechanisms that have been suggested as major causes of
Ksat reduction include pore clogging with fine ash and organic horizon destruction.
6.2.1 Hydraulic conductivity and water repellency
DeBano (1981, 2000a, 2000b) synthesized much of the knowledge about the effects of water
repellency after wildfire and prescribed fire on forest, woodland, and grassland soils. Doerr
et al (2000) discussed the biological sources of hydrophobic substances, physical factors
affecting the formation and persistence of water repellency, temporal variations, and spatial
134
Location
Reference
Burned Condition
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Ksat
Unburned
Burned (Rx/Wf)
.mm hr-1..
Soil
Depth
cm
Australia
Greene et al. 1990
Eucalypt Woodland
Nyman et al. 2011
Eucalypt Forest
Non Repellent Soil
Repellent Soil
Non Repellent Soil
Rab 1996
Eucalypts Mod. Sev.
Eucalypts High Sev.
Sheridan et al. 2007
Eucalypts Summer
Eucalypts Winter
Valzano et al. 1997
Grassland
92
74
0 - 10
40
45
120
30
35
240
0 - 05
2 - 05
>5
32
32
34
35
0 - 10
0 - 10
490
1409
855
459
0 - 05
0 - 05
16
34
0 - 40
Fox et al. 2007

Pine Forest
210
155
0 06
Blake et al. 2009

Fir (Mod/High Sev.)
Fir (Mod/High Sev.)
Oak (Mod/High Sev.)
505
812
263
321/62
510/69
263/289
0 - 10
0 - 10
Novk et al. 2009

Pine Forest
Grassland
432
612
360
972
0 - 05
0 - 05
105
55
0 - 05
48
33
0 - 05
789
170
0 - 03
77 - 81
77 81
60 - 89
30 - 84
0 - 05
0 - 05
France
Greece
Slovakia
Turkey
Ekinci 2006
Oak/Pine Woodland
Ekinci et al. 2008
Oak/Pine Woodland
USA
Parks & Cundy 1989
Douglas Fir& Pine
Robichaud 2000
Douglas Fir & Pine
Low Severity
High Severity
Table 3. Examples of soil Ksat changes after wildfires (Wf) and prescribed (Rx) fires.
135
variation of water repellent regions both laterally and vertically. As shown in Table 3, fire
severity and any resulting water repellency can have a large effect on hydrologic processes
including Ksat (Blake et al. 2009) or none at all (Rab 1996). The author has personally
witnessed these effects during rain events (Ice et al. 2004). Water repellency usually breaks
down within 1-3 years due to physical and biological processes (DeBano et al. 1998, Neary et
al. 2005). While water repellency is certainly a major factor, other mechanisms can also be
important.
6.2.2 Pore clogging
After wildfires, landscapes are blanketed by varying depths of ash until rainstorms remove
the ash material in runoff (DeBano et al. 1998, Neary et al. 2005). While there is general
concurrence that ash does contribute to post-wildfire hydrologic response, research studies
have produced some conflicting results. In some cases ash has resulted in runoff increases
but in others the ash increased infiltration (Cerda and Doerr 2008, Woods and Balfour 2008).
More recent research by Woods and Balfour (2010) demonstrated that the degree of ash
clogging of soil pores is soil texture related. A 1 cm layer of ash clogged pores and reduced
infiltration by on a sandy loam soil but not a silt loam soil. The Ksat for the sandy loam soil
was about 102 mm hr-1 pre-fire and dropped to about 30 mm hr-1 post-fire. The Ksat for the
silt loam soil was 6 mm hr-1 pre-fire and increased to 8 mm hr-1 post-fire. Woods and Balfour
(2010) concluded that thin, fine ash layers (1 cm) on a coarse soil with many macropores will
clog the pores and increase the site post-fire hydrologic response. The same ash layer on a
fine-textured soil with few macropores will have no effect on surface runoff. Thicker ash
layers have the potential to delay surface runoff responses unless overwhelmed by intense
rainfalls (e.g. 25 mm in 10 or 15 minutes).
6.2.3 O horizon destruction
Loss of the O horizon by combustion in high severity wildfires may play a larger role in
post-fire hydrologic responses than previously thought possible. This phenomenon appears
to be linked strongly to the loss of the O horizon and not necessarily any reduction in
mineral soil Ksat values. High severity fires consume the entire O horizon and can
decompose soil structure by combusting organic material involved in soil structure
development. The example discussed previously of the study by Grace et al. (2006) in
eastern North Carolina demonstrates the sharp drop in Ksat with the combustion of the
surface organic layer (3540 to 140 mm hr-1). A good deal of the large change in the
hydrologic response after the Schultz Fire of 2010 in Arizona was most likely due to a
similar loss of a 30-60 cm O horizon on steeply sloping soils, not necessarily any significant
reduction in Ksat (Neary et al. 2011.). Intense rainfall (24 mm in 10 minutes) overwhelmed
the infiltration capacity of the severely burned, silty gravel soils.
7. Conclusion
High severity fires produce the largest impacts on the hydrologic functioning of forest,
woodland, and grassland soils. Fire severity can have a significant effect on Ksat by several
mechanisms. These include development of water repellency, sealing of macropores, and
combustion of surface organic horizons. High water repellency causes water droplets to sit
on the surface of mineral soil, thereby reducing Ksat tolow values or even zero (DeBano et al.
1998; Neary et al. 2005) . Fine ash can effectively seal large pores at soil surfaces. The net
136
effect is a reduction in Ksat by blocking macropores that are the cause of normally rapid
infiltration in wildland soils. Although micropores can still infiltrate water, the rates are
significantly reduced. Surface organic horizons have a high degree of porosity and can store,
infiltrate, and conduct water at rates that exceed most peak rainfall intensities. Loss of the
organic horizon in high severity wildfire is a major cause of Ksat reductions. In addition,
high severity fires transmit large amounts of heat into the soil that often produce
breakdowns in soil structure, leading to macropore size decreases and concomitant Ksat rate
declines (DeBano et al. 1998).
Although there is a fairly clear correlation between high severity fire and Ksat reductions
in the literature, some anomalies exist. Researchers in Australia have reported
development of water repellency similar to wildfires in completely unburned watersheds.
In addition, some moderate and high severity wildfires have not reduced Ksat to any
significant extent. This could be due to soil physical properties, quality of the vegetation,
or fire dynamics peculiar to the specific sites and soils studied or the characteristics of the
wildfire. Ksat reductions of 20 to 48% are commonly reported after wildfires. Some studies
have documented Ksat reductions of 88 to 92% with high severity wildfire. Reductions of
this magnitude can have significant impacts on post-fire hydrological responses such as
stormflows and peakflows.
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274-286.
Part 3
Determination by Mathematical
and Laboratory Methods
8
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity
Using Pedotransfer Functions
Ali Rasoulzadeh
Water Engineering Dept., College of Agriculture

University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil
Iran
1. Introduction
Hydraulic conductivity is an important soil physical property, especially for modeling water
flow and solute transport in soil, irrigation and drainage design, groundwater modeling and
other agricultural and engineering, and environmental processes. Due to the importance of
hydraulic conductivity, many direct methods have been developed for its measurement in
the field and laboratory (Libardi et al., 1980; Klute and Dirksen, 1986). Interestingly,
comparative studies of the different methods have shown that their relative accuracy varies
amongst different soil types and field conditions (Gupta et al., 1993; Paige and Hillel, 1993;
Mallants et al., 1997). No single method has been developed which performs very well in a
wide range of circumstances and for all soil types (Zhang et al., 2007). Direct measurement
techniques of the hydraulic conductivity are costly and time consuming, with large spatial
variability (Jabro, 1992; Schaap and Leij, 1998; Christiaens and Feyen, 2002; Islam et al.,
2006). Alternatively, indirect methods may be used to estimate hydraulic conductivity from
easy-to-measure soil properties. Many indirect methods have been used including
prediction of hydraulic conductivity from more easily measured soil properties, such as
texture classes, the geometric mean particle size, organic carbon content, bulk density and
effective porosity (Wsten and van Genuchten, 1988) and inverse modeling techniques
(Rasoulzadeh, 2010; Rasoulzadeh and Yaghoubi, 2011). In recent years, pedotransfer
functions (PTFs) were widely used to estimate the difficult-to-measure soil properties such
as hydraulic conductivity from easy-to-measure soil properties. The term PTFs were coined
by Bouma (1989) as translating data we have into what we need. PTFs were intended to
translate easily measured soil properties, such as bulk density, particle size distribution,
and organic matter content, into soil hydraulic properties which determined laboriously
and costly. PTFs fill the gap between the available soil data and the properties which are
more useful or required for a particular model or quality assessment (McBratney et al.,
2002). In the other hand PTFs can be defined as predictive functions of certain soil
properties from other easily, routinely, or cheaply measured properties. PTFs can be
categorized into three main groups namely class PTFs, continuous PTFs and neural
networks. Class PTFs calculate hydraulic properties for a textural class (e.g. sand) by
assuming that similar soils have similar hydraulic properties; continuous PTFs on the
other hand, use measured percentages of clay, silt, sand and organic matter content to
provide continuously varying hydraulic properties across the textural triangle (Wsten et
146
al., 1995). In fact, continuous PTFs predict soil properties as a continuous function of one
or more measured variables. Neural networks are an attempt to build a mathematical
model that supposedly works in an analogous way to the human brain and were
developed to improve the predictions of empirical PTFs. In brief, a neural network
consists of an input, a hidden, and an output layer all containing nodes. The number of
nodes in input (soil bulk density, soil particle size data) and output (soil hydraulic
properties) layers corresponds to the number of input and output variables of the model
(Schaap and Bouten, 1996).
PTFs must not be used to predict something that is easier to measure than the predictor. For
example, If we measure the water retention curve only to predict saturated hydraulic
conductivity (Ks), this is not an efficient PTF, as the cost of measuring a water retention
curve is greater than measuring Ks itself (McBratney et al., 2002).
2. Pedotransfer functions for estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity

PTFs have become a white-hot topic in the area of soil science and environmental research.
PTFs which used to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were developed using
texture classes, the geometric mean particle size, organic carbon content, bulk density and
effective porosity as predictor variables. Many PTFs were presented to predict Ks. Here the
following PTFs for Ks are considered. All PTFs give Ks in m.s-1. Wsten et al. (1997)
presented a function for determining Ks as follows:
K s 1.15741 10 7 exp( x )
(1)
x 9.5 1.471( BD2 ) 0.688(Om) 0.0369(Om2 ) 0.332 ln(CS )
(2)
where x for sandy soil is:
and x for loamy and clayey soils is:

x 43.1 64.8( BD) 22.21( BD2 ) 7.02(Om) 0.1562(Om2 )
0.985ln(OM ) 0.01332(Clay )(Om) 4.71( BD)(Om)
(3)
where BD is bulk density in g.cm3, Clay is the percentage of clay, CS is the sum percentage of
clay and silt, and Om is percent organic matter.
Wsten et al. (1999) represented another function as follows:
Ks 1.15741 10 7 exp( x )
(4)
where x is:
x 7.755 0.0352(Silt ) 0.93(Topsoil ) 0.967( BD2 ) 0.000484(Clay 2 ) 0.000322(Silt 2 )
0.001 /(Silt ) 0.0748 /(Om) 0.643ln(Silt ) 0.01398( BD)(Clay ) 0.1673( BD)(Om)
0.02986(Topsoil)(Clay ) 0.03305(Topsoil )(Silt )
(5)
where BD is bulk density in g.cm3, Clay and Silt are the percentage of clay and silt,
respectively, Topsoil is a parameter that is set to 1 for topsoils and to 0 for subsoils, and Om is
percent organic matter.
147
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity Using Pedotransfer Functions
The Cosby's pedotransfer function (Cosby et al., 1984) was derived based on Sand and Clay
contents as:
K s 7.05556 10 6 10
0.6 0.0126( Sand ) 0.0064(Clay )
(6)
where Clay and Silt are the percentage of clay and silt, respectively.
Saxton et al. (1986) suggested a pedotransfer function to estimate Ks as follows:
Ks 2.778 10 7 exp( x )
(7)
where
x 12.012 7.55 102 (Sand )
3.895 3.671 10 2 (Sand ) 0.1103(Clay ) 8.7546 104 (Clay 2) /s
(8)
where Clay and Sand are the percentage of clay and sand, respectively, and s is the
saturated water content.
Brakensiek et al. (1984) found a relationship between Ks and clay, sand and saturated water
content as follows:
Ks 2.778 107 exp( x )
(9)
where
x 19.52348( s ) 8.96847 0.028212(Clay ) 1.8107 10 4 (Sand 2 ) 9.4125 10 3 (Clay 2 )
8.395215( s 2 ) 0.077718(Sand )( s ) 0.00298(Sand 2 )( s 2 ) 0.019492(Clay 2 )( s 2 )
1.73 10 5 (Sand 2 )(Clay ) 0.02733(Clay 2 )( s ) 0.001434(Sand 2 )( s )
(10)
3.5 10 6 (Clay )(Sand )

All parameters are defined before.
Campbell (1985) presented a pedotransfer function to estimate Ks based on empirical
parameter of Campbell's soil water retention function as follows:
1.3
K s 4 10 5
BD
1.3 b
exp 6.9( mclay ) 3.7(msilt )
(11)
where b is an empirical parameter of Campbell's soil water retention function. The coefficient b
is derived from the geometric mean particle diameter (mm), dg, and the standard deviation of
mean particle diameter g:
b d g 0.5 0.2 g
(12)
where dg and g are derived from soil main grain size fractions (mclay , msilt and msand are clay,
silt and mass fractions, respectively) and geometric mean diameter of soil separates (dclay ,
dsilt and dsand are the geometric mean diameters of main grain size fractions in millimeters):
3
d g exp mi ln di
i 1
(13)
148
g exp mi (ln di )2 mi (ln di )

i 1
i 1
(14)
where mi is the mass fraction of textural class i, and di is the arithmetic mean diameter of class i.
The assumption is taken over the three texture classes, sand, silt, and clay. For the three classes
normally used in determining texture, dclay=0.001 mm, dsilt=0.026 mm, and dsand=1.025 mm.
Vereecken et al. (1990) provided a equation for estimating Ks as follows:
K s 1.1574 10 7 exp 20.62 0.96 ln(Clay ) 0.66 ln(Sand ) 0.46 ln(Om) 0.00843( BD)
(15)
Ferrer-Juli et al. (2004) derived a relationship between Ks and sand content of soil as
follows:
K s 2.556 10 7 e
0.0491( Sand )
(16)
All parameters in equations 15 and 16 are defined before.
3. Computer models for estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity

3.1 Rosetta
Some PTFs have been incorporated into standalone computer programs like Rosetta
(Schaap et al., 2001). Rosetta uses a neural network and bootstrap approach for parameter
prediction and uncertainty analysis respectively. Rosetta is able to estimate the van
Genuchten water retention parameters (van Genuchten, 1980) and saturated hydraulic
conductivity, as well as unsaturated hydraulic conductivity parameters, based on
Mualems (1976) pore-size model (Schaap et al., 2001). Here, Rosetta was used to estimate
saturated hydraulic conductivity.
3.2 Soilpar 2
Soilpar 2 provides 15 PTF procedures to estimate soil parameters. The PTFs procedures are
classified as point pedotransfer and function pedotransfer. Point PTFs estimate some
specific points of interest of the water retention characteristic and/or saturated hydraulic
conductivity. Two of these methods also estimate bulk density. Soilpar 2 uses PTFs of Jabro
(1992), Jaynes and Tyler (1984), Puckett et al. (1985), and Campbell (1985) to estimate
saturated hydraulic conductivity. Function PTFs, which estimate the parameters of retention
functions are implemented: Rawls and Brakensiek (1989), to estimate the Brooks and Corey
(1964) function parameters; Vereecken et al. (1989), to estimate the van Genuchten (1980)
function parameters; Campbell (1985) to estimate the Campbell function parameters
(Campbell, 1974)); Mayr and Jarvis (1999), to estimate the parameters of the Hutson and
Cass (1987) modification of the Campbell function. All these methods require as input soil
particle size distribution and bulk density. The Mayr and Jarvis, and Vereecken et al.
methods also require organic carbon content (Acutis and Donatelli, 2003).
4. Pedotransfer functions for estimating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

One of the most popular analytical functions for predicting unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity (K()) is the van Genuchten-Mualem model which is Combination of soil water
149
retention function of the van Genuchten (1980) and Mualem's (1976) pore-size model as
follows:
K ( ) K sSe0.5 1 1 Sen /( n 1)
(1 1/n ) 2
(17)
and Se, is
Se
( ) r
s r
(18)
where () is the measured volumetric water content (cm3.cm3) at suction (cm-water); r

and s are residual and saturation water content (cm3.cm3) respectively, the dimensionless n
is the shape factor, and Ks is the saturated hydraulic conductivity.
Other popular function for predicting K() is the Brooks and Corey (1964) model as follows:
K ( ) K sSe
3 2/
(19)
where is the pore size index.

Campbell (1985) proposed a function for determining K() as:

K ( ) K s
s
2b3
(20)
where Ks is saturated hydraulic conductivities, is measured volumetric water

content(cm3.cm3), s is the saturation water content (cm3.cm3), and b is the slope of ln vs
ln in the soil water retention curve.
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function is particularly difficult and timeconsuming to measure directly. So, in many model applications, reliance is often placed on
predictions of unsaturated conductivity based on measurements of soil water retention and
Ks. Direct measurements of soil water retention and Ks are time-consuming and costly, too.
So here, PTFs are used to estimate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.
Rawls and Brakensiek (1985) provided equations for the estimation of van Genuchten,
Brooks - Corey and Campbell parameters as follows:
LAM exp[ 0.7842831 0.0177544 * ps 1.062498 * por 0.00005304 * ps 2 0.00273493 *
pc 2 1.11134946 * por 2 0.03088295 * ps * por 0.00026587 * ps 2 * por 2 0.00610522 *
2
(21)
pc * por 0.00000235 * ps * pc 0.00798746 * pc * por 0.00674491 * por * pc ]
r 0.0182482 0.00087269 * ps 0.00513488 * pc 0.02939286 * por 0.00015395 *

pc 2 0.0010827 * ps * por 0.00018233 * pc 2 * por 2 0.00030703 * pc 2 *
(22)
por 0.0023584 * por * pc
where LAM is pore size index, pc is percent clay, ps is percent sand, por is the porosity.
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of van Genuchten parameter (n) is then calculated
from the above relations as follow:
150
n LAM 1
(23)
Campbell's parameter (b) is estimated as follows:

b 1 / LAM
(24)
In the Brooks and Corey function is equal to LAM.
5. Computer models for estimating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

5.1 Rosetta
The van Genuchten parameters, r, s, and n were estimated from measured particle size and
bulk density using Rosetta software (Schaap et al., 2001).
5.2 Soilpar 2
Using measured particle size and bulk density data, Campbell model parameter value (b)
was estimated using the Soilpar 2 (Acutis and Donatelli, 2003).
Note that, for estimating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, measured value of s and Ks in
the lab were used.
6. Statistical criteria for evaluation of PTFs

6.1 PTFs of saturated hydraulic conductivity
Two following statistical criteria were used for the evaluation of PTFs to estimate saturated
hydraulic conductivity based on the approach presented by Tietje and Hennings (1996).
Geometric mean error ratio (GMER) and geometric standard deviation of the error ratio
(GSDER) were calculated from the error ratio of measured saturated hydraulic conductivity
(Ks)m vs. predicted saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks)p values:
( K s )p
(Ks )m
(25)
1 n
GMER exp ln( i

n i 1
(26)
0.5
1 n
2
ln(
)
ln(
)
GSDER exp
GMER

i
n 1 i 1

(27)
The GMER equal to 1 corresponds to an exact matching between measured and predictive
saturated hydraulic conductivity; the GMER<1 indicates that predicted values of saturated
hydraulic conductivity are generally underestimated; GMER>1 points to a general overprediction. The GSDER equal to 1 corresponds to a perfect matching and it grows with
deviation from measured data. The best PTF will, therefore, give a GMER close to 1 and a
small GSDER.
Also, other statistical criterion named deviation time (DT) was used to evaluate PTFS as
follows:
151
1 n
log DT (log i )2
n
i 1
0.5
(28)
The DT equal to 1 shows an exact matching between measured and predictive saturated
6.2 PTFs of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
Estimated unsaturated hydraulic conductivity using PTFs were compared by calculating
modified index of agreement d' (Legates and McCabe, 1999):
n
d' 1.0
Oi Si
i 1
Si O
n
'
i 1
Oi O
'
(29)
where Oi is the individual observed unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K()) value at i, Si

is the individual simulated value at i, O' is the mean observed value and n is the number of
paired observedsimulated values. The value of d' varies from 0.0 to 1.0, with higher values
indicating better agreement with the observations. The interpretation of d' closely follows
the interpretation of R2 for the range of most values encountered (Legates and McCabe,
1999).
7. Estimation saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity using

Pedotransfer functions
7.1 Saturated hydraulic conductivity
Study area is located in northwest of Iran in Naghadeh county, Azarbaijanegharbi province,
Iran (Fig. 1). The total area of the Naghadeh county is 52100 ha and is located at coordinates
36 57 N and 45 22 E.
Ten locations in the Naghadeh county was considered and undisturbed soil samples were
taken by using a steel cylinder of 100 cm3 volume (5 cm in diameter, and 5.1 cm in height)
from 0-15 cm depth to measure saturated hydraulic conductivity and bulk density. The
samples were transported carefully to avoid disturbance. Also, disturbed soil samples were
taken using plastic bags to measure particle density, soil texture and organic matter.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured by the constant-head method (Israelsen and
Hansen, 1962). Samples (steel cylinders) of soil were oven dried at 105C and bulk density
was calculated from cylinder volume and oven dry soil mass. Particle size distribution
(sand, silt and clay percentages) was measured by the hydrometer method. Soil particle
density was measured using a glass pycnometer; 10 g air-dried (<2 mm) soil sample was
placed into the pycnometer and the displaced volume of distilled water was determined
(Jacob and Clarke, 2002). Total porosity was calculated using bulk density (b) and particle
density (p) according to the following equation:
Porosity 1
b
p
(30)
152
Fig. 1. Location of study area.

The organic matter was determined by Walkley and Black rapid titration method (Nelson
and Sommers, 1996).
The measured soil properties are shown in Table 1.
Samples
Texture
Bulk density
(g.cm-3)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Clay loam
Silty clay
Silty clay loam
Clay loam
Sandy loam
Silty clay loam
Silty clay
Silty clay loam
Silty clay
Silty clay
1.37
1.21
1.07
1.23
1.43
1.18
1.02
1.16
1.13
1.07
Table 1. Measured soil properties in the study area.
Particle
density
(g.cm-3)
2.57
2.57
2.58
2.61
2.71
2.55
2.49
2.52
2.56
2.55
Organic
matter
Porosity
2.07
3.03
1.34
1.68
1.01
1.34
2.13
1.46
3.36
4.09
0.46
0.52
0.58
0.52
0.47
0.53
0.58
0.53
0.55
0.57
153
Saturated hydraulic conductivities were estimated according to the above mentioned PTFs
(Eqs. 1 to 16) as well as Rosetta and Soilpar 2 software and compared to measured Ks of the
10 soils. Note that PTFs of Jabro, Jaynes and Tyler, Puckett et al. which are used in Soilpar 2
2, hereafter named Soilpar 2-Jabro, Soilpar 2- Jaynes Tyler, and Soilpar 2- Puckett et al.,
respectively. Figures 2 and 3 show measured vs. estimated values for all models tested. With
regard to Figures 2 and 3, it is clear that Soilpar 2-Jabro for estimating Ks was in excellent
agreement with the measured value. After Soilpar 2-Jabro, Rosetta could estimate Ks with
reasonable accuracy.
Three statistical criteria (Eqs. 25 to 28) were used for the evaluation of PTFs which estimate
saturated hydraulic conductivity. Calculated values of DT, GMER and GSDER were shown
in Table 2. Soilpar 2-Jabro resulted in lower DT (2.91), GMER and GMER equal to 1.13 and
3.06, respectively, performed better than the others PTFs (Table 2). The PTFs of Vereecken et
al. tended to high overestimate saturated hydraulic conductivity, while the rest PTFs
generally showed underestimate (Table 2).
It is expected that PTFs including organic matter such as Vereecken et al., Wsten et al., and
etc could estimate Ks much better than the others PTFs. But the results showed (see Figures 2
and 3 as well as Table 2) these PTFs could not be able to estimate Ks with reasonable
accuracy. The organic matter content is an important variable when infiltration rates are
estimated in non-saturated soils, but it has less influence in saturated soils. The main
explanation is that organic matter mainly affects retention forces (matric potential), the type
of forces that almost do not work in saturated soils where forces are basically affected by
gravity. For this reason when estimating water retention parameters in soils, organic matter
is a valuable variable to use in PTF (Wsten et al., 1999), but the contribution of organic
matter content in estimating Ks was very low and it was mainly limited to explain the
relationship between soil structure and Ks.
PTF
DT
GMER
GSDER
Wsten et al., 1997
13.25
0.17
7.51
Wsten et al., 1999
6.90
0.21
3.36
Cosby et al.
22.82
0.06
4.74
Sxaton et al.
26.05
0.05
4.15
Brakensiek et al.
73.25
0.021
7.72
Campbell
11.78
0.12
3.61
Vereecken et al.
17925
16813.29
3.22
Ferrer Julia et al.
527
0.002
5.54
Rosetta
9.61
0.13
3.18
Soilpar 2- Jabro
2.91
1.13
3.06
Soilpar 2- Jynes-Tyler
302.6
0.005
11.16
Soilpar 2- Pukett et al.
291.86
0.007
21.42
Table 2. DT, GMER, and GSDER of the estimated Ks compared to measurement for 12 PTFs
Estimated Log Ks (cm/s)
154
Wosten (1997)
-1
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
Cosby et al.
1:1
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
Brakensiek et al.
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-4
-3
-2
-1
Saxton et al.
-1
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
Measured Log Ks (cm/s)
-1
-1
-5

0
-6
0
-2
1:1
-2

-1
Wosten et al (1999)
-1
0
-1
Campbell
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
Fig. 2. Measured vs. estimated saturated hydraulic conductivities using PTFs of Wsten et
al. (1997), Wsten et al. (1999), Cosby et al., sexton et al., Brakensiek et al. and Campbell for
ten soils and 1:1 line
155
1:1
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1
Measured Log Ks (cm.s )

0
Rosetta
-1
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1

0
-1
Soil Par 2 - Jynes-Tyler

1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1
Estimated Log Ks (cm.s -1 )
Vereecken et al.
Ferrer Julia et al.
-1
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1

0
soil par 2 - Jabro
-1
1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1

0
-1
Soil Par 2 - Puckett et al.

1:1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-1
Fig. 3. Measured vs. estimated saturated hydraulic conductivities using PTFs of vereecken et
al., Ferrer Julia et al., Rosetta, Soilpar 2-Jabro, Soilpar 2-Jynes-Tyler, and Soilpar 2- Puckett et
al. for ten soils and 1:1 line
156
7.2 Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

For comparison of the different models in predicting unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of
soils, data sets, including data of Ks, measured data of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity,
fractions of sand, silt and clay, bulk density of 27 soils were selected from the UNSODA
hydraulic property database (Names et al., 1999), and used in the study. The measured soil
properties from the UNSODA which used in this study, summarized in Table 3.
Properties
Bulk density (g. cm-3)
Sand (%)
Silt (%)
Clay (%)
Number
27
27
27
27
Mean
1.41
49.76
27.91
22.33
Min
0.72
4.30
0.90
1.00
Max
1.8
95.00
70.90
62.00
SD
0.23
30.98
18.20
18.86
Table 3. Mean, standard deviation (SD), Max and Min of soil samples parameters
10
10
10
10
103
Soil # 1 (sand)
10-1
10
-2
10
-3
10-4
0.05
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.1
0.15
Volume Wetness
0.2
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
By using fractions of sand, silt and clay and bulk density, unsaturated hydraulic
conductivities (K()) were estimated according to the PTFs of Rawls and Brakensiek (1985)
(Eqs. 21 to 24) as well as Rosetta and Soilpar 2 software and compared to measured K() of
the 27 soils. It is noted that PTFs of Rawls and Brakensiek (1985) which were used to
estimate parameters of van Genuchten, Brooks - Corey and Campbell functions (Eqs.
17 to 20), hereafter named van Gen-R, B&C-R, and Cam-R, respectively. Also just Campbell
model parameter value was estimated using the Soilpar 2, hereafter named Soilpar-Cam.
Figure 4 shows measured vs. estimated K() by mentioned PTFs. To facilitate comparison of
the PTFs, mean value of modified index of agreement (d') for the same soil texture classes was
calculated (Table 4). With regard to Figure 4 and Table 4, one could conclude that for sand,
loamy sand, sandy clay loam, and clay textures, the van Gen-R had the bigger d', indicating
its higher accuracy in predicting K() as compared to the other PTFs. The best PTF for loam,
sandy loam, and silty loam textures is the Soilpar-Cam. Wagner et al. (2001) found that the
performance of the Campbell model could be improved when the particle size distribution
data used in the determining the Campbell parameters are as detailed as possible, while
knowledge of only three fractions (clay, silt, and sand) may reduce the function performance
considerably.
10
10
Soil # 2 (sand)
100
10-1
10
-2
10
-3
10-4
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.1
0.2
Volume Wetness
Fig. 4. Comparison of K() measured and estimated by the five PTFs
0.3
157
104
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.1
0.2
0.3
102
K (mm/day)
100
10
10
-1
Soil # 4 (sand)
101
100
10
-1
10
-2
102
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
101
10
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-3
0.1
0.4
Volume Wetness
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
Soil # 3 (sand)
K (mm/day)
104
3
10
102
101
100
10-1
10-2
10-3
-4
10
0.2
0.3
Volume Wetness
Soil # 6 (loam)
101
100
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
Soil # 5 (loam)
10-2
0.22 0.24 0.26 0.28
Volume Wetness
-1
0.3
10
0.32
102
103
10
10
10-1
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.35
Fig. 4. Continued
0.4
0.45
Volume Wetness
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
Soil # 7 (loam)
102
0.4
101
0.34
0.36
0.38
Volume Wetness
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
100
10-1
0.28
Soil # 8 (loam)
0.3
0.32 0.34 0.36
Volume Wetness
158
103
102
K (mm/day)
102
101
100
10
0.36
0.38
0.4
Volume Wetness
101
100
10-2
0.16 0.18
0.42
Soil # 11 (sandy loam)
100
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-1
Soil # 12 (loamy sand)
101
100
10-2
10-3
0.1
104
105
10
101
100
10
-1
10
-2
10
-3
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Volume Wetness
Fig. 4. Continued
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
10
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-1
10-2
0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Volume Wetness
0.22 0.24
102
101
0.2
Volume Wetness
10
102
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-1
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
103
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
10
10
0.15
0.2
0.25
Volume Wetness
102
101
10
10
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
-1
10-2
0.2
0.3
0.4
Volume Wetness
0.5
159
10
10
101
10
10
-1
10
-2
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
104
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.2
0.3
Volume Wetness
0.4
10-2
0.32
K (mm/day)
10
100
-3
10-4
0.15
0.34
0.36
Volume Wetness
0.38
K (mm/day)
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-2
0.3
0.35
Volume Wetness
Fig. 4. Continued
102
0.4
0.2
0.25
0.3
Volume Wetness
0.35
101
100
103
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-1
0.36
Soil # 19 (sandy clay loam)
-1
10-3
10
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
10-1
10
10
Soil # 16 (silty loam)
103
10
-2
10
10
101
102
10-1
10-3
0.1
10
10
0.38
0.4
0.42
Volume Wetness
0.44
Soil # 20 (sandy clay loam)
102
101
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
100
10-1
0.35
0.4
Volume Wetness
0.45
160
103
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
K (mm/day)
10
100
10
-1
Soil # 21 (clay)
10-2
0.46
0.48
0.5
102
K (mm/day)
101
Soil # 23 (clay)
100
10-1
10-2
10
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
-3
10-4
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
Volume Wetness
0.5
10
10
103
102
10
10
Soil # 22 (clay)
0.6
0.64
0.68
Soil # 24 (clay)
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
0.4
0.42
0.44
Volume Wetness
0.46
103
Soil # 26 (clay)
Soil # 25 (clay)
102
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
100
10-1
103
102
101
100
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-4
10-5
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
10
10
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
Volume Wetness
104
3
10
10-1
0.52
Volume Wetness
K (mm/day)
K (mm/day)
102
10
0.5
0.52
0.54
Volume Wetness
Fig. 4. Continued
0.56
10
100
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-1
10-2
0.46
0.48
0.5
Volume Wetness
161
K (mm/day)
102
10
10
10
Soil # 27 (clay)
-1
measured
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
Soilpar-Cam
10-2
10-3
0.41
0.42
0.43
Volume Wetness
0.44
Fig. 4. Continued
Soil texture
sand
loam
sandy loam
loamy sand
silty loam
Sandy
clay
loam
clay
Number
Cam-R
B&C-R
van Gen-R
Rosetta
4
4
3
4
3
2
0.474
0.399
0.379
0.267
0.546
0.311
0.485
0.467
0.567
0.281
0.578
0.453
0.595
0.550
0.593
0.757
0.539
0.709
0.467
0.318
0.513
0.501
0.318
0.535
Soilparcam
0.425
0.748
0.679
0.302
0.590
0.465
0.429
0.490
0.513
0.229
0.125
Table 4. Mean value of modified index of agreement (d') for the same soil texture
8. Conclusions
Based on the results some of conclusions can be summarized as follows:
PTFs are a powerful tool to estimate saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.
Because PTFs estimate hydraulic conductivity from easy-to-measure soil properties so
they have the clear advantage that they are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
The mean of error parameters DT, GMER and GSDER (Table 2) showed that Soilpar 2
Jabro for estimating Ks was in excellent agreement with the measured value in the study
area. After Soilpar 2-Jabro, Rosetta could estimate Ks with reasonable accuracy. The
PTFs of Vereecken et al. tended to high overestimate saturated hydraulic conductivity.
Overestimated Ks by the PTFs of Vereecken et al. makes it a less likely candidate for
estimating Ks at the study area or for similar soils. The rest PTFs generally showed
underestimate (Table 2).
The mean value of modified index of agreement (d') showed that for sand, loamy sand,
sandy clay loam, and clay textures, the van Gen-R had the bigger d', indicating its
higher accuracy in predicting K() as compared to the other PTFs. One can be concluded
that Gen-R was approximately good in describing the functional relationship between
the soil moisture and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity for mentioned soils. The best
162
PTF to estimate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity for loam, sandy loam, and silty
loam textures was the Soilpar-Cam.
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Developments in Soils Science, vol. 25, Elsesevier, Amesterdam 221-245.
Wsten J.H.M., A. Lilly, A. Nemes, and C. Le Bas. 1999. Development and use of a database
of hydraulic properties of European soils. Geoderma 90: 169-185.
Zhang, S., L. Lvdahl, H. Grip, and Y. Tong. 2007. Soil hydraulic properties of two loess
soils in China measured by various field-scale and laboratory methods. Catena 69:
264-273.
9
Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity
Based on (Soil) - Moisture Content
of Fine Grained Soils
Rainer Schuhmann, Franz Kniger, Katja Emmerich,
Eduard Stefanescu and Markus Stacheder
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Competence Centre for Material Moisture (CMM)
Karlsruhe
Germany
1. Introduction
The chapter will be divided into the subchapter material, processes and systems. The first
one will focus on the physical, chemical and dynamic material properties and their
measuring methods. The second specifies the dynamic of the surface moistening and fluid
flow. The comprehensive characterization of materials is prerequisite to understand
processes in large (geo)-technical systems and their manipulation. The transition from nano
(material) via meso (processes) to macro scale (systems) will be illustrated with an example
in the third chapter.
2. Materials
The properties of fine grained soils such as silt or clay considerably influence the migration
of water. Especially their small pore sizes, their platy habit, and their high specific surface
area generally lead to very low hydraulic conductivities. Therefore, it is indispensable to
accurately determine these properties for a reliable assessment of the hydraulic
conductivity. Fine-grained soils are soils with a grain size distribution ranging from 0,0002
to 0,2 mm, i.e. soil textures from clay and silt up to fine sand. The hydraulic conductivity, Kf,
of these materials is generally smaller than 10-4 ms-1. In the following the most important
physical, chemical and dynamical properties of fine grained materials that affect the
hydraulic conductivity will be explained in detail and their measurement methodologies
will be illustrated.
2.1 Material properties
Generally the hydraulic conductivity depends on the soil matrix, the type of the soil fluid
(density and viscosity), and the relative amount of soil fluid (saturation) present in the soil
matrix. In this chapter we will focus on the important properties relevant to the solid matrix
of fine grained soils which include the texture and fabric and its mineral phase content.
166
2.1.1 Physical material properties

2.1.1.1 Soil density
In soil science one can distinguish between the soil particle density p which is the mass of
the soil particle mp per volume of the particle Vp and the so called bulk density which is the
ratio of the mass to the bulk volume V of a given amount of soil. For the latter two different
definitions depending on the scientific discipline or the application are possible, i.e. the wet
bulk density wb which is the soil mass ms, plus the mass of the including water mw, per
unit volume V and its dry bulk density db which is the mass of oven-dry soil per unit
volume of moist soil.
=
=
(1)
(2)
(3)
2.1.1.2 Soil texture (grain size and grain size distribution)

Mineral soils are mostly classified according to grain size and grain-size distribution (grainsize fractions and grading) also generally summarized as the soil texture. A major factor that
influences the rate of water flow through soils is the size of the particles. It can generally be
stated that the smaller the particles, the smaller the voids and the stronger the flow
resistance. This explains the very low hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained materials and
their preferred use as sealing elements for example in buffers and backfills of underground
storage facilities or landfills. The grain-size distribution gives a good picture of the content
of clay minerals since they appear almost entirely in the clay fraction (< 2 m). The
compaction properties of the material can be estimated by the character of the entire grain
size curve, from which one can conclude, if the material has very low hydraulic
conductivities and can be used for water sealing purposes (Pusch, 2002).
Whereas the grain-size distribution of the coarse fractions (gravel and sand) can be
determined by sieving, the fine fractions (silt and clay) must be determined by
sedimentation of the dispersed soil.
2.1.1.3 Soil structure (porosity and pore size distribution, geometry and shape of the
pores, tortuosity)
The term structure of soils generally refers to the pore geometry. The pore volume or
porosity is a measure of the void spaces in the soil and is a fraction of the volume of voids
over the total volume, between 0-1 or as a percentage between 0-100 %.
=
(4)
where Vv is the volume of void-space and V is the total or bulk volume.

Porosity of surface soil typically decreases as particle size increases. This is due to soil
aggregate formation in finer textured surface soils when subject to soil biological processes.
Aggregation involves particulate adhesion and higher resistance to compaction. The
transport of water, solutes, and gases in soil is not only influenced by the absolute size of the
pore volume but also on the nature of how the pores are connected which is summarized

(Soil) - Moisture Content of Fine Grained Soils
167
under the term tortuosity. In soil the tortuosity is closely related to soil surface area and the
pore-size distribution. Both porosity and tortuosity of fine-grained soils are considerably
small due to the plat-like shape of the particles.
2.1.2 Chemical material properties
2.1.2.1 Composition of the mineral phases
Minerals in natural soils originate from degraded rock, most of them belonging to the
silicates, sulphates, sulphides, and carbonates. Especially the clay minerals show a platy
habit leading to a very high surface area to mass ratio and have a considerable influence
on the hydraulic conductivity. The distinction of minerals is mostly based on crystal
structure and chemistry. Their crystal structure is responsible for a number of their
characteristic chemical properties such as cation exchange capacity or high sorption
capacity (Pusch, 2002).
Hydraulic conductivity of swellable clayey and clay-enriched silty soils strongly depends on
the density, the type of the adsorbed ions and the salinity of the percolating water (Scheffer,
1992). For example it is the high swelling properties that provide sodium bentonites unique
sealing qualities. As the clay hydrates and swells, the path for water to flow through
becomes complex as the clay platelets intersperse. The large fraction of interlamellar,
immobile water in smectites yields a much lower hydraulic conductivity than of soils with
other minerals at any bulk conductivity. Thus, clays with micas, illites, and kaolinites as
major minerals are about 100 to 100000 times more conductive than smectite in
montmorillonite form at one and the same void ratio (Pusch, 2002). (See figure1)
Fig. 1. Approximate relationship between smectite content and hydraulic conductivity

(Pusch, 2002).
The type of absorbed cations of the clay is also important with respect to the hydraulic
conductivity since bi- and polyvalent cations cause growth in the stack thickness and size,
which means that the voids between the stacks of lamellae and thus the hydraulic
conductivity are bigger in the Ca than in the Na montmorillonite (Pusch, 2001). Also the
electrolyte concentration has a substantial influence on the interparticle distance at low and
168
moderate densities and thus on the hydraulic conductivity because the stacks of lamellae
that form a network with rather much space will coagulate at high electrolyte
concentrations.
2.1.2.2 Specific soil surface
The magnitude of the specific surface area of a soil depends largely on the amount of clay
and type of clay minerals in the soil. The specific surface area differs largely between types
of clay minerals (Table 1). Especially in fine-grained materials one can distinguish between
an external and an internal surface, the latter being the interlamellar space of the minerals.
The total specific surface area is a factor that can relate grain-scale properties to macro-scale
physical and chemical properties of a porous medium. Large specific surface areas lead to
much interaction of ions and water molecules with the soil particles. Therefore the total
surface determines many physical and chemical properties of the soils (Petersen et al. 1996).
In porous media filtration theory, a nonlinear relationship between saturated hydraulic
conductivity and surface area has been established for structureless, randomly packed, noncompressible particles (Kozeny, 1927; Carman, 1937; Grace, 1953), the so-called KozenyCarman relationship.
Table 1. Typical specific soil surface area data of clay minerals (Pusch, 2001).
2.1.3 Dynamical material properties
2.1.3.1 Matric potential
Matric potential refers to the tenacity with which water is held by the soil matrix and, in the
absence of high concentrations of solutes, is the major factor that determines the availability
of water to plants. Differences in the value of matric potential between different parts of the
soil also provide the driving force for the unsaturated flow of soil water after any differences
in elevation have been allowed for (Mullins, 1991).
The total potential t of soil water refers to the potential energy of water in the soil with
respect to a defined reference state and can be divided into three components:
t = p + g + o
(5)
with p as pressure potential, g as gravitational potential and o as osmotic potential.

The sum of gravitational and pressure potential is called the hydraulic potential h.
Differences between the hydraulic potential at different places in the soil provide the
driving force for the movement of soil water. Matric potential m is a subcomponent of
pressure potential and is defined as the value of p where there is no difference between the
pressure of air or gas in the soil and the gas pressure on the water in the reference state
(Mullins, 1991).

169
The relationship between water content and soil water potential (capillary tension) is
described in the water retention curve. The curve is characteristic for different types of soils
and is also called soil moisture characteristic. It also depends on the geometry and network
of the pores. Fine-grained soils show high residual water contents and high changes in
capillary tension are necessary that they release the water.
The retention curve shows a hysteresis which means that depending on the history of the
soil with regard to watering and drainage, the shape of the curve is different, a behaviour
which is explained by the ink-bottle model (Schuhmann, 2002).
For the analytical description of the water retention curve there are different approaches.
Brooks and Corey (1964) combine the mathematical /relationship with the conductivity
model of Burdine (1953), but the most common approach is the one from van Genuchten
(1980) combined with the conductivity model of Mualem (1976a) which allows a direct
determination of the hydraulic conductivity by numerical simulation. Up to now it was state
of the art to determine the capillary tension by tensiometers and to determine the moisture
with the /curve, yet the influence of the hysteresis does not allow distinct results.
Therefore we propose other soil moisture measurement methods to derive soil hydraulic
conductivity.
2.1.3.2 Moisture content
As with density there exist several different definitions of water content or moisture. The
gravimetric water content can, similarly to the bulk density, be expressed on a dry mass, db,
or wet mass basis, wb, and gives the ratio between the mass of the porewater and the mass
of the dry solid substances resp. the solid substance plus mass of water. It can be expressed
in percent units
=
=
100
100
(6)
(7)
The volumetric water content can also be expressed on a volume basis as the ratio between
the volume of water and the total volume of the soil sample:
=
100
(8)
Since the soil water characteristic from the /curve especially for fine-grained soils is
ambiguous, its transformation into a /kf-curve for the determination of the hydraulic
conductivity is ambiguous too. Therefore, instead of the capillary tension, in the following
the moisture content will be used as the relevant parameter for a more precise determination
of the hydraulic conductivity.
For fine-grained soil samples, the wide distribution of void size means that the various pore
water components play different roles. Determination of their relative amounts requires
heating to different temperatures. The water in the large voids is lost at about 100 C, the
water in the fine capillaries at 105 C or slightly more, while the hydration shell of interlayer
cations in swellable clay minerals is lost at temperatures appreciably higher than 105 C.
Although the determination of the water content by thermal analysis is a very accurate
method and mostly used as a reference, this method is destructive and non-operational. But
fortunately the range of possible soil moisture determination methods has increased
170
considerably since the beginning of the eighties of the last century. Especially the
electromagnetic moisture measurement methods are promising new techniques for a
reliable and in-situ determination of the soil moisture and thus of the soil
moisture/hydraulic conductivity-relationship in the field. One of these new techniques will
be presented in the following chapter.
2.2 Measuring methods
2.2.1 Physical methods
2.2.1.1 Bulk density
The methods available for the measurement of soil bulk density fall into two groups. In the
first are the long established direct methods, which involve measurement of the sample
mass and volume (core sampling, rubber ballon, sand replacement, clod). In the second
group the attenuation or scattering of nuclear radiation by soil is used in conjunction with a
calibration relationship to give an indirect measurement of bulk density (Mullins, 1991).
2.2.1.2 Soil texture (particle size distribution, grading curve)
The particle size distribution analysis is one of the most principle determinations in soil
science and its knowledge already allows relatively good estimations of soil hydraulic
properties. Grain size distribution is very important for the bulk density.
Principally with particle size distribution analysis there exist two problems: (1) from the
wide range of particle sizes it follows that the analysis cannot be carried out by one single
method alone and (2) since the particles show different stabilities it is nearly impossible to
exactly distinguish between primary particles and aggregates, the latter being valid
especially for fine grained materials such as clay and silt. Therefore a chemical and/or
physical pre-treatment of the soil sample is indispensable to minimize aggregation of
particles. The separation of the different particle sizes is carried out be sieving with exactly
defined mesh sizes. The fine grained fraction, i.e. particle ranging from <63 m to 2 m, are
normally separated by so called sedimentation analysis, using the different sinking
properties of the grains in liquids (Stokes law). This law is applied in several methods like
aerometer according to Casagrande, Andreasen Pipete, Koehn Pipete, Atterberg or Kopecky,
that yield the so called grading curve. This method reaches its limitations when the clay
breaks up into fine, medium, and coarse clay. For determination of the clay fractions
sedimentation is speed up by centrifugation applying several times of earth gravitational
force.
All these methods are time consuming and determine size distribution of spherical
equivalent particles as Stokes law is based on the assumption of spherical particles. Faster
methods of particle size distribution apply laser light scattering, X-ray absorption, acoustic
spectrometry or dynamic light scattering. A systematic comparison of advantages and
disadvantages in relation to particle size and particle shape was given by Latief (2010). The
shape of platy clay minerals has a strong influence on their sedimentation behaviour and
thus influences the determined equivalent particle size. Therefore, some methods allow
introduction of a shape factor (e.g. Konert & Vanderberge, 1997) for calculation of particle
size distribution.
2.2.1.3 Soil structure (pore distribution)
Beside the calculation of the porosity from the density values, it can also be measured
directly by an air pycnometer which is based on the Boyle-Mariotte law (p1V1=p2V2).

171
The relationship between the decrease of pressure (from p1 to p2) and the pore volume in the
sample must be taken from calibration curves. This yields the air-filled pore volume VA. To
extract the total volume V, an additional water content determination to determine the
volume of water VW in the sample is necessary.
=
(9)
2.2.1.4 Specific surface area

The determination of the specific surface area helps to identify expandable minerals and to
estimate the degree of cementation of expandable clays. The measurement is carried out by
determining the external and internal surface areas. The external surface area is measured
by the adsorption of non-polar gases like nitrogen which cannot enter the interlamellar
space. The internal surface is determined by measuring the total surface using water and
subtracting from it the separately determined external surface (Pusch, 2002).
Water absorption capacity according to Enslin/Neff describes the property of soil at 60 C
dried up to weight constancy to absorb water by capillary action and to retain it. It mainly
depends on content and type of the clay minerals. The Enslin-Neff values are known to be
determined by the amount of exchangeable Na+ and to a lesser extent by the smectite
content (Neff, 1959). Hence the Enslin-Neff method provides an indirect estimate of the Na+
content. Evaporation during the test has to be restrained as it is known to have a serious
affect on the water-uptake capacity values measured by the Enslin-Neff device (Kaufhold &
Dohrmann, 2008). Nevertheless, the test provides an index value which gives some
indication of the size of the specific surface and activity of the fine grain.
2.2.2 Chemical and mineralogical methods
2.2.2.1 Phase analysis
Identification and quantification of mineral phases is performed by X-ray diffraction
analysis and analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns from powdered samples by Rietveld
method or pattern summation methods supported by complementary analyses (e.g. CEC,
XRF, STA) (Omotoso et al., 2006, Emmerich, 2011).
X-Ray Diffraction Analysis

X-ray diffractometry (XRD) is the standard analysis in mineralogy providing rapid
information on clays and non-clay minerals present in a powder sample. An X-ray beam of
defined wavelength (e.g. Cu K) is diffracted at the lattice of each mineral. According to
Braggs law the diffracted beam is commonly recorded at angles between 2-80 2. The
intensity ratio of peaks for each mineral depends on many factors (like chemical
composition, preferred orientation and others, see e.g. Moore & Reynolds, 1997).
Identification of the phases is made according to the JCPDS register (International Centre for
Diffraction Data; JCPDS 1983) incorporated in commercial software. Identification of clay
minerals often requires additional XRD analysis of so-called textured samples. The sample is
slurried by appropriate chemical and/or physical treatment and the >2 m fraction
separated in a centrifuge and discarded. The remaining suspension (< 2 m) is placed as
drops on a slide or sucked on top of a ceramic disc whereby the clay mineral orientates
during the sedimentation and drying process more or less on a parallel basis (texture)
(Moore & Reynolds, 1997). Subsequent solvation with ethylene glycol will identify the
swellable clay mineral phases. Calcinating at 550C destroys the existing kaolinite through
172
dehydroxilation allowing chlorite to be identified (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/of01041/htmldocs/flow/index.htm).
Cation Exchange Capacity (Methylene Blue and Cu-Trien methods)

Determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC) is performed by homoionic saturation of
exchangeable positions by an Index cation (Dohrmann & Kaufhold, 2010) and indicates the
amount of smectites in fine grained materials. Common index cations are methylene blue
(MB), Ba2+, NH4+ or copper triethylenetetramine(Cu-Trien). Despite MB is widely used
(VDG P 69 1988) the method suffers certain restrictions that are discussed in detail by Kahr
and Madsen (1995). If the CEC is determined by MB of a sodium exchanged material at
neutral pH it would result in similar values as determined with the ammonium (NH4+)
acetate method. MB can even be used for determination of SA if montmorillonite surface
area per charge corresponds with the area of the MB of 130 2, i.e. the interlayer charge of
the montmorillonites must amount to 0.28-0.33 charges per half unit cell.
Occupation of exchangeable positions in natural state of clay containing is of particular
significance for water adsorption, swelling and resulting microstructure and thus
permeability of clays especially bentonites. Exchanged cations can be determined by AAS or
ICP-OES from supernatant of CEC determination if precaution is taken to prevent
dissolution of soluble minerals (Dohrmann & Kaufhold, 2010). According to MllerVonmoos & Kahr (1982) the cations bound to the exterior and interior surfaces of
montmorillonite can be exchanged for an alcoholic ammonium rhodanide solution in the
presence of soluble salts, too. The ion distribution of exchangeable bound ions (Ca2+, Mg2+,
Na+, K+) is of particular significance for water absorption and swell capacity, the
microstructure and thus the water permeability of bentonite.
Swell Capacity Method

The ASTM D 5890 method id used to determine the swell capacity of bentonite. Two grams
of dried (105C) pulverised sample is placed in 90 ml of de-ionised water in standard 100 ml
glass cylinders. Of the sample, 0.1 g at a time is sprinkled into the water within 30 seconds
until the whole amount has been used up. The cylinder is filled to 100 ml with de-ionised
water and temperature is measured. After 24 h, the swell volume is determined in ml
ignoring any flocculated material.
Fluid Loss Test

The fluid loss test is a very reliable test regarding the permeability behaviour of bentonites.
It enables the evaluation of fluid loss properties of a clay mineral film deposited on a filter
paper from a 6% solids slurry of clay mineral at 100 psi (690 kPa) pressure as a measure of
its usefulness for the permeability of hydraulic conductivity reduction. This method was
adapted from American Petroleum Institute drilling fluid specifications for bentonite.
2.2.3 Dynamical methods
2.2.3.1 Matric potential
Namely the tensiometer and the pressure-membrane (or pressure-plate) apparatus, that
either measure, or generate, the matric potential as defined above are used. These
instruments measure the difference in pressure across a semipermeable 'membrane' in
contact with the soil on one side and the soil solution (i.e. the equilibrium dialysate) on the
other. The 'membrane' is permeable to solution but not to solids (Passioura 1980).
Principally the tensiometers are suitable for the determination of the hydraulic
conductivity in the field and a measurement precision of 1.0 vol.-% is principally

173
sufficient, yet there can occur big uncertainties when transforming the capillary tension
into moisture or hydraulic conductivity due to described hysteresis effect. Also
maintenance and calibration of the tensiometers especially in fine-grained soils are quite
complex since they tend to run dry very quickly due to the high water suction of finegrained soils. Also the measurements are rather punctual. However they can be used as a
reference method for our purpose.
2.2.3.2 Moisture content
Since moisture content is a decisive criterion of many porous materials, there exists a broad
variety of different methods. Generally one can distinguish between direct methods, where
the moisture is determined directly by physical or chemical methods, or indirectly by
determining a property that is mainly a function of the water content.
The most common direct method is the thermogravimetric method, where a sample of the
soil is dried at 105C to a constant weight. Other direct methods use e.g. calcium carbide,
sulphuric acid, or phosphorus pentoxide, which react with the water present in the sample.
Because all these methods require sampling and considerable laboratory equipment, their
use for soil moisture measurement in the field is not very practicable. Here the indirect
methods are more common and more differentiated using mostly physical parameters such
as electrical, radiometric, acoustic or thermal soil properties. A good survey is given in
Schmugge et al. (1980).
In this chapter we will focus especially on the electromagnetic methods that use the
dielectric properties of the soil. The principle is based on a functional relationship between
the dielectric permittivity of the soil and its volumetric water content. Different methods
take advantage of the high relative permittivity of water (r = 80) compared to that of dry
soil (r = 3-5). One of the most well known meanwhile is the Time Domain Reflectometry
(TDR) (Topp et al. 1980), where the transit time t of an electromagnetic pulse on a wave
guide of length l, which is buried in the soil, is measured. The relative permittivity r is
determined according to:
=(
(10)
with c0 as the velocity of light in free space. Relating the measured r of different soil
samples to the volumetric water content determined by the thermogravimetric method,
allows to establish a so called calibration function. One of the most well-known calibration
functions is the Topp-polynomial (Topp et al. 1980) which yields the volumetric water
content v according to:
= 5.3 10
+ 2.92 10
5.5 10
+ 4.3 10
(11)
Conventional TDR-sensors are normally fork-like metallic wave guides of several tens of
centimetres that penetrate the soil, giving a rather punctual measurement. Yet
the determination of hydraulic conductivity on a field-scale basis based on soil moisture
measurement requires more large-scale sensors why a flat-band-like TDR-cable sensor
called TAUPE has been developed (Brandelik & Huebner, 1999). Due to a plastic coating
of the copper wave guides this sensor is capable of sensing up to 30 m of the surrounding
soil. Both an integral soil moisture value and a moisture profiling along the length of
the buried cable according to a new TDR inversion technique can be accomplished
(Schlaeger, 2005).
174
3. Processes
3.1 Dynamic of the surface moistening
The moistening of surfaces obeys certain natural laws which were established during the
last 200 years. The development was started in the beginning of the 19th century by several
scientists from the fields of physics and chemistry. In this chapter we will exemplify some
important laws with respect to surface moistening.
3.1.1 Laws
3.1.1.1 Young-laplace equation
In 1805 Thomas Young and Pierre-Simon Laplace both described independently from one
another a fundamental equation with respect to interface science. The Young-Laplace
equation describes the correlation between surface tension, pressure and surface curvature
of a system consisting of two phases. Such a system could be e.g. a liquid drop on a solid
surface or a liquid in another immiscible liquid. Surface tension of a liquid results from
attractive interaction of the liquid molecules. A molecule located within a liquid is
surrounded by other molecules, so the resultant force is zero. This does not apply to a
molecule at the surface, since a part of interaction is missing at this place. The molecule is
bordered by air molecules on the upper side and these intermolecular forces are of weak
nature. This leads to an inward looking force. The energy required to overcome this force is
the surface tension, sometimes also called surface energy.
3.1.1.2 Lucas-Washburn & modified Lucas-Washburn
The predefined aim of the studies of Lucas (1918) and Washburn (1921) was to develop a
theoretically established law, which determined the capillary head existing in an arbitrary
capillary system, as a function of time. The first approach was to immerse a wettable
cylindrical tube vertically into a solution. The surface tension of the liquid becomes
noticeable as the length of the cross section (2*r*) multiplied by the surface tension ( ),
perpendicular to the direction of the tube. This force elevates the liquid to a height where it
is equilibrated by the gravity.
2
(12)
where h0 is the maximum pressure head and ms the specific mass. Thus the maximum height
entirely depends on the surface tension, on the radius of the tube and on the specific mass of
the solution measured. The penetration speed of the liquid due to the pulling force
diminishes with the height because the mass of the liquid increases. Moreover the rise of the
liquid is slower the tougher the liquid is. After the viscosity of the solution has been taken
into account (Poiseuille) and assuming that wetting isnt complete, the Lucas-Washburn
equation for the capillary rise is
=
(13)
Here is the contact angle, t is the time and

0 and 90, so cos( ) lies between 0 and 1.
is the viscosity. The contact angle is between

175
3.1.2 Methods
3.1.2.1 Contact angle measurement
The basis of the contact angle measurement goes back to Thomas Young (1805), who related
the contact angle to the surface tension:
=
(14)
is the contact angle, s the surface free energy, ls the solid-liquid surface energy and l is
the surface tension of the liquid. We can distinguish between three cases relating to the
contact angle. If
< 90, the liquid wets the solid surface, if
> 90, the sample is
hydrophobic and the liquid doesnt wet it or wets it only partially and if = 0, the solid
surface is totally wettable, the liquid spreads over the surface.
In practice the liquid drop is put on the solid surface, which has to be as straight as possible,
plane and also clean. A light source, which is positioned in the rear lets the drop appear
dark.
can be measured directly using a goniometer or with the help of an optical
calculating system which employs the equation of Young-Laplace. The goniometer
measuring leads to a relatively large error ( 2%) and is not applicable for small angles and
irregular contact lines (Dimitrov et al., 1991). In case of small drops the hydrostatic effects
can be neglected and the contact angle can be calculated from the height of the drop (Butt et
al., 2006).
3.1.2.2 Dynamic contact angle measurement
The processes happening at the solid-liquid interface during wetting and dewetting are best
described by the dynamic contact angle. The interface at the contact between liquid drop
and solid surface doesnt appear suddenly, but it needs a certain time until a dynamic
equilibrium is reached. In practice the measuring of the dynamic contact angle works in the
way that a liquid drop is spread on the solid surface and then extended by means of a
needle. The solid-liquid interface migrates outwards and the contact angle can be measured
by defining certain degrees steps. Studebaker & Snow (1955) developed an equation for the
determination of the dynamic contact angle.
=
(15)
The authors determined dynamic contact angles of powder samples by measuring the time
required for a liquid to imbibe the powder bed. This time was then compared to a reference
sample with cos = 1 (contact angle = 0). This method assumes that the differences in the
penetration rate are due only to differences in contact angle, after taking surface tension and
viscosity into account (Yang & Zografi, 1986).
3.1.2.3 Capillary rise method
Jones & Ray (1937) investigated the determination of the surface tension of water and
several salt solutions. They developed a differential method to determine this property of
liquids. The experimental set-up of the capillary rise method consists of a tight cylindrical
tube and a broad tube being connected with each other. The vertical level difference
between the meniscus in the tight tube and the extended one has to be measured. The
density of the liquid, which also needed, may be determined directly by the use of a
hydrometer.
176
(16)
r is the radius of the tight tube measured at the height of the meniscus, h the capillary rise, g the
acceleration of free fall, D the true density of the liquid, the density of the gas phase (air plus
water vapor) at the temperature and the barometric pressure when the experiment is made and
is the contact angle. should be zero in glass and silica tubes if the tubes are clean (Jones &
Ray, 1937). First the elevation between the lowest levels of the menisci must be read off to get
the approximate value of the capillary rise. This value has to be corrected for the liquid by
means of the Rayleigh formula. Jones & Frizzell (1940) for their part examined the influence of
the concentration of the solution on the capillary rise. Therefore they used diluted salt solutions
of different concentrations. The most noticeable feature of the results was that the penetration
height of water was higher than those of the diluted solutions. This was interpreted as an
evidence for a higher surface tension of water compared to the salt solutions. Measurements
based on Washburns equation do not only depend on the particle size but also on the pore size
distribution. Addition of fine particles to the measured bed increases the penetration rate of
liquid and improves precision of the measurement (Dang-Vu & Hupka, 2005).
3.1.2.4 Wilhelmy-Plate
The Wilhelmy-Plate method is utilized to determine the surface tension of a liquid. It can
also be used in order to study the contact angle during capillary rise. In doing so a plate is
contacted with the surface of the examined liquid where a meniscus forms at the contact
point of the two phases. Due to this meniscus a force between the phases appears which
originates from the wetting. By pulling the plate upwards a force (surface tension) manifests
itself.
3.1.2.5 Sessile drop
The interface science makes use of different methods with regard to measure both,
properties of liquids (e.g. surface tension) and properties of solids (e.g. static/dynamic
contact angle or surface energy). The sessile drop method is an example for a measurement
on a solid. For this purpose a drop of liquid (in most of the cases a reference solution is
used) is spread on a solid surface and the static contact angle of the liquid is measured
optically. Bachmann et al. (2000) developed a sessile drop method by modifying Youngs
equation on two points, since it is strictly applicable only to completely uniform and plain
surfaces:
i. A correction factor was introduced, which is defined as the ratio between the actual
and the apparent area. This leads to the equation of Wenzel
(
)=
( )
(17)
Eq. (17) was developed due to the fact that the observed contact angle is smaller than the ideal
(intrinsic) angle as long as this is below 90 and larger if the intrinsic angle is above 90. So, the
precision of the contact angle measurement therefore depends on the magnitude of it.
ii. The Cassie-Equation is considered as an empirical approach describing the apparent
contact angle on a chemically heterogeneous surface
(
)=
( )+
( )
(18)

177
3.2 Fluid flow

3.2.1 Hydrology
According to the physical law of conservation of mass the equation of water balance is valid.
The input precipitation (N) is equal to the sum of the current total evaporation (Haude,
1958) ETa (evaporation of soil, transpiration of plants and evaporation of interception), the
sum of runoff (surface runoff QO, lateral runoff QL and leaching QV) and change of water
content in soil layers within the observation period ( = WA WE).
N = ETa + (QO + QL + QV) + (WA WE)
(19)
The description of water balance in vertical soil profiles is the fundamental requirement for
the description of water balance in areas. Numerous investigations on the regionalization of
point methods of measurement nowadays provide well-founded transmission options. The
following sections consider the water balance of a vertical profile.
3.2.2 Analytical basics
The major focus of the investigation lies on the flow of a solution (in this case water)
through the soil matrix. The water flow not only underlies gravity, but is also influenced by
the soil properties (Hillel, 1980). Driving forces like gravity (hydrostatic forces), adsorption,
cohesion, osmotic forces due to dissolved salts etc. cause water movement through their
resultant (Czurda, 1994). Concerning the water movement we distinguish between
advective flow and diffusion. Diffusion is irrelevant in the case of materials owing high
hydraulic conductivity. The mathematical expression of the potential can be used to
describe the flow of water through soil. It should be noted that the theory of the potentials
considers neither the geometry of the pore space nor the mechanisms of water binding.
These are included in the matric potential. The mechanical energy is taken into account but
not the thermal energy. The stationary flow within the unsaturated zone is described by
Darcy/Buckingham (equation of motion). Darcys law features flow by means of a unit
volume in dependency of the hydraulic conductivity of soil and in dependency of a
potential gradient. The flow velocity depends on the hydraulic conductivity (kf-value) of the
soil and on the total potential (). kf depends on the water content .
vx = k fx ( )
vy = k fy ( )
vz = k fz ( )
(20)
kf does not vary linearly depending on water content, but it follows a relationship which is
characteristic to each soil. The hydraulic conductivity decreases with the square of the
capillary radius. The air in the soil is considered to be stationary. In case of transient
conditions Darcys law (equation of motion) is combined with the equation of continuity
(validity of conservation of mass).
vx vy vz
+
+
=
S
x
y
z
t
(21)
S represents a term containing a sink or a source. Combining (20) with (21) considers the
change in water content during water flow. This equation is known as the partial differential
equation of unsaturated flow (unit s-1) within the soil matrix.
178

k fx ( )
k fz ( )
C + S =
+
k fy ( )
+
t
x
x y
y z
z
(22)
C (=d/d) is defined as specific moisture capacity of the soil. Richards equation contains
the relationship between water content () and soil water tension (, set equal to the
potential) and also the relationship between hydraulic conductivity and water content.
These relationships are extremely non-linear. Therefore, the solution of equation (24)
(calculation of water and solute transport) requires numerical methods (Jentsch, 1992; Philip
et al., 1974). It is foreseeable that we need to know two parameters in order to describe the
water movement within the soil: total potential (, represented by the soil water tension
under described boundary conditions) and water content.
3.2.3 Soil mechanics and soil hydraulics
Soils store and transport water within their pore system. This property is determined by the
hydraulic conductivity and the texture of the pores. The hydraulic conductivity depends on
the water content of the soil. Considering an unsaturated ideal soil with a uniform
microstructure without macropores the following relationships are relevant:
ratio volumetric water content to soil water tension also called the soil moisture
characteristic or pF-curve
ratio soil water retention to hydraulic conductivity
ratio volumetric water content to hydraulic conductivity

The soil water tension equals to the sum of bonding forces performed by the soil matrix
with regard to the water. The pF-curve shows a characteristic course for each different soil
(Scheffer, 1992). It depends on the particle size distribution, the formation and crosslinking of the pores and also of their size. The proportion of organic matter and the
chemical composition of the wetting phase also affect the pF-curve. The water holding
capacity of sand is low (if pF>4.2) the residual saturation r equals a water content less
than 3 vol. %), so sand releases water situated within the pore volume at low soil water
tension differences (low specific water capacity C, that means a slight gradient of the
tangent with respect to the pF-water content-curve at 0 < pF < 2.5). In contrast, clay shows
a high residual saturation (if pF = 4.2, water content equals ~ 30 vol. %) and the release of
water needs high changes of the soil water tension (high specific water capacity C, that
means high gradient).
Depending on the history of the soil with respect to watering and dewatering the shapes of
the pF-curve for a single soil are different, an effect called hysteresis. It is assumed that the
capillaries which connect the pores show a smaller cross section than the pores themselves.
If the soil water tension is high, the convex meniscus holds on to the upper border of the
pore (by means of retention forces). This soil water tension is higher than necessary in order
to move the concave meniscus (formed by wetting resistance) into the capillary in case of
watering. The main influencing factors of the pF-curve are grain size, soil structure and
hysteresis.
There are manifold approaches for the analytical description of the pF-curve. The approach
of Brooks & Corey (1964) combines the mathematical ratio of to with the conductivity
model of Burdine (1953). The definition of effective water content, also called relative
saturation index or soil-water-retention, is

Se =
179
- r
s - r
(23)
with as current water content, r as residual water content (simplified = 0, easier to

measure at pF = 4,2) and s as water content at saturation (measured at pF = 0), conform to
porosity.
Besides the approach of Campbell (1974) the common approach originates from Van
Genuchten (1980) and Mualem (1976a), VGM in the following. The VGM approach
prevailed in the literature and will be considered subsequently. Therefore we combine the
()-relationship with the conductivity model from Mualem. Unlike the model of Brooks &
Corey-Burdine (Berger, 1998) this approach doesnt take any sharp air inlet into account.
Thus this approach is solvable from the analytical point of view if we consider certain
boundary conditions
Se =
- r
1
=
n
s - r 1 + ( h )
(24)
,m,n
parameters of shape, dependent on grain distribution of the soil:

=1/hb, ; hb = soil water tension () at air inlet point,
m=/(+1) ; =index of pore size,
n=+1; hence m=1-1/n
h
soil water tension () at the water content
So the description of the hydraulic conductivity/soil moisture-relationship becomes
possible from the analytical point of view based on the prediction model of Mualem:
k f ( )
ks
= Se
1 m
m
1 1 S e
(25)
kf()
ks
hydraulic conductivity at the current water content

hydraulic conductivity at water saturation. ks is often set constant, but also depends
on the texture of the soil
takes the influence of tortuosity into account, usually = 0.5.

By means of inverse identification of parameters (Schultze et al., 1996) the approximation of
the values from numerical simulations to those from field trials is possible. Thus the sought
parameters are provided directly. The measuring of water tension by means of tensiometer
represented until now the state-of-the-art. The water content of the soil was determined via
pF-curve (with knowledge of the water tension) and furthermore the kf -value. Until now no
exact results could be achieved due to the influence of hysteresis.
3.2.4 Soil moisture
In order to solve the Richards equation (22), knowledge of properties of the soil is required.
Until now these properties were taken from the fundamental pF-curve. There the pF-value
represents the common logarithm taken from Buckinghams capillary potential expressed
as cm of the water column. The shape and uniqueness of the pF-curve depends on the
texture. The texture includes pore size distribution (structure) as well as storage and
arrangement of the particles (texture). For analytical modeling further parameters are
180
necessary. These parameters describe the water content of the soil at different boundary
conditions. Alongside the natural saturation water content ( s) where pF = 0, the absolute
saturation ( s*) is also an important parameter. s* correlates to the porosity of the soil.
Absolute saturation cannot be achieved by rewatering because -according to structure and
texture- certain parts of the pores remain air-filled. According to extensive investigations the
following equation is valid
s = 0.8 0.95 s*
(26)
Thus soil is liable to be seen as three-phase system. A further parameter is the remaining
water or residual saturation defined as r, where the aqueous phase is not constant
anymore. The associated pF-value is 4.2. The distribution of the three components water, air
and soil is described by various mixing models. The aqueous phase is distinguished
between free water and bound water that is adsorbed on or within the particles. The
electrostatic forces surrounding the solid (here: soil particle) act outwards. These forces
result from molecules that are not compensated electrical all-round. The wetting property of
a solid with regard to water depends on the strength of these forces. If the cohesion forces of
the water molecules are less than the surface forces, the water molecules absorb on the
surface. Bound water is able to absorb further water molecules by means of associate forces,
however, this binding is not stable (Huebner, 1999).
Bound water prefers ionic bonds. The surfaces of fine-grained materials such as clays are
saturated by ions. The sorption forces between ions and the surface of the clays are greater
than the non-polar sorption forces between surface and water molecule. As a result the
wetting property of clays increases and a hydrate envelope around the metal cations is
established. Also crystal water, i.e. water bound within the lattice of the soil particles, is
present and water can condensate within the capillaries. If two water films get into touch,
the water molecules flow together and form carrying menisci within the soil pores and more
water molecules are attracted by the surface tension. If the soil air is saturated with vapor,
the water condenses above the concave meniscus. At this place the vapor pressure is smaller
than above the convex or the flat meniscus. The molecular forces get saturated by steam or
by liquid water.
The main part of the water in the soil is not influenced by molecular forces. It has zero
potential and underlies gravity. The water contents , s and r have been determined in on
lab-scale depending on soil water tension. Because of the hysteresis it was distinguished
between the watering and dewatering of the sample. The reasons for the hysteresis of the
pF-curve are that the advancing contact angle between soil matrix and soil water is greater
than the retreating contact angle, the effects regarding the geometry of pores, water bound
on clay mineral surfaces, and enclosed air. Statements leading to a reliable approximation of
the hydraulic conductivity are therefore impossible. The extension of uncertainty by 70
times results from empiric measures ( is applied logarithmic, kf is applied exponential).
This uncertainty provides the basis for the assessment of the water content ( ) as a relevant
measurement parameter.
4. Systems
The comprehensive characterization of materials is prerequisite to understand processes in
large (geo)-technical systems and their manipulation. This can be achieved best by the
knowledge of material properties, measuring methods to determine water content and

181
processes that describe the interaction of matter and water. Examples for technical systems
in that sense are e.g. sealing systems for landfills and subsurface storage of waste,
monitoring of soil water content over large areas using power lines, or monitoring system
for groundwater recharge in the unsaturated zone.
4.1 Monitoring system for surface sealings
4.1.1 Configuration of sealing system and monitoring layer
For the monitoring of the volumetric water content V, the TAUPE TDR-system described in
chapter 1.2.3.2 was used. Specifications for a monitoring system for surface sealing systems
on landfills (figure 1) defined from legislating body (BAM, Federal Institute for Materials
Research and Testing) are
detection of increase over more than an order of magnitude in permeability of a mineral
sealing or capillary barrier,

detection of local relative variations in volumetric water content of more than 5 %,
positioning information of 100 m2, that means a circle with radius around 5.5 m around
true position.
The sealing system installed at the landfill is build up as a capillary barrier as shown in
figure 2.
Fig. 2. Simplified schematic of mineral capillary barrier consisting of a fine-grained material

capillary layer above a coarse-grained material capillary block in a surface sealing system of
a landfill.
Sensors of the monitoring system were installed in monitoring layers above and below the
capillary barrier to determine the quantity of permeated water through the barrier. Water
content of a soil layer situated below the capillary barrier without appreciable hysteresis is
directly related to its permeability, i.e. the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Landfill
regulations determine saturated hydraulic conductivity as quality parameter of mineral
sealing systems. A critical limit of < 5 x 10-9 m/sec can be deduced from experimental
relation between volumetric water content and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, which
can reach values of a few orders of magnitude below that limit. Materials used in a
monitoring layer must meet the following requirements
182
its hydraulic properties must be defined unambiguously,

inflow from layers above must lead to a significant change in volumetric water content,
uniquely defined monitoring parameters for saturated/unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity correspond to definite volumetric water contents. Percolation through
monitoring layer must be equivalent to percolation in total sealing system.
Adequate for a monitoring layer are sandy to silty materials with a range of saturated
hydraulic conductivity of 10-5 to 10-6 m/sec. A decrease in unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity should be at least four to five orders of magnitude and cover the range of 10-10
m/sec to 10-5 m/sec. The monitoring layer then can discharge a break-through of the sealing
system without building up backwater. Sensors are installed in monitoring layers at depth
of around 2 m and 2.3 m, respectively.
4.1.2 Calibration of a material for the monitoring layer
An adequate material was tested in the laboratory using measurement equipment for the
determination of complex dielectric permittivity. It consists of a vectorial network analyzer
and a coaxial type probe cell (see inset in figure 2) in the same frequency range of 100 MHz
to 1100 MHz as used with TDR method. The material has been exposed to different amounts
of water, with a part of it being dried at 105 C in oven for evaluation of gravimetric water
content related to dry mass. A second part was inserted in the coaxial probe cylinder for
determination of permittivity. Figure 3 shows the relation between volumetric water content
and square root of measured permittivity. Results from TDR measurement can directly be
converted via the indicated regression function.
Fig. 3. Material calibration function for the monitoring layer. Inset shows the permittivity
measurement system with coaxial probe cylinder.
4.1.3 Monitoring system
A test site for a monitoring system for surface sealing has been established from 2004 to 2005
at the landfill situated in Oberweier/Germany (Figure 4). In two monitoring layers (see
figure 1) 230 sensors have been installed and connected via 34 multiplexer to a TDR system.

183
To keep the length of the connecting coaxial cables between TDR system and sensors below
150 m, two central units with separate TDR devices cover 120 and 110 sensors, respectively.
Sensor length is 10 m and distances between adjacent sensors are between 8 and 10 m,
depending on hill slope. Data collection takes place two times a day.
Fig. 4. Plan of landfill in Oberweier. Sensors and measurement equipment has been installed
in the shaded area of approximately 150 m x 130 m. Inset shows TAUPE TDR-cable sensors
during installation in lower monitoring layer.
4.2 Data evaluation
TDR signal data comprise only a part of the total signal length and is constraint to the
transition between coaxial cable and start of sensor and shortly beyond end of sensor (see
figure 5). First rise of the reflection signal occurs at start of sensor and second rise at end of
sensor (Topp et al., 1980). Exact starting and ending points are defined by calculating the
inflection points of the slopes to fit tangents to the curve and finding crossing points with
horizontal lines. From time difference propagation time is calculated.
Fig. 5. Typical form of TDR reflection signal and determination of propagation time
Data from all sensors are automatically evaluated using an appropriate software system.
Resulting propagation time defines an integral value for volumetric water content along a
complete sensor according to the material calibration function in figure 2. Adding results for
184
each sensor over time delivers variations in water content all over the landfill. To give an
easier access to the hydraulic behavior at locations of different sensors the landfill is divided
in vertical transects between top of the landfill and its base. This is shown for 2010 in figure
6 on eight sensors for both monitoring layers.
Fig. 6. Volumetric water content as a function of time in monitoring layer above

(left: sensors 180, 182, 184, 186 188, 190, 192, 194) and below (right: sensors 60, 62, 64, 66, 68,
70, 72, 74) capillary barrier. Data gap in March 2010 was due to a failure in power supply.
In the monitoring layer above capillary barrier discharge of precipitation at the surface can
be found directly, especially at the borders of the landfill due to a poor connection to the
area outside of the test site. Preferential flow parallel to the slope in layers with local
secondary capillary barriers, which have been built unintentionally during installation
process, leads to a more steady value of volumetric water content. Normally short time
reactions describe the hydraulic system above the sealing.
Fig. 7. Intrinsic situation of volumetric water content in monitoring layer above (left) and
below sealing system (right). Vertical sections according to figure 6.
In contrast, situation below the sealing system shows little short time variations, what
demonstrates the functionality of the capillary barrier. Except at the borders little influences
of discharge from the surface occur. Depending on chemical reactions in waste and seasonal
temperature changes the volumetric water content can vary locally in the order of up to 2 %
due to temperature depending permittivity of water.
Graphs in figure 7 show the situation above and below the capillary barrier at a certain time
as colored graphs. Rectangular blocks show the volumetric water content of each sensor and

185
the red color indicates possible problems due to locally high water content above arbitrarily
chosen 18 %. Situation below the sealing shows more dark blue and red spots than above,
which is a result of the installation since the first section below the sealing has been
constructed during heavy rain in October 2004 and the second section with the capillary
barrier was built in spring 2005 during the dry season. Water exchange with atmosphere via
evapotranspiration is low due to depth of monitoring layers.
4.2.1 Hydraulic conductivity
Volumetric water content of the layer below capillary sealing received from the monitoring
system is the input parameter for the determination of hydraulic conductivity according to
figure 8. In 2010 the sensors detected volumetric water contents between 12 and 18 %.
Critical limit of 5x10-9 m/sec gives a monitoring value for volumetric water contents of 22 %
and has not emerged during the observation period between 2005 and 2010.
Fig. 8. Hydraulic conductivity of different materials as function of VWC; material of

monitoring layers fulfills requirements of BAM.
5. Acknowledgement
We acknowledge support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Open Access
Publishing Fund of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
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10
Determining Hydraulic Conductivity
from Soil Characteristics with Applications
for Modelling Stream Discharge
in Forest Catchments
Marie-France Jutras and Paul A. Arp
Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management

University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, NB
Canada
1. Introduction
Many applications in watershed management, forestry, agriculture, and horticulture require
hydrologically feasible estimates for assessing the rate at which water infiltrates and
percolates through the soil, and how much of that is either taken up by the vegetation or
passes through the ground until entering flow channels and streams further below in the
landscape. In the literature, there are many approaches to do this, ranging from direct field
measurements to numerical and theoretical constructs (Di Frederico and Tartakosky 2000;
Pachepsky and Rawls 2005; Sudicky et al. 2010). Field measurements focus on, e.g., (i) direct
measurements regarding the rate of infiltration, (ii) hydraulic gradients and hydraulic
conductivities along hillslopes and aquifers, and (iii) stream discharge. Theoretical
means infer soil and subsoil water retention and hydraulic conductivities from basic soil
properties such as soil texture, organic matter content, and density. In turn, these estimates
can then be used to determine temporal changes in soil moisture and soil moisture flow
within fields (or hydrological response units), along hill slopes and across catchments, by
way of simple trickle-down models (e.g., Church 1997), or complex geographically
distributed hydrology models (Kim et al. 2008). The most elaborate models generate
atmosphere-vegetation-soil transference fluxes based on empirical Eddy correlation
techniques (Kuchment et al. 2006), while the simpler models use weather records involving
precipitation and air temperature to assess daily changes in soil moisture and water flow
(Balland et al. 2006; Murphy et al. 2009). This chapter (i) presents a generalized framework
for estimating soil hydraulic conductivities at saturation, i.e., Ksat, at the soil-layer level, and
(ii) applies this framework for modelling water retention and stream discharge for six wellstudied forest catchments across Canada, from east to west. Within this framework, special
attention is given to ensure that
i. soil moisture content at field capacity (FC) is always smaller than soil moisture content
at the saturation point (SP),
ii. the permanent witting point (PWP) is always smaller than FC,
190
iii. the bulk density of the soil (Db) is always smaller than the mean particle density (Dp) of
the soil,
iv. Ksat is strongly affected by the pore space of the soil, and
v. estimates for Db, Dp, SP, FC, PWP and Ksat are functionally related to soil depth,
texture, and organic matter content (OM) across a wide range of natural soil conditions,
from organic to mineral, from loose to compact, and from shallow to deep.
2. Estimating soil moisture flow, retention, and Ksat

Equations that generate layer-specific estimates for Db, Dp, FC, PWP and Ksat
from generally available soil data such as OM, texture (i.e., sand, silt and clay content) and
soil depth are known as point pedotransfer functions, or point PTFs (Bouma, 1989;
Gijsman et al. 2003; Brgesen and Schaap 2005; Pachepsky and Rawls 2005; Schaap
2006; Brgesen et al. 2007). The following equations (Balland et al. 2008) were used to this
effect:
Db =
aDb + (Dp - aDb - bDb SAND) [1-exp (-cDb DEPTH) ]

1+dDb OM
(1)
-a (1-SAND)-bFC OM
FC= SP 1-exp FC
SP
(2)
CLAY-bPWP OM
-a
PWP= FC 1-exp PWP
FC
(3)
log 10 Ksat = aKsat + bKsat log 10 (Dp - Db) + cKsat SAND
(4)
where a, b, c, and d are Db-, FC-, PWP- and Ksat-specific calibration coefficients, and
1
OM
1-OM
=
+
Dp DpOM Dpmin
(5)
determines the average value for Dp, with DpOM = 1.3 gcm-3 and Dpmin = 2.65gcm-3 referring
to the particle density of soil organic matter and minerals, respectively. SAND, CLAY, OM,
FC, PWP, and FC refer to f dry soil weight fractions (fine earth fraction only). DEPTH refers
to the mid depth of each soil layer, in cm. Ksat is expressed in cm hr-1. Calibrating these
equations with data taken from New Brunswick (NB) and Nova Scotia (NS) soil survey
reports (CANSIS, 2000) produced the following results:
Db =
1.23 + (Dp - 1.23 - 0.75 SAND) (1-exp (-0.0106 DEPTH) )

1+6.83 OM
(6)
-0.588 (1-SAND)-1.73 OM
FC= SP 1-exp
SP
(7)
-0.511 CLAY-0.865 OM
PWP= FC 1-exp
FC
(8)
Determining Hydraulic Conductivity from Soil Characteristics

with Applications for Modelling Stream Discharge in Forest Catchment
191
log 10Ksat = -0.98 + 7.94 log 10 (Dp - Db) + 1.96 SAND
(9)
with the best-fitted values for R2, MAE, RMSE and the corresponding a, b, c and d
regression coefficients listed in Table 1. These results show that the precision so achieved
varied in the following order: FC > PWP > Db > Ksat. This order likely reflects the extent by
which changes in soil structure (or state of soil aggregation) affect the measurement of these
variables. It appears that such changes have (i) only small if any effects on the pressure-plate
determinations for FC and PWP, (ii) moderate effects on the in-situ Db determinations, but
(iii) large effects on Ksat on account of disproportionate flow rates through fine to large
pores, root channels and cracks. With organic soils, varying degrees of humification also
matter, with well-humified matter being more compactable and less permeable than fibrous
matter (Pepin et al., 1992; Paquet et al., 1993; Balland et al. 2008). The modelled variations of
Ksat with changing OM, sand content, and Db are shown in Figure 1, together with plots of
actual versus best-fitted NB and NS data.
Property
ax
bx
cx
dx
Db, g cm-3
1.17
0.83
0.022
6.1
0.05
0.08
0.004
0.8
0.588
1.734
0.016
0.049
0.511
0.865
0.025
0.057
-0.98
7.94
1.96
0.11
0.48
0.21
FC, g g-1
PWP, g g-1
log10Ksat
R2
MAE
RMSE
0.83
0.14
0.18
0.96
0.032
0. 048
0.65
0.026
0.035
0.80
0.38
0.49
Subscript x for a, b, c d mean Db, FC, PWP, or Ksat, as pertinent by row
Table 1. Best-fitted results for Db, FC, PWP, and Ksat (cm hr-1) including their respective a,
b, c, and d coefficients, coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE) and
root mean square error (RMSE) for the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia soils data, based on
Eqs. 1 to 4.
The extent of inter-parametric correlations among the regression coefficients is shown in Table
2. These correlations should, ideally, be as close to zero as possible to narrow the equifinal
solution space for the best-fitted a, b, c and d coefficients. For example, the -0.89 correlation
between aKsat and cKsat implies that an increase in cKsat will produce a corresponding decrease
in aKsat. Hence, large non-zero inter-coefficient correlations numbers imply large uncertainties
about the best-fitted coefficients for the parameter pair so identified.
Applying the Ksat formulation to the Universal Soil Database (UNSODA, Leij 1996), instead
of NB and NS data yielded,
log 10Ksat = (-1.05 0.08) + (6.1 0.4) log 10 ( Dp - Db) + (2.2 0.1) SAND
(n = 481; R2 = 0.52; RMSE = 0.68; MAE = 0.54).
(10)
192
Db
ax
ax
bx
-0.0067
cx
-0.45
-0.75
dx
0.77
0.062
-0.16
FC
ax
ax
bx
-58
bx
cx
dx
log10Ksat
ax
bx
ax
bx
-0.043
cx
-0.89
-0.15
bx
PWP
ax
bx
ax
bx
-0.34
cx
Table 2. Correlation coefficients between a, b, c and d parameters of equations 1 to 4, New

Brunswick and Nova Scotia soil data.
Fig. 1. Left and middle: 3-D visualisations of how log10Ksat varies with increasing soil bulk
density (Db), sand fraction and organic matter (OM) fraction. Right: best-fitted log10Ksat
versus actual data (right).
Hence, the log10Ksat formulation based on the NS and NB data alone remained valid in its
general form, but the coefficient values changed slightly, with the largest change associated
with the log10(Dp -Db) coefficient, i.e., dropping from 7.9 to 6.1. This change may relate to
procedural differences, e.g., using estimated Dp values from known SP and Db values (NB
and NS data) versus direct Dp measurements (UNSODA). The plot of actual versus bestfitted values in Figure 2 suggests a general agreement between the above Ksat formulation
and the data from both sources.
3. Catchment hydrology
The Forest Hydrology Model (ForHyM; Balland et al. 2006; Fig 3) was used to
simulate the the hydrothermal conditions within each of the discharge-monitored basins
listed in Table 3. These simulations were driven by local weather records
for daily precipitation (rain, snow) and air temperature. In this model, only gravitational
water was allowed to flow, i.e., the amount of soil moisture above FC. The rate of this
flow was set to be proportional to pore % of gravitational water multiplied by Ksat to
estimate downward flow (percolation, or infiltration), and adjusted for % slope of the

193
log10Ksat, cm hr-
2
UNSODA
NS & NB
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-3
-2
-1
Fitted log10Ksat
Fig. 2. Scatter plot of actual versus best-fitted Ksat values (Eq. 10) for two data sources
(UNSODA (Leij et al. 1996; NB & NS soil survey data, Balland et al. 2008).
basin to estimate lateral flow or interflow. At saturation, downward flow into the
next mineral soil was typically slower than lateral flow on account of decreasing
Ksat with increasing soil density at lower soil depth. Infiltration into unsaturated soils
was determined (i) by directly filling the partially available pore space up to SP, and
(ii) by accommodating downward as well as lateral flow as long as the soil moisture
content would remain above FC. For simplicity, the soil at each location was represented
by the forest floor (or LFH layer), the A and B layers combined, and the C layer.
The substrate below the C layer was represented by 1 m intervals to a depth of 12 m, i.e.,
to the depth of isothermal conditions year-round. Values for Dp, Db, SP, FC, PWP,
Ksat were generated for each layer from local soil surveys, using Eqs. 1 to 9 (Table 4).
Estimates for the moisture- and frost-varying heat capacity and conductivity were
also generated for each layer according to Balland and Arp (2005). The outcomes of
these calculations are illustrated in Figure 4 for a basin at Turkey Lakes in Ontario
near Sault St. Marie north of Lake Superior, and the Moosepit Brook basin east
of Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. The general conformance between the modelled
and actual stream discharge is documented in Table 5 by way of the best-fitted regression
coefficient and the corresponding R2 and RMSE values for each of the basins examined.
The Ksat multiplier adjustments for the downward and lateral flow components
are entered in Table 4. No adjustments were made to the layer-estimated values for
Db, Dp, FC, and PWP (Eqs. 5 to 8). The following can be observed from Figs. 4 and 5 and
Tables 1 to 5:
i. There is generally good agreement between the actual and basin calibrated
snowpack depth, and stream discharge at the daily to annual time scaless (Fig. 4,
Table 5).
ii. No adjustments were needed to match the monitored stream discharge with the
incoming precipitation and model-assessed evapotranspiration rates.
194
iii. The Ksat adjustments for downward flow varied from 0.5 to 2 (Table 4), and were
therefore within the generically determined precision for Ksat based on Eqs. 9 and 10
and the layer specification for soil texture, organic matter, soil depth and soil density
(Table 1).
iv. The Ksat adjustments for lateral flow were more variable, thereby indicating that lateral
flows through the basins were more complex and generally low thereby requiring
downward Ksat adjustments for interflow, especially for the hummocky basins
(Table 4). This was likely due to flow obstructions such as mounds and pits, empty
or partially filled water pools above and below the regolith, erratic changes in soil
depth, density, texture, organic matter, coarse fragment, and variations in the surface
exposure of partially fractured bedrock especially along ridges, steep slopes and within
crevices. Hayward Brook was particularly exceptional with its < Ksat multipliers for
lateral flow. This undulating to rolling basin is underlain by calcareous shales, which
generally have high flow variabilities, thereby enhancing downward flow (SchulzeMakuch et al. 1999).
v. For most soils, Db generally increases with soil depth (Eq. 1), and Ksat decreases
accordingly (Eqs. 9 and 10). Within the A and B layers, Ksat values range from about 50
to 500 cm hr-1. Within the subsoil, Ksat values are generally much lower by one to two
orders of magnitude, especially on compacted tills.
vi. The Ksat value for the forest floor, as projected by way of Eq. 5, is rather low,
but corresponds to Ksat values normally associated with organic soils. Due to the
high porosity of this layer, infiltration occurs quickly. The water so received is,
however, released rather slowly to the underlying forest soil and only so once the
field capacity of the forest floor is exceeded. As a result, soil layers underneath the
forest floor often remain quite dry during the later portion of the summer and during
early fall. At this time, soils may also become hydrophobic. As a result, surface water
would then flow laterally over short distances towards nearby pits and depressions,
where the soil would be moister and permit gradual infiltration and downward
percolation.
vii. The calibrated Ksat values for and depression lateral and downward flow generally
fall within the Ksat uncertainty range associated with Eq. 9 and Eq. 10, with the
best-fitted RSME values for Ksat varying from about 0.4 to 0.6. This range is similar
to that obtained with (i) testing water recharge in wells receiving water from
small depressions (about 50 m2) to catchments up to about 1200 ha or more, and after
taking care of the scaling-up effect that is associated with these measurements
(log10Ksat RMSE = 0.61; Schulze-Makuch et al. 1999), and (ii) using tension
infiltrometers and Guelph permeameters to determine Ksat by soil depth at Turkey
Lakes (log10Ksat, RMSE = 0.45; Murray and Buttle 2006) and at Lac Laflamme, as
detailed in Table 4.
viii. Since the study locations represent a range of catchment size from about 70 to 1700 ha,
there are no obvious trends with catchment size. Hence, the model-derived Ksat
adjustments for the LFH, A&B and C layers are essentially independent of scale across
this range. This is also in general agreement with Schulze-Makuch et al. (1999) who
found that the up-scaling requirement for Ksat generally stops once the Ksatdetermining flow fields offer no additional heterogeneity. However, Laudon et al.
(2007) concluded that stream discharge is less dependent on scale than on wetland

195
coverage per catchment, with discharge contributions of event water (or new water)
amounting to 50% in wetland dominated catchment while limited to 10% to 30% in
forest dominated catchments. Considering also
a. that forest catchments are generally permeated by many converging flow channels
with varying and weather-dependent thresholds for flow initiation,
b. that forest catchments in glaciated landscapes such as the ones of this study are
generally underlain by a layer of surface-fractured bedrock, and
c. that this layer provides additional space for water pooling and hydraulically
activated flows towards the streams,
it is reasonable to suggest that the Ksat estimates and their multipliers in Tables 3 and 4
reflect similar flow heterogeneities within each of the many subcatchments for the
catchments of this study.
ix. The above approach requires layer-specific estimates for Ksat. If these are not available,
then Ksat can be derived from layer-representative values for sand content, Dp and Db.
When estimates for Dp and Db are not available, one can derived these via Eqs. 5 and 6
for any soil depth and given values for sand and organic content. Generally, these
values need to be representative of the LHF, A, B and C layers. The sensitivity of the
resulting Ksat estimates to the natural variations of these quantities can be evaluated
via Eq.s. 5, 6, and 9 or 10.
Fig. 3. Specification overview for the Forest Hydrology Model ForHyM (Balland 2002).
196
Table 3. Watershed description by site, with hydraulic conductivity adjustments.

Table 4. Hydrothermal soil profile, needed for the daily soil moisture, temperature and
stream discharge calculations (Balland et al. 2008).
197
198

25
Top
20
Temperature (C)
15
10
5
0
-5
FF
10 cm
50 cm
150 cm
5000
80
-10
Discharge (mm/day)
60
50
Actual
Model
Cumulative Actual
Cumulative Model
4000
3000
40
2000
30
20
1000
10
0
Actual
Model
Frost Depth
-5
100
-10
-15
-20
50
Frost Depth (cm)
Snow Depth (cm)
15000
Cumulative Discharge (mm)
70
-25
0
1999.7
2000.7
2001.7
2002.7
2003.7
-30
2004.7
25
Bottom
20
Temperature (C)
15
10
5
0
-5
FF
10 cm
50 cm
80
-10
Discharge (mm/day)
60
50
150 cm
5000
4000
3000
40
2000
30
20
1000
10
1500
0
Actual
Model
Frost Depth
-5
-10
100
-15
-20
50
Frost Depth (cm)
Snow Depth (cm)
Cumulative Discharge (mm)
70
Actual
Model
Cumulative Actual
Cumulative Model
-25
0
1999.7
2000.7
2001.7
2002.7
2003.7
-30
2004.7
Fig. 4. ForHyM generated output for snow-on-the ground, frost depth, soil temperature, and
stream discharge (daily as well as cumulative) within the forested basins at Turkey Lakes,
Ontario (top) and for the Moosepit Brook basin in Nova Scotia (bottom). Basin details:
Tables 3 and 4.

199
20000
Runoff
15000
10000
5000
200000
Forest Floor Interflow

Forest Floor Interflow
15000
10000
5000
20000
0
A&B Horizon Interflow

A&B Interflow
15000
10000
5000
0
20000
Baseflow
15000
10000
5000
0
2002
2003
Fig. 5. ForHyM generated output for daily runoff, interflow (forest floor, A&B layers) and
baseflow (in mm), for the Rithet River, BC. Basin details: Tables 3 and 4.
Site
Year
R2
Moosepit Brook
Month
R2
0.85
1.03
Peggy Brook
0.94
Hayward Brook
Week
R2
0.90
1.01
1.45
0.85
0.63
1.02
Lac Laflamme
0.81
Turkey Lakes
Rithet River
Day
R2
0.78
0.96
0.74
0.93
1.02
0.72
0.87
0.65
0.90
0.85
1.05
0.58
0.86
0.50
0.76
0.95
0.55
0.85
0.55
0.74
0.48
0.67
0.89
0.99
0.80
0.86
0.61
0.77
0.51
0.74
0.88
1.11
0.95
1.00
0.82
0.93
0.60
1.04
Table 5. Comparing ForHyM-modeled with measured daily, weekly, monthly and annual
cumulative discharge: coefficient of determination (R2) and linear regression coefficient ( ;
intercept = 0).
4. Concluding remarks
The Ksat, SP, FC, PWP values generated from layer-specific values for Db, Dp, Sand, Clay,
organic matter and soil depth produce reasonable results for the extent of water retention
200
and flow rates for run-off, infiltration, interflow, percolation, baseflow and stream discharge
across each of the six catchment areas of this study, with the layer-specific Ksat calibrations
remaining within a factor of two of the generically derived Ksat estimates. For the welldrained watersheds at Turkey Lakes (Ontario), Lac Laflamme (Quebec), and Rithet River
(Vancouver Island, British Columbia), however, extra downward adjustments for interflow
were needed, likely due to the combined effects of (i) high slope heterogeneities, thereby
leading to a slow-down of lateral flows, and (ii) the close proximity of glacially fractured
bedrock beneath the regolith along ridges, thereby encouraging deep percolation instead of
lateral flow. For the calcareous substrate of the Hayward Brook watershed in New
Brunswick, the downward Ksat adjustments for interflow are likely due to the greater
porosity of the calcareous shales, which in turn required upward Ksat adjustments for
soil and subsoil percolation. Similar adjustments would have to be made for agricultural
areas where the flow rates would be accelerated by drainage tiles and ditches. Additional
Ksat adjustments would be needed where soil bulk density (Db) changes on account of
surface and sub-surface compaction, weather-induced shrinking and swelling, and freezing
and thawing. In conclusion, the process of:
i. estimating Ksat, FC, PWP and soil porosity from soil survey data for soil depth, texture
and organic matter,
ii. using these estimates as initial values for modelling the daily changes in the
hydrothermal conditions and flows through of forest catchments, and
iii. subsequently calibrating Ksat to improve the run-off, infiltration, percolation, interflow
and base flow calculations
generated good agreements between modelled and monitored stream discharge for the
six forest catchments of this study at the daily level, year-round. The Ksat adjustments
required to do so generally remained within a factor of 2 for the downward flow
components. Additional adjustments were required for the catchments on steep and
calcareous terrains.
5. Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the NSERC Discovery Program, by an Environment Canada
grant in support of the continuing development of the Forest Hydrology Model ForHyM
(c/o T. Clair), and by NSERCs Sustainable Forest Management Network on modelling and
mapping hydrologically sensitive areas.
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11
Analytical and Numerical Solutions of Richards'
Equation with Discussions on Relative
Hydraulic Conductivity
Fred T. Tracy
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

USA
1. Introduction
Hydraulic conductivity is of central importance in modelling both saturated and
unsaturated flow in porous media. This is because it is central to Darcy's Law governing
flow velocity and Richards' equation that is often used as the governing partial differential
equation (PDE) for unsaturated flow. When doing numerical modelling of groundwater
flow, two dominant challenges regarding hydraulic conductivity are heterogeneous media
and unsaturated flow.
Sand
Clay
Fig. 1. Heterogeneous soil layers.

1.1 Heterogeneous media
Fig. 1 shows an example of soil layers full of heterogeneities that must be approximated in
some way. Fig. 2 shows an idealization of a two-dimensional (2-D) cross section of a levee.
Several layers representing different soil types are shown here. It is important to note that
each layer is represented by a constant value of horizontal and vertical hydraulic
conductivity rather than, for instance, a statistical variation. This is often done in numerical
models and will be implemented in this work. The hydraulic conductivity values for sand
and gravel are two to four times those of the silt and clay.
204
River elevation
Slurry wall
Sand
Clay and sand
Silt
Clay and silt
Sand
Gravel
Fig. 2. Levee cross section with several soil types and a slurry wall.
An additional complexity is added in this problem by inserting the slurry wall. This type of
wall is typically much less pervious than the surrounding soil, creating further stress on the
computational model. This is because the numerical solution that is usually done requires a
solution of a system of simultaneous, linear equations. The greater the span of orders of
magnitude of hydraulic conductivity, the more challenging the solution of this system
becomes.
1.2 Unsaturated flow
The last major concern and challenge discussed in this chapter regarding hydraulic
conductivity with regard to computational and analytical solutions is unsaturated flow. Fig.
3 shows the location of the phreatic surface for steady-state conditions. The phreatic surface
is where the ground goes from fully saturated when the soil voids are completely filled with
water to partially saturated voids in the soil matrix. Above this phreatic surface, hydraulic
conductivity is often modelled by
Phreatic surface
Fig. 3. Location of the phreatic surface at steady-state conditions.

k = kr ks
where
k
ks
= hydraulic conductivity of a given soil type

= hydraulic conductivity for saturated soil
(1)
Analytical and Numerical Solutions of

Richards' Equation with Discussions on Relative Hydraulic Conductivity
kr
205
= relative hydraulic conductivity for unsaturated soil
k r is set to 1 in the saturated zone, but varies with the pressure head ( h ) in the unsaturated
zone. There are many expressions for relative hydraulic conductivity in the literature and
practice. Some of these will be discussed later in this chapter.
1.3 Obtaining computational results
A discretization of the flow region must be done to do the numerical analysis. Many
techniques are available, but in this chapter, the finite element method (Cook, 1981) will be
emphasized. Fig. 4 shows a zoom of the finite element mesh for the 2-D levee cross section
given in Fig. 2 consisting of triangular elements. Define the total head as
Fig. 4. Portion of the triangular mesh for the levee cross section.
=h+z
where
h
(2)
= pressure head
= total head
= z coordinate or elevation
z
Then equipotentials or total head contours can be used as a good way to visualize the data
computed at each node of the mesh. Fig. 5 shows this type of plot for the levee example.
206
Fig. 5. Total head contours and phreatic surface.
Fig. 6. Velocity vectors and phreatic surface.

Finally, using Darcy's Law for a homogeneous medium,
v = k
where
v
= flow velocity
(3)

207
A plot of velocity vectors for the levee cross section can be computed and plotted (see Fig.
6).
2. Relative hydraulic conductivity

One common way of representing relative hydraulic conductivity is using the van
Genuchten expression (van Genuchten, 1980). First,
n
Se = 1 + ( h )
= 1, h 0
where
Se
= effective saturation
= parameter based on soil type

, m =1
1
, h0
n
(4)
Then,
kr = Se 1 1 Se1/m
= 1, h 0
m 2
, h 0
(5)
A simpler but less useful expression for relative hydraulic conductivity is the Gardner
formulation (Gardner, 1958),
kr = e h
(6)
where
Eq. 6 is shown here because this simpler equation is needed in the derivation of analytical
solutions given later in this chapter. Regardless of the middle part of the curves, all relative
hydraulic conductivity equations go from 1 at h = 0 to near 0 for negative values of h . In all
these discussions, pressure head is greater than zero for saturated flow, equal to zero at the
phreatic surface, and less than zero in the unsaturated zone.
3. Richards' equation
A common way of characterizing unsaturated flow is Richards' equation (Richards, 1931). A
general version of this equation is
( K ) =
where
K
= hydraulic conductivity tensor

= moisture content
= time
(7)
208
For a homogeneous, isotrophic medium, K becomes k times the identity matrix, so after
using Eqs. 1 and 2, Eq. 7 becomes,
(kr h ) +
1
kr
=
z
ks t
(8)
Eq. 8 will be used for deriving the analytical solutions. The fact that kr is a function of h
creates significant difficulty both for solving this problem numerically and deriving
analytical solutions since now Eq. 8 is often severely nonlinear.
4. Analytical solutions
Analytical solutions are an excellent tool for checking numerical programs for accuracy. In
these derivations, hydraulic conductivity plays an important role. The challenge is finding a
form of relative hydraulic conductivity such that the nonlinear Richards' equation can be
converted from a nonlinear to a linear form. The derivations presented here are mirrored
after those presented earlier (Tracy, 2006, 2007) because they lend themselves to onedimensional (1-D), 2-D, and three-dimensional (3-D) solutions. First, 1-D and 2-D analytical
solutions will be derived, and then numerical finite element solutions highlighting accuracy
for different representations of relative hydraulic conductivity will be investigated.
4.1 1-D analytical solution of the Green-Ampt problem
Fig. 7 shows the 1-D problem that will be considered in detail. A column of soil of height,
L , is initially dry until water begins to infiltrate the soil. A pool of water at the ground
surface is then maintained holding the pressure head to zero. This is known as the 1-D
Green-Ampt problem (Green & Ampt, 1911).
Rainfall
Fig. 7. A view of a 1-D column of soil that is initially dry until water is applied at the top of
the ground surface from rainfall.

209
This problem is challenging numerically because the change in relative hydraulic

conductivity is so dramatic, as it goes from small to one. There are several steps that are
involved in the derivation for this problem, and they will now be summarized.
1. Provide a function of relative hydraulic conductivity and moisture content as a function
of pressure head.
2. Establish initial and boundary conditions.
3. Perform a change of variables to linearize Richards' equation.
4. Solve this new PDE for the steady-state solution.
5. Obtain yet another PDE using a second change of variables.
6. Use separation of variables.
7. Use Fourier series to solve the current PDE.
8. Transform back to the original variables.
4.1.1 Relative hydraulic conductivity and moisture content
Gardner's equation (Eq. 6) is used for relative hydraulic conductivity, and moisture content
is given by
= d + ( s d ) Se
(9)
where
d
s
= moisture content when the soil is dry

= moisture content when the soil is saturated
Rather than use the van Genuchten expression for Se , a simpler version is used (Warrick,
2003) as follows:
S e = kr
(10)
This equation is more limiting in actual practical application, but it allows easier derivation
of the analytical solution. It is certainly good enough to test different computational
strategies in computer programs.
4.1.2 Initial and boundary conditions
The initial conditions are that the soil is dry. Thus,
h ( z ,0 ) = hd
where
hd
(11)
= the pressure head when the soil is dry
At t > 0 , the boundary conditions at z = 0 and z = L (top of the soil sample or at the
ground surface) are
h ( 0, t ) = hd
h (L,t ) = 0
(12)
210
4.1.3 Change of variables

The 1-D version of Eq. 8 is
h kr 1
=
kr +
z z z ks t
(13)
Let the new variable, h , be defined as

h = e h , = e hd
(14)
h
h
= e h
z
z
(15)
Then
and therefore,
kr
1
h
h 1 h
= e h e h
=
z
z z
(16)
In a similar manner,
kr
h h
= e h
=
z
z z
(17)
S
k
h
= ( s r ) e = ( s r ) r = ( s r )
t
t
t
t
(18)
and
Putting Eqs. 15-18 into Eq. 13 gives
(s d )
2h
h
h
+
=c , c =
z
t
ks
z 2
(19)
h ( z ,0 ) = 0
(20)
with initial conditions,
and boundary conditions for t > 0 from Eq. 12,
h ( 0, t ) = 0
h ( L, t ) = 1
(21)
4.1.4 Steady-state solution

The steady-state version of Eq. 19 will now be solved. It is important to note that this steadystate version now becomes an ordinary differential equation (ODE) as follows:

d 2 hss
dh
+ ss = 0
dz
dz2
211
(22)
where hss is the steady-state solution. The general solution to this equation is
hss = A1 + A2 e z
(23)
where A1 and A2 are constants to be evaluated. When applying the boundary conditions
of Eq. 21, the result is
0 = A1 + A2
1 = A1 + A2 e L
(24)
A2 = A1
A1 =
1
1 e L
The steady-state solution then becomes
1 e z
1 e L
z z

z e 2 e 2
e 2
= (1 )

L
L
L e 2 e 2
e 2

sinh z
( L z)
2
= (1 ) e 2

sinh L
2
hss ( z ) = ( 1 )
(25)
4.1.5 Another transformation

Yet another transformation is now applied to Eq. 19. Define
h = h hss
(26)
Eq. 19 now becomes
2 h + hss
z
) + ( h + h ) = c ( h + h )
ss
Now since hss is the steady-state solution (Eq. 22), then
ss
(27)
212
h
h
2 h
h 2 hss
h
+
+
+ ss = c + c ss
2
2
z z
z
t
t
z
2
h
h
h
+
=c
z
t
z2
(28)
with initial and boundary conditions,

h ( z ,0 ) = hss , h ( 0, t ) = h ( L , t ) = 0
(29)
4.1.6 Separation of variables

Eq. 28 can be solved using separation of variables. h will be cast into the form,
h ( z , t ) = ( z ) ( t )
(30)
where ( z ) is a function only of z, and ( t ) is a function only of t . Substituting Eq. 30 into

Eq. 28 and dividing by gives
2
+
= c
2
z
t
z
c
1 2
+
=
z 2
z t
(31)
The only nontrivial solution occurs when the left- and right-hand sides of Eq. 31 are set to
the same arbitrary constant, . Thus,

1 2
c
+
= =
z 2
z
t
2
+
= 0, c
= 0
2
t
z
z
(32)
This leads to the characteristic equations,

m12 + m1 = 0, cm2 = 0
(33)
with solutions,
m1 a =
+ 2 + 4
2 + 4
, m1b =
, m2 =
2
2
c
(34)
The general solution for h now becomes

= a1 e m1 a z + a2 em1 b z , = e m2 t
h = = a1 e m1 a z + a2 em2 b z em2 t
(35)

213
where a1 and a2 are determined by initial and boundary conditions. For a physically
realizable system, < 0 . To eliminate the radicals and to cast in a form that helps realize the
general nature of the solution, the choice,
k2 , k = k , k = 0,1, 2,...
4
L
(36)
is made. This gives
h k = a1 k em1 a z + a2 k em1 b z e m2 t
= a1 k eik z + a2 k e ik z e
z k t
2
,
12
k =
+ k2 , i = 1
c 4
(37)
It is best to rewrite Eq. 37 in terms of sine and cosine series and two other constants, Ak and
Bk , to be evaluated. Thus, for all non-negative integers, k ,
z k t
h = ( Ak sin k z + B0 + Bk cos k z ) e 2
k =0
(38)
However, h = 0 at z = 0 , so B0 = Bk = 0 and the final form is
z k t
h = Ak sin k z e 2
k =1
(39)
4.1.7 Fourier series solution

Ak in Eq. 39 can be evaluated by using Fourier series. Starting with
z
h ( z ,0 ) = Ak sin k z e 2
k =1
(40)
the result from using Eqs. 25 and 29 is
Ak =
2 2z
e h ( z ,0 ) dz
L 0
2 (1 )

L sinh L
2
L
L
e2
sinh 2 z sin k z dz
0
The last item in determining h is to evaluate the integral,
(41)
214

L

I = sinh z sin k zdz
2
0
=
2

cosh z sin k z k cosh z cos k zdz
2
2
0 0
2
=
=
=
2k
cosh 2 z cos k zdz

0
4 2

sinh z cos k z 2k sinh z sin k zdz
2
2
2
0
0
4k
4k
k + 1 4

sinh L ( 1) 2k I
2
(42)
4 2
4
k +1

1 + 2k I = 2k sinh L ( 1)
2
k
k +1

sinh L ( 1)
I= 2
2
+ k2
k
k +1

sinh L ( 1)
=
c k
2
The solution for h then becomes
2 ( 1 ) 2 ( L z)
k
h =
e
( 1) k sin k z ekt
Lc
k
k =1
(43)
4.1.8 Transform back

The last remaining task is to convert back to the original coordinates using Eqs. 14, 25, and
26. Therefore,
h = h + hss
= (1 )
e2

sinh z
2
2
k k
k t
sin k z e
+
1)
(
k
sinh L LC k =1
( L z)
h=
ln h +
(44)
(45)

215
Rainfall
Fig. 8. A view of a 2-D cross section of soil that is initially dry until water is applied at the
top
4.2 Analytical solution of a 2-D infiltration problem
The great thing about the above derivations is that they can be extended to two and three
dimensions. Fig. 8 shows a 2-D cross section of a region of soil of dimensions, a L , where
a 2-D Green-Ampt problem is presented. The soil is initially dry until water is supplied such
that a specified pressure head is applied at the top with pressure head set to zero in the
middle and tapering rapidly to hd at x = 0 and x = a . Fig. 9 shows the function selected to
achieve this for hd = -20 m, and a = 50 m. h = hd is maintained along the bottom and sides
of the soil sample as well. The initial and boundary conditions are therefore
h ( x , z ,0 ) = hd
(46)
h ( 0, z , t ) = h ( a , z , t ) = h ( x ,0, t ) = hd
h ( x, L, t ) =
1
3
ln + ( 1 ) sin x sin
x
4
a
4
(47)
The equation for h is now

2h 2h
h
h
+ 2 +
=c
2
z
t
x
z
(48)
with
h (0 , z , t ) = h (a , z , t ) = h (x ,0 , t ) = 0
3
1
3
h (x , L , t ) = (1 ) sin x sin
x
a
4
4
(49)
216
Pressure Head
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
10
20
30
40
50
Fig. 9. Pressure head boundary condition applied at the top of the soil sample.
4.2.1 Steady-state solution for h
The steady-state version of Eq. 48,
2 hss 2 hss
h
+
+ ss = 0
z
x 2
z2
(50)
is now solved using separation of variables with hss taking the form,
hss = ( x ) ( z )
(51)
This results in the equations,

1 2
= i ,
x 2

1 2
= i , i = i , i = 0,1, 2,...
z 2
z
a
(52)
2
2
=
+
i Z = 0
0,
i
2
2
z
x
z
with solutions,
i = ai sin i x + bi cos i x , i = ( ci sinh i z + di cosh i z ) e
z
2 ,
i =
2
4
+ i2
(53)
where ai , bi , ci , and di are constants to be evaluated. Applying boundary conditions on

the sides and bottom yields the final form of the steady-state solution as
hss = e
z
2
Ai sin i x sinh i z
i =1
where Ai is a constant to be evaluated. Applying the top boundary condition gives
(54)

hss ( x , L ) = e
217
L
2
Ai sin i x sinh iL
i =1
2 (1 ) e 2
3
1
3
Ai =
sin x sin
x sin i x dx
a sinh i L 0 4
a
4
(55)
Only A1 and A3 are nonzero, so
A1 =
3(1 ) e 2
4 sinh 1L
, A3
(1 ) e 2
=
4 sinh 3L
(56)
The steady-state solution for h thus becomes
hss = ( 1 ) e 2
(L z) 3
sinh 1 z 1
3 sinh 3 z
x
sin
sin x
4
a
sinh
L
4
a sinh 3L
1
(57)
4.2.2 Transient solution for h

The equation for h is now
2 h 2 h
h
h
+ 2 +
=c
2
z
t
x
z
(58)
with initial and boundary conditions, as before,

h ( x , z ,0 ) = hss , h ( 0, z , t ) = h ( a , z , t ) = h ( x ,0, t ) = h ( x , L , t ) = 0
(59)
h now takes the form,

h = ( x ) ( z ) ( t )
(60)
c
1 2 1 2
+ 2 +
=
2
x
z
z t
(61)
This yields
and
1 2
= i2 ,
x 2
1 2
2

2
, k = k ,
2 +
= k
z
z
4
L
2
c
= i2 + k2 +
, i = 1, 2, 3,..., k = 1, 2, 3,...
t
4
The general solutions are
(62)
218
i = ai sin i x + bi cos i x , = ( c k sin k z + dk cos k z ) e

1
2 1 2
2
= f ik e ik t , ik = i2 + k2 +
= i + k
c
4 c
z
2
(63)
with the final form of h being
z
h = e 2 Aik sin i x sin k ze ik t
(64)
k =1 i =1
Here, ai , bi , c k , dk , f ik , and Aik are constants to be evaluated. Evaluating the above

equation at t = 0 using the double Fourier sine series gives
Aik =
La
z
4
hss e 2 sin i x sin k z dxdz
aL 0 0
(65)
with the two nonzero terms with respect to i being

L
L
sinh 1 z
23
A1 k = ( 1 ) e 2 sin k z
dz
sinh
1L
L4
0
L
k
2 3
= ( 1 ) e 2 k ( 1 )
Lc 4
1k
A3 k
L
sinh 3 z
21
dz
= ( 1 ) e 2 sin k z
sinh
3L
L4
0
(66)
L
k
2 1
= ( 1 ) e 2 k ( 1 )
Lc 4
3k
The solution for h now becomes
k
k
sin x
( 1 ) sin k z
a
4
L
z
(
)
k =1 1k
h = ( 1 ) e 2
Lc
k
3 k
1
4 sin a x ( 1 ) sin k z
k =1 3k
(67)
As done before, transforming back to the original coordinates gives

3

k
sinh 1 z 2 k
+
sin x
( 1 ) sin k z
a sinh 1L Lc k = 1 1 k
(L z) 4
2

h = (1 ) e 2
Lc
k
1
k
3 sinh 3 z 2
4 sin a x sinh L + Lc ( 1 ) sin k z

3
k =1 3k

(68)

219
Also, as before, transforming back to the original h ,
h=
ln h +
(69)
A 3-D solution is done in a similar manner.
5. Numerical models
Hydraulic conductivity has an important role in numerical models. Many soil layers can be
modelled by specifying hydraulic conductivity for the different layers. Because Richards'
equation is nonlinear, the manner in which numerical models compute relative hydraulic
conductivity is also important for both accuracy of the solution and the ability of the
numerical algorithms to converge. When doing a 3-D Green-Ampt problem containing
thousands of 3-D finite elements on a parallel high performance computing platform, the
solution would not converge because of how relative hydraulic conductivity was computed
inside each finite element. When the pressure head was averaged from the four nodes of
each tetrahedral element and then used to compute a constant value for the relative
hydraulic conductivity inside the element, the solution diverged. However, if relative
hydraulic conductivity was considered to vary linearly inside each element, the solution
converged quite well. Testing these different algorithms is greatly enhanced by the
analytical solutions presented above. Some tests using the analytical solutions will now be
illustrated.
5.1 1-D solution of the Green-Ampt problem
The 1-D version of Eq. 7 for a homogeneous, isotropic soil is
ks

kr
=
z z t
(70)
A finite element/finite difference/finite volume discretization of this equation (see Fig. 10)
is
j+1
z
j
j-1
Fig. 10. Discretization of the 1-D soil sample showing two finite elements.
220
kr + jn + 1 jn++11 + kr jn + 1 jn+11 +
n+1
z 2 d

ks t dh j
n+1
j
jn = 0
(71)
where
j
= node number
kr
= the relative hydraulic conductivity for the element between nodes j and j 1
kr +
= the relative hydraulic conductivity for the element between nodes j and j + 1
t
= time-step size
n
= time-step number
The two ways of computing relative hydraulic conductivity inside each element will now be
discussed.
5.1.1 Constant relative hydraulic conductivity inside each element
This way of computing relative hydraulic conductivity is to first compute the average
pressure head ( hav ) at the center of the element. For kr + , this becomes
hav =
1
h j + h j+1
2
(72)
Then compute relative hydraulic conductivity by

kr + = e hav
(73)
kr is computed in the same way.
5.1.2 Linearly varying relative hydraulic conductivity inside each element

This way of computing relative hydraulic conductivity is the equivalent of first computing
the relative hydraulic conductivity at the node points. For nodes j and j + 1 , designate
relative hydraulic conductivity by

hj
kr , j = e
h j +1
, kr , j + 1 = e
(74)
Averaging these values for the final result gives
kr + =
1
kr , j + kr , j + 1
2
(75)
kr is computed in the same way.
5.1.3 1-D numerical test results

The above equation was solved using L = 50 m; ks = 0.1 m/day; hd = -20 m; d = 0.15; s
= 0.45; z = 0.25 m; = 0.1 m-1, 0.2 m-1, and 0.3 m-1; and t = 0.01 day for 100 time-steps
with the two versions of computing relative hydraulic conductivity. The model used was a
simple FORTRAN program written by the author. The largest in absolute value (worst)
error in pressure head for each method is given in Table 1. It is important to note that the

221
respective signs of these errors have been retained. From these results, it is seen that the
linearly varying version gave the best results.
(1/m)
Constant kr (m/day)
0.1
-0.12
0.2
-0.28
0.3
-0.43
Linear kr (m/day)
-0.09
-0.12
0.17
Table 1. Worst error in pressure head for different values of for constant and linearly
varying kr .
Error: -0.08 -0.07 -0.06 -0.05 -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0.00 0.01
50
.01
-0 .
48 0.06
46
-0
- 0 .0 7
- 0 .0 5
-0 .0 3
- 0 .0 1
44
.0
02
0 .0 0
0 .0 1
42
40
25
30
35
40
45
50
Fig. 11. Error plot for pressure head ( h ) for the upper, right-hand corner of the
computational region.
5.2 2-D solution of the Green-Ampt problem
The 2-D version of Eq. 7 was solved for the problem given in Section 4.2 with the values of
the parameters being the same as for the 1-D problem presented above but with the addition
of a = 50 m. The model used for this computation was a transient version of Seep2D (Tracy,
1983, & Seep2D, 2011). A steady-state version of Seep2D is currently incorporated into the
222
Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) (Jones, 1999, & GMS, 2011). The transient version is
not yet available.
Fig. 11 gives a color contour plot of the error for the linearly varying relative hydraulic
conductivity option for = 0.1 m-1 for the upper, right-hand region of 10 m 25 m. Clearly,
the results match well with the analytical solution.
6. Summary
This chapter has shown that hydraulic conductivity plays an important role in both deriving
analytical solutions and doing numerical computations. Analytical solutions for both the 1D and 2-D Green-Ampt problem were derived and computed numerically with the results
compared. The derivations are presented in such detail that others can do additional
solutions as well. Varying relative hydraulic conductivity linearly within each finite element
not only makes the nonlinear convergence algorithm more robust, but it also produces more
accurate answers than when it is considered constant inside each finite element.
7. Acknowledgment
This work was supported in part by a grant of computer time from the DoD High
Performance Computing Modernization Program.
8. References
Cook, R. (1981). Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis (2nd Edition), John Wiley
& Sons, New York.
Gardner, W. (1958). Some steady-state solutions of the unsaturated moisture flow equation
with application to evaporation from a water table. Soil Science, Vol. 85, pp. 228
232.
GMS. (2011). http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/gms.
Green, W., & Ampt, G. (1911). Studies on soil physics, part I, the flow of air and water
through soils. Journal of Agricultural Science, Vol. 4, pp. 1-24.
Jones, N. (1999). Seep2D Primer. Groundwater Modeling System, Environmental Modeling
Research Laboratory, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Richards, R. (1931). Capillary conduction of liquid through porous media. Physics, Vol. 1, pp.
318-333.
Seep2D. (2011). Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEEP2D.
Tracy, F. (1983). User's Guide for a Plane and Axisymmetric Finite Element Program for
Steady-State Seepage Problems. Instruction Report No. IR K-83-4, Vicksburg, MS,
U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station.
Tracy, F. (2006). Clean two- and three-dimensional analytical solutions of Richards' equation
for testing numerical solvers. Water Resources Research, Vol. 42, W08503.
Tracy, F. (2007). Three-dimensional analytical solutions of Richards' equation for a boxshaped soil sample with piecewise-constant head boundary conditions on the top.
Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 336, pp. 391-400.
van Genuchten, M. (1980). A closed-form equation for producing the hydraulic conductivity
of unsaturated soils. Soil Science American Journal, Vol. 44, pp. 892-898.
Warrick, A. (2003). Soil Water Dynamics, Oxford University Press, New York.
Part 4
Determination by Field Techniques
12
Instrumentation for Measurement of
Laboratory and In-Situ Soil Hydraulic
Conductivity Properties
1Instituto
Jose Antonio Gutierrez Gnecchi et al.*
Tecnolgico de Morelia, Departamento de Ingeniera Electrnica

Mxico
1. Introduction
Measurement of soil hydraulic conductivity properties is very important for soil
characterization, modelling of water transport and waste contaminant migration through
soil, management of soil organic matter and management of water resources. Moreover,
measurement of hydraulic properties is also important for developing strategies to increase
crop productivity, and 3-D modelling of water migration properties to predict groundwater
and aquifer recharge. Amongst the most common methods, used in laboratory and field test
trials to determine the properties of water propagation through soil, are measurement of
hydraulic conductivity and wetting front detection. However since the hydraulic
conductivity properties vary considerably from region to region (and even for the same
region and type of soil) numerous and diverse methods are continuously reported that fit
particular needs. Despite the large number of methods and apparatus reported, and
commercially available instruments for measuring the dynamics of water propagation
through the soil, it is still necessary to continue developing new and improved
instrumentation systems to increase the quality and quantity of reliable information and
reduce systematic errors. In addition, commercial instruments may only be available from
foreign distributors. Thus the use of imported technology, with little or no technical support
locally, and the added import tax costs result prohibitive for the average producer and
precludes the use of electronics instrumentation by producers without a technical
background. Since 77% of the water in Mexico is used in agriculture, the availability is
scarce in many wide areas, and the water usage efficiency is low, the situation becomes
more critical due to the demand for increased productivity. Undoubtedly, research and
development activities in higher education institutions should have scientific, technological,
social and economical impact in the surroundings. This chapter presents the results of the
cooperation between ITM-Electronics Engineering Department (Spanish: Instituto Tecnolgico
de Morelia), INIRENA-Research Centre for Natural Resources Studies (Spanish: Instituto
Alberto Gmez-Tagle (Jr)2, Philippe Lobit3, Adriana Tllez Anguiano1, Arturo Mndez Patio1,
Gerardo Marx Chvez Campos1 and Fernando Landeros Paramo1
1Instituto Tecnolgico de Morelia, Departamento de Ingeniera Electrnica, Mxico
2 Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre Los Recursos Naturales, Laboratorio de Suelos, Michoacn, Mxico.
3 Instituto De Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales, Mxico
*
226
Nacional de Investigacin Sobre Los Recursos Naturales) and IIAF (Spanish: Instituto de
Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales) to develop instrumentation for measuring some of
the properties that govern the dynamics of water propagation through soil.
1.1 Water usage in Mexico
Water resources in Mexico are considered essential for national security. Urban, industrial
and agricultural conservation of the environment, economic and social development depend
on the rational management of water resources. In Mexico, the surface dedicated to
agriculture is approximately 21 million hectare (abbreviation ha) (10.5% of the national
territory) of which 6.46 million ha are irrigated zones and 14.5 million ha are rainfed zones.
Most of the fresh water resources are dedicated to agriculture, where the 77% is allocated for
consumptive use (Table 1).
ORIGIN
USE
Agriculture1
Public Water
Supply2
Self sustained
industry3
PERCENTAGE
OF
EXTRACTION
SUPERFICIAL
SUBTERRANEAN
TOTAL
VOLUMEN
40.7
20.5
61.2
76.8
4.2
7.0
11.2
14.0
1.6
1.6
3.3
4.1
Thermoelectric
3.6
0.4
4.1
5.1
TOTAL
50.2
29.5
79.8
100.0
1 km = 1 000 hm = 1 thousand of millions of m.

Data correspond to volume allocated through to December 31 of 2008
1 Includes agriculture, livestock, aquaculture, and other, according to the REPDA-CNA (Public Rights
Register of Water- National Water Commission) classification. Includes 1.30 km of water
corresponding to irrigation districts pending registration.
2 Includes urban public and domestic uses according to the REPDA-CNA classification.
3 Includes industrial agro industrial, commerce and services according to the REPDA-CNA
classification.
Source: National Water Commission (CONAGUA: http://www.cna.gob.mx).
Table 1. Consumptive use of water in Mexico according to the source of origin. (Thousands
of millions of cubic metres, km3)
The Free Trade Agreement of North America and the globalization of markets and the
economy, impose more demands on Mexican producers to increase efficiency and quality of
agricultural production, optimizing the use of resources in a sustainable manner. Now it is
necessary to produce more, with better quality and lower costs to meet local demand,
compete with imported agricultural products and eventually to produce products that meet
the quality standards that exist in international markets (weight, size, color and texture). As
part of Mexicos National Water Program 2007-2010 (Mexican National Water Commission,
Spanish: Comision Nacional del Agua [CONAGUA], 2008) it is proposed that the use of
technology for irrigation modernization would increase water productivity by 2.8%
annually, measured in kilograms per cubic meter of water used in irrigation districts, going
from 1.41 in 2006 to 1.66 in 2012, and will result in greater benefit to producers. At the same
Instrumentation for Measurement of Laboratory

and In-Situ Soil Hydraulic Conductivity Properties
227
time, it is also proposed that the reduction of energy consumption will lead to achieve a
more efficient use of water. However, it is common that the term "technification" generally
corresponds to hydraulic infrastructure for drainage of surplus water. Although it has been
reported (Mexican National Water Commission, Spanish: Comision Nacional del Agua
[CONAGUA], 2010) that technification of agriculture has increased by 50% nationwide,
compared to 2000, the reports do not specify what level or type of modernization is done,
and generally consists of pumping equipment and/or hydraulic installations for the
evacuation of excess water. To a lesser extent, the use of agro-meteorological stations is also
included as part of efforts to introduce technology to the field. However, it is necessary to
increase the level of modernization of the Mexican countryside in order to achieve precision
agriculture practices at regional and national levels.
1.2 Soil hydraulic conductivity
Soil water infiltration is a process by which water propagates from the soil surface, inwards,
through the porous media. One of the properties that govern the rate of propagation of
water through the soil is hydraulic conductivity, which in turn, depends on a number of
factors such as soil content and texture (Das Gupta et al., 2006), vegetation root hardness
(Rachman et al., 2004; Seobi et al., 2005), soil preparation (Park & Smucker, 2005), chemical
content (Schwartz & Evett, 2003), soil temperature and weather conditions (Prunty & Bell,
2005; Chunye et al., 2003), stability and continuity of the porous system (Soracco, 2003),
including macro (Mbagwu, 1995), meso (Bodinayake et al., 2004) and microporosity (Eynard
et al., 2004). Amognst the methods reported for studying the hydraulic properties of soils,
the infiltrometer and permeameter are probably the most commonly used devices in field
(Angulo-Jaramillo et al., 2000) and laboratory tests (Johnson et al. , 2005) respectively. Other
methods used for characterizing soil hydraulic properties reported are heat-pulse soil water
flux density measurements (Kluitenberg, 2001), electromagnetic measurements (Dudley et
al., 2003; Seyfried & Murdock, 2004), radiation-based measurements (Simpson, 2006)
image analysis (Gimmi & Ursino, 2004) and multimodal instruments (Pedro Vaz et al.,
2001; Schwartz & Evett, 2003) that permit measurement of several variables
simultaneously. The infiltrometer is a very popular instrument among researchers (Fig.
1A), because knowledge of soil hydraulic properties is a key factor in understanding their
impact on hydrological processes such as infiltration (Esteves et al., 2005) the superficial
flow and aquifer recharge. Basic infiltrometers are relatively simple devices, which
essentially consist of a reservoir (fitted with a graduated scale), a metallic ring (single or
double) partially inserted into the soil, and a stop valve. A test is conducted by allowing
the liquid to exit the container, either directly or through a pipe into the ring, measuring
the rate of water infiltration while maintaining a small positive pressure on the fluid. The
infiltration process consists of two main parts: the transient and steady state (Fig. 1B). The
transient state occurs from the beginning of the experiment up to the time when a
constant rate of water infiltration is attained.
Once the soil sample is saturated with water, the constant pressure maintains a constant
infiltration rate. Hydraulic conductivity can then be calculated using the entire data set
(Wu1 method) (Wu & Pan, 1997) or the data corresponding to the steady state phase (Wu2
method) (Wu & Pan 1999) by measuring the slope of the resulting curve. However,
recording the infiltration process data from direct, visual measurements is a highly
demanding task, both, in time and economic resources; data has to be recorded in time
intervals between 1 to 5 minutes in elapsed times ranging from 0.5 to 4 hours. Many authors
228
Fig. 1. A) Schematic diagram of an infiltrometer. I) Main reservoir (Mariotte), II) rubber

stoppers, III) bubbling tubing, IV) water outlet, V) stop valve, VI) metallic ring, VII) purge
and measurement of hydraulic load, VIII) stand base, IX) constant hydraulic load, X)
insertion depth, XI) pressure sensor access to air chamber, XII) data logger, XII) pressure
sensor access to the water column. B) Classical infiltration data results showing the transient
and steady state phases of the infiltration process.
acknowledge the need for instrumentation and data recording devices (infiltrometer and
permeameter) to automate the data acquisition, minimize human errors and reduce the time
spent in taking measurements (Amezketa-Lizarraga et al., 2002; Johnson et al., 2005). Therefore
many devices have been reported and patented since the 1940s (Bull, 1949) to try to automate
the data acquisition process. Automated devices rely on data recording units (data loggers).
However the main constraint is the local availability of such equipment, followed by cost. In
many cases researchers implement their own devices without automation, such as a double
ring infiltrometer (Carlon-Allende, 2006). Automating an infiltrometer requires accurate
measurement of the change of height of the water column over time, as the water is allowed to
exit the container. Some of the methods used for measuring the column height are the use of
paired infrared sensors in a plastic cylinder (Wilson et al., 2000), float valve system with meter
spool ring infiltrometer (Amezketa-Lizrraga et al., 2002), Time domain reflectometry (TDR)
infrared detectors and float sensor or pressure sensors (Ankeny et al., 1988). The use of
pressure transducers is probably the most common choice because of low-cost, simplicity, easy
implementation and reliability. Overman et al. (1968) reported the application of pressure
transducers since the mid 60s, to implement a variable load laboratory infiltrometer, designed
specifically for low-permeability materials. Constanz & Murphy (1987) generated a system
that could measure the height of a column of water from pressure changes in a Mariotte
reservoir and thus infer the infiltration data. Their instrument used Transamerica CEC 4-312
pressure transducers, with pressure range 12.5 psi. The automated device allowed rapid data
acquisition with minimal supervision. Ankeny et al. (1988) reported that the use of one
transducer produced measurement errors due to bubbling inside the container and adapted
the design of Constanz & Murphy (1987) to a tension infiltrometer (disc) with two PX-136

229
transducers with measurement range 0-5 PSI (Omega Engineering, Stanford, CT) and a 21X
Campbell data logger (Campbell Scientific, Inc.). The resulting scheme using two transducers
required precise timing, but minimized the variability generated by bubbling and reduced the
standard deviation from 6.2 mm (single transducer) to 2.2 mm. Prieksat et al. (1992) used the
two-transducer design in a single ring infiltrometer, to register data from multiple locations
simultaneously, facilitating the characterization process. Casey and Derby (2002) used a
differential pressure sensor (PX26-001DV, Omega Engineering, Stanford, CT) and evaluated
the device in the field, achieving 0.05 mm standard deviation. The authors noted that the
improvement in resolution might not change significantly the estimation of soil hydraulic
properties, but could be useful when data are processed as exponential relations methods such
as Ankeny (1992) or Reynolds and Elrick, (1991). Johnson et al. (2005) constructed six
laboratory variable load permeameters, using pressure sensors PX236 (Omega Engineering)
and perspex tubes, to work with undisturbed samples, using a data logger programmed to
record readings at regular intervals. The comparison with the manual method showed no
significant differences for texture analysis. pongrov (2006), designed, built and tested a fully
automated tension infiltrometer, that included both the measurement of water level and the
control of the voltages applied, using a Honeywell differential pressure transducer with range
0 to 5 PSI (0 to 34.4 kPa), connected to a Campbell 21X datalogger (Campbell Scientific Inc.)
and a laptop. The results showed that the equipment reduced the monitoring time, increasing
the number of test trails per day. Although there are several commercial devices, such as
manual or automated tension infiltrometers they generally depend on external data logger units.
2. Case study 1: Automated infiltrometer using a commercial data logger

One of the preferred methods for measurement the height changes of the water column
involves the use of pressure transducers. Therefore, it is necessary to implement an
instrumentation and data acquisition system that can be used to gather information of the
infiltration process for off-line signal processing. Fig. 2 shows the classic data acquisition
scheme used. The instrumentation scheme consists of a pressure transducer, a signal
conditioning and amplifier stage, and a digitizing unit with data storage capabilities for
transferring the measurements to a host computer. To allow some level of autonomy, and
ease of use, it is necessary to use low-power, versatile analogue and digital devices.
Fig. 2. Block diagram of the instrumentation and data acquisition system used for
automating soil water infiltration measurements. A) Pressure sensor, B) instrumentation
amplifier, C) data logger including analogue to digital converter, internal memory, interface
circuitry and power supply for transferring data to D) a PC. E) Power supply circuit for the
analogue electronics section.
230
Fortunately, the advances in electronics technology over the last two decades have resulted
in a number of components that can be obtained from local and international distributors to
build the analogue and signal conditioning circuitry. As to the digitizing section, a number
of data logger units are commercially available with impressive operating characteristics.
The case study presented in this section is based on the choice of a low-cost data acquisition
unit.
2.1 Data logger
One particular low-cost, simple-to-use device is the EL-USB-3 data logger from Lascar
Electronics (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. EL-USB-3 Voltage data logger from Lascar Electronics. A) Physical dimensions and B)
typical connection for logging sensor signals. Reproduced with permission. Copyright 2011
Lascar Electronics. All Rights Reserved from Lascar Electronics.
The EL-USB-3 is a stand-alone data logger powered internally by a 3.6 Volts battery, capable
of taking 32,510 readings in the range of 0-30 Volts with 50 mV resolution. The signals are
applied to the data logger through a detachable cap, so that it can be removed from the
instrumentation electronics for programming and data transfer without disconnecting
wires. The data logger includes a USB interface for setting the data acquisition sampling rate
from 1 second to 12 hours (1 second, 10 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6
hours and 12 hours) and also for transferring the results to a host PC. The operation can be
assessed by observing the activity of two LEDs, red and green, which are included (Fig. 4).
Once the test has concluded, the measured data can be transferred to a host PC for off-line
analysis through the USB interface using the software included. Thus the EL-USB-3 includes
all the necessary components shown in Fig. 2C corresponding to the digitizing section of
the instrumentation scheme proposed. Using a commercial data logger reduces
instrumentation development time. Nevertheless, the signal conditioning section must
consider the operating characteristics of the data logger to maximize the measurement
resolution. That is the voltage corresponding to the maximum height of the water column
(100 cm) must be +30V.

231
Fig. 4. Data logger USB connector and operation assessment depending on the LED activity.
Reproduced with permission. Copyright 2011 Lascar Electronics. All Rights Reserved
2.2 Power supply
The first step in developing the instrumentation circuitry consists of obtaining a little over
+30V from a +9V battery, because interfacing with the data logger requires that the analogue
instrumentation operate with a voltage slightly over 30V. The circuit must be small and
must consume very little current from the battery. Fig. 5 shows the block diagram of the
power supply.
Fig. 5. Block diagram of the power supply. A) The battery feeds a linear voltage regulator. B)
the output from the regulator is increased to (over) +30 V to power up the instrumentation
amplifier.
The battery feeds a low dropout, adjustable linear regulator (TPS7101 from Texas
Instruments) which provides the regulated supply voltage to the DC/DC converter (Fig. 6).
232
Fig. 6. A) Description of the TPS7101 (linear low dropout regulator) terminals. B)

Identification of the index area (terminal 1). C) Regulator diagram. Copyright Texas
Instruments. All Rights Reserved.
The TPS7101 output voltage is adjusted to +8.3V by trimming R1 which is a 1 MegaOhm, 20
turns, trimming potentiometer. R2 is a fixed value Watt precision, metal film resistor. C8
is a tantalum capacitor, and is used for filtering the output and provides stability to the
voltage regulator. The TPS7101's output feeds the DC/DC converter formed by the two
ICL7660 integrated circuits from Intersil (U2 and U3) (Fig. 7B). The ICL7660 is a lowpower monolithic CMOS power supply that can be configured easily to double the input
voltage and also to provide complimentary negative voltage, requiring a minimal amount of
non-critical passive components. In this application, U2 is configured to perform two
operations: U2 inverts the input voltage and also doubles the positive input. The circuit
uses low forward-voltage-drop Schottky diodes to reduce the effect of the voltage drop
across the circuit. Another feature of the ICL7660 is that it can be cascaded to increase the
differential voltage. Thus, U3 is configured to double the negative voltage obtained from U2.
In effect, the array of U2 and U3 increases the regulated voltage from the TPS7101 to
approximately 31 Volts, enough to provide the energy for the instrumentation amplifier and
pressure sensor.
Fig. 7. A) Pinout of the ICL7660 CMOS converter. B) circuit diagram used to increase the
TPS7101s output to ~+31V. Reproduced with permission. Copyright 2011 Intersil Americas
Inc. All Rights Reserved

233
Typical current consumption values for the ICL 7660 are 80 A (ICL7660A) which makes it
suitable for this and other battery powered applications. In order to maintain the high
efficiency of the CMOS voltage converters it is necessary to reduce the current consumption;
therefore the analogue instrumentation must also be a low-power circuit.
2.3 Pressure transducer
The water reservoir is built using an 80 100 cm perspex pipe with rubber stoppers on each
end. The pressure at the bottom, when the container is full (100 cm H2O @ 4oC) is 9.806 kPa.
Therefore, it is necessary to use a differential pressure transducer with 10 kPa measurement
range (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8. MPX2010 DP differential pressure transducer A) physical model and B) connections.

Reproduced with permission. Copyright Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 2004 - 2011. All
Rights Reserved.
The MPX2010DP differential pressure transducer from Freescale Semiconductor is a
temperature-compensated piezoresistive pressure sensor which provides a very accurate
and linear output voltage proportional to the applied pressure in the range of 0 10 kPa.
The recommended voltage supply is 10V, and the error and linearity figures are specified
for 10V. However, the MPX2010DP is a ratiometric device; that is the maximum output
voltage depends on the reference voltage which means that a different supply may be used
so long as the reference voltage is very stable.
2.3.1 Pressure sensor reference voltage
Recalling that the MPX201DP pressure transducer is a ratiometric device, it is necessary to
provide a highly-stable voltage reference signal to achieve correct operation, regardless of
voltage and temperature variations.
It is common to find circuits that suggest the use of the voltage supply line to power up the
pressure transducer (Fig. 9A). Unless the pressure transducer includes an internal voltage
reference supply (i. e. it is a voltage compensated device), it is necessary to use a dedicated
voltage reference circuit. (Fig. 9B). In terms of temperature variations, voltage reference
circuits are specified in ppm/oC (parts per million per degree centigrade). Consider a
reference circuit specified to change at a rate of 100ppm/oC. If the circuit output value is
10V @ 20 oC, exposing the integrated circuit to a 50 oC would change the output from 10V to
10.03 Volts ensuring the correct operation of the transducer. Some devices may also be
specified to 10ppm/oC increasing the stability of the overall instrumentation circuit.
234
Fig. 9. A) Incorrect voltage supply for a bridge-type sensor. B) The correct use of bridge-type
sensor involves the use of a reference voltage circuit.
2.4 Instrumentation amplifier
Instrumentation amplifiers are a type of differential amplifier with high input impedance
and adjustable gain that constitute essential building blocks in analogue electronics. One of
the classical configurations of instrumentation amplifiers uses three operational amplifiers
to form a two-stage amplifying circuit (Figure 10).
Fig. 10. A) A commercially available quad op-amp can be used to build B) a general-purpose
instrumentation amplifier.
The differential input signal feeds the first amplifying stage formed by op-amp 1 and opamp 2. The output between both op-amp 1 and op-amp 2 (Va and Vb respectively) is
differential weighted version of the input voltage. The gain of stage one, G1 (1):

235
G1 = 1 +
2R 1
R2
(1)
can be adjusted using a single trimming potentiomenter, R2. The differential output from
stage one, enters a third operational amplifier (op-amp 3) configured as subtracting
amplifier with gain, G2, (2):
G2 =
R4
R3
(2)
The overall output is then a single-ended version of the differential input voltage. The
overall gain of the instrumentation amplifier circuit is the multiplication of both amplifying
stages given by (3):
2 R 1 R 4
GTOTAL = G 1 G 2 = 1 +
R 2
R 3
(3)
The importance and usefulness of instrumentation amplifiers have resulted in multiple

versatile commercial integrated circuits, with impressive operating characteristics, that
allow gain adjustment using a single variable resistor and/or digital signals. One particular
integrated circuit that is suitable for portable applications is the INA125 from Texas
Instruments (Fig. 11).
Fig. 11. A) Texas Instruments INA125 instrumentation amplifier pinout, B) typical

application circuit and C) gain selection table. Copyright 2009, Texas Instruments
Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
The INA125 also incorporates a selectable voltage reference circuit, which will be used to
supply the reference voltage to the pressure transducer (Fig. 12). The INA125 is a low power
236
device (quiescent current 460 A) and can operate over a wide range of voltages from a
single power supply (2.7V to 36V) or dual supply (1.35V to 18V), which makes it suitable
for battery powered applications.
Fig. 12. Circuit diagram of the instrumentation amplifier and voltage reference circuit for the
pressure sensor.
The voltage reference value can be adjusted using the jumper J5, to provide 10V, 5V, 2.5 V or
1.24V.
2.5 Complete instrumentation circuit
The complete circuit is shown in Figure 13.
The design includes an on-off switch and connectors to calibrate and monitor the output
voltage using a multimeter.
2.6 Ring and reservoir
The size of both the reservoir and the ring may differ depending on the type of soil to be
analysed. In addition, the hydraulic conductivity properties of soil vary throughout the test
field, and thus a large metallic ring may be used to investigate a large area as much as possible.
Analysis of sandy soils may require a larger reservoir compared to clay type soils, because
coarse materials have higher hydraulic conductivity and require a larger amount of water to
reach the saturated steady state, compared to fine particle soils. In laboratory test trials, it is of
little concern the handling of a large reservoir, a heavy metallic ring, computers and electronics
instrumentation, and there is tap water available nearby. However, carrying all the necessary
materials in field tests may be a difficult task. Therefore the size of the reservoir and metallic
ring is a compromise. The infiltrometer described here uses a 1 metre long, 6.35 cm diameter
perpex pipe; the ring is made of an iron pipe (8.0 cm long and 8.8 cm diameter) .
2.7 Infiltrometer assembly
Fig. 14 shows the infiltrometer design and assembly, including instrumentation circuitry.

ON-OFF
SWITCH
1P1T (SW1)
3
4
J4
SW_B
GND_PWR
J3
SW_A
J2
+V_battery
+9.2V
IN
IN
EN
+8.3V
PG
+8.3V
6
5
OUT
OUT
R1
1MEG
7
FB
+Vin
R2
120K
1
GND_PWR
GND_PWR
C8
10uF
GND_PWR
-7.88V
C3
1
2
3
4
NC
CAP+
GND
CAP-
+VIN
OSC
LV
VOUT
8
7
6
5
GND_PWR
ICL7660CPA
C4
10uF@25V
+VCC
GND
GND_PWR
C6
10uF@25V
8
6
4
2
7
5
3
1
3 VrefOUT
+VCC
GND
1
COMP
GND
V+
2V+
R4
R3
1K
IC4
INA125
12
13
14
15
16
4
Vref OUT
Switch mode power supply. U2 doubles the input voltage and also provides a
negative voltage with similar magnitude to the input voltage. U3 doubles the
negative voltage from U2. The total output is above + 30 volts, used to power the
instrumentation amplifier.
U1
SENSOR_PRES_DIFF
C7
0.1U
J5
VREF_SELECT
NO
CONNECT
GND_PWR
+VCC
+Vin
50K
R5 10
-Vin
8
7
Vref COM
Vref BG
Vref 2.5
Vref 5
Vref 10
Vref OUT
Vin+
10uF@25V
C2
J5: SELECT
THE
SENSOR
EXCITATION
VOLTAGE
+
GND_PWR
+VCC
COMP
CON4
GND/-VCC
U3
-7.88V
D1
1N5819M/CY L
V-
CON4
+8.3V
D2
1N5819M/CY L
V-4
1
2
3
4
REFERENCE OUTPUT
VOLTAGE TO
PRESSURE SENSOR AND
INPUT FROM PRESSURE
SENSOR
INSTRUMENTATION
AMPLIFIER
8
7
6
5
ICL7660CPA
C5
10uF@25V
J11
GND
+Vin
Vref OUT
-Vin
1
2
3
4
+V
C1
10uF@25V
+VIN
OSC
LV
VOUT
10uF@25V
NC
CAP+
GND
CAP-
1
2
3
4
J10
GND
+Vin
Vref OUT
-Vin
+8.3V
U2
GND_PWR
Low droput
regulator
TPS7101QP (DIP).
The maximum
input voltage +Vin
is 11 Volts. The
output voltage
depends on the
choice of resistors
R1 and R2. Adjust
R1 to obtain +8V to
+ 8.3V
SLEEP
J1
GND_PWR
U1
TPS7101QP
+Vin
GND
Battery
+9V or +9.6V
237
J6
VOUT
10 V_OUT
1
VO
11
SENSE
J7
GND
1
RG_A
RG_B
J8
VOUT
IA_ref
Vin-
J9
PRESSURE SENSOR
CONNECTIONS
(AT THE BOTTOM
OF THE
MARRIOTE)
GND
V+
+VCC
V-
J13
1
2
3
4
CON4
GND
V+
+VCC
V-
1
GND
J!4
1
2
3
4
CON4
Title
INFILTROMETER ANALOGUE INSTRUMENTATION

Size
Date:
Document Number
POWER SUPPLY & INSTRUM ENTATION AM PLIFIER 01

Wednesday , March 23, 2011
Sheet
of
Rev
04
Fig. 13. Instrumentation circuit for measuring infiltration data using a pressure transducer.
Fig. 14. A) Designed infiltrometer. B) close-up of the pressure sensor assembly. C) The
single- sided circuit is fitted into a small (2.6 X 2.2) printed circuit board fits into the
plastic enclosure.
238
The pressure sensor is installed at the bottom of the reservoir and soldered into a small
printed circuit board to ensure the correct connectivity between the sensor and the
instrumentation circuitry. The instrumentation circuit is installed, outside the infiltrometer,
inside a small plastic enclosure, as well as the battery and data logger. Once the plastic
enclosure is attached to the infiltrometer, the data logger can be removed from the
electronics without removing any connections. The result is a compact versatile
infiltrometer, which can easily be transported for field tests.
2.8 Test results
The infiltrometer was tested in two different test locations around the Cuitzeo Lake
watershed (1958' N, 10108' W): sandy loam (Fig. 15A) and sandy soil (Fig. 15B).
Fig. 15. Comparison of test results using the automated infiltrometer vs visual
measurements for A) sandy loam and B) sandy soils.
The results from the automated measurement data acquisition system are much more
consistent throughout the test, improving the quality of information compared to visual
observations. Table 2 shows a summary of hydraulic conductivity results, using the Wu2
method and data from the steady state region.
Type of
Soil
Measurement
Method
Automated
infiltrometer
Sandy loam
Visual
Observations
Automated
infiltrometer
Sandy soil
Visual
Observations
Average Hydraulic
conductivity KFs
(mm/hr)
Standard
Deviation
Number of test
trials N
49.65
21.72
68.31
42.85
2282.2
429.98
1671.82
793.56
Table 2. Summary of the hydraulic conductivity results obtained from automated

measurements and visual observations.
The automated infiltrometer can produce more reliable information than that obtained using
visual measurements. For instance the standard deviation obtained from automatic data is
smaller compared to visual observation. The resolution for a 1 metre water column is 1.66
mm approximately. The equipment presented in this case study is considerably easy to

239
implement, low cost and can be used for laboratory and field test trials alike. Nevertheless,
it still relies on the use of commercial data loggers. Alternatively, a dedicated data logger
based on an ultra-low power microcontroller can be used to allow reviewing the data on-site
and also to store the results of multiple test trials.
3. Case study 2: Automated infiltrometer using a dedicated data logger

Using a commercial data logger and relatively simple analogue electronics allows rapid
development of test prototypes. On the other hand, since the determination of hydraulic
conductivity infiltration requires performing multiple tests, it is desirable that all the results
are stored in non-volatile memory without having to transfer the results to the host PC,
immediately after each test has been concluded. Higher resolution may also be required for
correct in-situ characterization of different types of soils. Moreover, since measurements are
not taken continuously (i. e. the lowest sampling rate may be 1 second) it may be desirable
to be able to shutdown the analogue circuitry in between measurements to extend battery
life. Fig. 16 shows the schematic diagram of the proposed data acquisition system.
Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of a data acquisition system based on a low power
microcontroller, specially designed for hydraulic infiltration measurements.
3.1 Dedicate data logger operation description
The equipment follows the same design philosophy for case study 1. The measurement
system is based on the MPX2010DP pressure sensor, and the INA125 instrumentation
amplifier is used to provide the reference voltage and measure the differential output from
the transducer. However, the digitizing section is now based on a microcontroller.
3.1.1 Choosing the microcontroller
Several powerful microcontrollers are available from multiple companies that can be used to
perform all the necessary data acquisition and signal processing operations. One
particularly useful family of powerful microcontrollers suitable for low power operation is
240
the MSP430 series from Texas Instruments (Fig. 17). Case study 2 is based on
MSP430F149IPAG microcontroller from Texas Instruments. The MSP430 is a 16-bit RISC,
ultra-low-power device with five power-saving modes, two built-in 16-bit timers, a fast 12bit A/D converter, two universal serial synchronous/asynchronous communication
interfaces (USART), 48 Input/Output pins, 60 kB of flash memory and 2 kB of RAM, which
permits the implementation of all the functions required to build the data acquisition
system. Initially, it was considered that basic signal processing algorithms (digital filter) are
the main functions to be included. However, a JTAG interface implemented on the
prototype allows in-system programming so that the equipment can be updated, and
further signal processing algorithms can be included in the future, without changing the
hardware.
+3.3V
+3.3V
C5
100nF
+3.3V
C6
100nF
R2
47K
OPCIONAL
RESET
11
8
V_REF_1_25
V_REF+
VE_REF+
V_REF-/VE_REF-
BOTON5
BOTON7
ERROR
ERROR
Extra (LED)
TXD0
J7
CON1
J8
CON1
RXD0
28
29
30
31
TXD0 32
RXD0 33
34
35
P3.0/STE0
P3.1/SIMO0
P3.2/SOMI0
P3.3/UCLK0
P3.4/UTXD0
P3.5/URXD0
P3.6/UTXD1
P3.7/URXD1
DV_SS
BOTON3
P6.0/A0
P6.1/A1
P6.2/A2
P6.3/A3
P6.4/A4
P6.5/A5
P6.6/A6
P6.7/A7
INTERFASE JTAG
53
54
55
56
57
58
JTAG0
JTAG1
JTAG2
JTAG3
RESET
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
LCD0
LCD1
LCD2
LCD3
LCD4
LCD5
LCD6
LCD7
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
LCD_RS
59
60
61
2
3
4
5
6
OPER_RESET
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
JTAG
+3.3V
+3.3V
LCD[0..7]
LCD[0..7]
SLEEP_INA
SLEEP_MAX3233
SLEEP_MAX3233
J6
1
3
5
2
4
6
V_INF
V_INF
LCD[0..7]
CON6A
J5
GND
VCTRL_LCD
LCD_RS
GND
LCD_EN
LCD0
LCD1
LCD2
LCD3
LCD4
LCD5
LCD6
LCD7
R3
5K
LCD_EN
SLEEP_INA
P6_ANA0
P6_ANA1
P6_ANA2
J4
JTAG0
JTAG1
JTAG2
JTAG3
GND
JTAG_RESET
JTAG[0..3]
LCD[0..7]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
LCD
CONECTOR PARA LCD
1
63
BOTON6
BOTON1
62
BOTON4
P5.0/STE1
P5.1/SIMO1
P5.2/SOMI1
P5.3/UCLK1
P5.4/MCLK
P5.5/SMCLK
P5.6/ACLK
P5.7/TBOUTH
P2.0/ACLK
P2.1/TAINCLK
P2.2/CAOUT/TA0
P2.3/CA0/TA1
P2.4/CA1/TA2
P2.5/ROSC
P2.6/ADC12CLK
P2.7/TA0
GND
BOTON2
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
P4.0/TB0
P4.1/TB1
P4.2/TB2
P4.3/TB3
P4.4/TB4
P4.5/TB5
P4.6/TB6
P4.7/TBCLK
P1.0/TACLK
P1.1/TA0
P1.2/TA1
P1.3/TA2
P1.4/SMCLK
P1.5/TA0
P1.6/TA1
P1.7/TA2
GND
BOTON0
BOTON0
BOTON1
BOTON2
BOTON3
BOTON4
BOTON5
BOTON6
BOTON7
CON4A
PROGRAMAR
JTAG_RESET
OPER_RESET
OPERACION
NORMAL
XOUT/TCLK
AV_SS
XT2IN
TDO/TDI
TDI
TMS
TCK
RST*/NMI
XIN
Y1
XTAL
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
XT2OUT
1
3
GND
10
52
J1
2
4
C9
10n
GND
6
4
2
JUMPER
J3
DV_CC
5
3
1
2
1
ENTRADA VREF
CON2
AV_CC
J2
RST/NMI
64
SALIDA VREF
+3.3V
Title
+3.3V
GND
GND
Size
A
Date:
MICROCONTROLADOR CON IN-SY STEM PROGRAMMING

Document Number
DATA LOGGER 02 DE 04
Tuesday , December 18, 2007
Rev
01
Sheet
of
Fig. 17. Schematic diagram of the data logger based on the MSP430F148IPAG.
3.2 Operation of the data logger
The microcontroller interfaces with the user through a keyboard and LCD display, thus
allowing the operation of the device in test fields, and reviewing the measured information in
real time or right after the test has concluded. The microcontroller controls the data acquisition
process, and stores each measurement in non-volatile flash memory. The microcontroller shuts
down the analogue circuit in between samples to save battery power and enters a low-power
mode. Prior to taking each sample, the microcontroller turns on the analogue circuit and waits
100 ms to allow the analogue output to settle and take a stable measurement. The data logger

241
unit uses a 9V battery but it can also operate with a supply voltage as low as 4V. The MSP430
itself operates with 3.3V, so the same voltage is used throughout the circuit. The INA125 is
very useful in this case, because it can operate with a voltage as low as 2.7V. The INA125s
internal reference voltage circuitry requires that the power supply voltage is, at least, 1.25 V
above the desired reference voltage and thus only the +1.24 V reference option can be used.
The MSP430 internal voltage reference is adjusted to 2.5 volts, and the INA125 is adjusted to
output 2.5V when the water column is full. In addition to accuracy, versatility, and
compactness, it is necessary that the equipment can operate in low power mode to increase
battery life. Therefore the MSP430 records data at fixed, programmable intervals, from 1
second, and then 10 seconds steps up to 60 minutes, selected by the user prior to each test. A
real-time clock algorithm is implemented, using Timer A, so that the microcontroller can enter
energy saving mode LMP3 consuming 2A approximately in between samples. During the
energy saving mode, the microcontroller also turns off the transducer voltage reference source,
instrumentation amplifier and display. 100 miliseconds before each measurement is taken, the
voltage reference source and instrumentation amplifier are activated, allowing the
measurement to settle. The user can select the LCD to remain off while taking measurements.
During operation, the LCD can also be activated temporarily to supervise the measured data,
and then switched off again. The results of each test are stored in the flash memory, starting at
memory block 0x3F. Before each test, the microcontroller detects which memory blocks are
used and starts saving data in the next empty block. Thus, up to 90 tests can be conducted insitu. The user can also select which memory block to erase, (i.e. which experiment) instead of
erasing the entire memory, also contributing to saving battery life.
3.3 Electronics instrumentation assembly
Fig. 18A shows the double-sided printed circuit board. The board, keyboard and display
and battery are fitted into a plastic enclosure (Fig 18B, 18C). In a similar manner to case
study one, the pressure transducer is located below the reservoir and the wires carrying the
voltage supply and signals are connected to the data logger.
Fig. 18. A) Data Logger Printed Circuit Board (PCB). B) The PCB, C) keyboard and display
and interface connections are also fitted in the plastic enclosure.
3.4 Transferring data for permanent storage and analysis
A C++ program interface was implemented to allow the user to transfer the data to a host
PC for permanent storage, off-line results visualization and analysis (Fig. 19). Prior to each
242
test the user can set the time, date and sampling rate for the experiment. The test
information is stored at the beginning of each memory block, followed by the column height
measurements. Once the experiment (or several experiments) has been completed, the user
can review the measured data in-situ. Alternatively the user can transfer the results to a host
PC, through the RS232 connection or with RS232-USB adaptors, to allow compatibility with
current PC configuration ports.
Fig. 19. A) The C++ software B) analyses the measurements using the Wu1 and Wu2
methods and C) plots the results.
The software processes the data and allows inspection of each value (Figure 18B). The
program calculates hydraulic conductivity using the WU1 and WU2 methods, thus allowing
result comparison.
3.5 Test results
The infiltrometer was tested in three different test locations around the Cuitzeo Lake
watershed (1958' N, 10108' W): clay, loam and sand (Table 3).
Site
Clay
Loam
Sand
Average Kfs
Standard deviation
Number of test trials, N
Average Kfs
Standard deviation
Average Kfs
Standard deviation
Wu1
5.497
8.163
26
79.551
63.58
36
708.30
722.37
9
Wu2
2.231
3.185
26
150.401
82.86
36
963.41
758.28
11
Guelph
2.782
2.584
13
95
97.05
3
-----------
Table 3. Summary of hydraulic conductivity tests using the automated infiltrometer.

Measurements where also obtained with a Guelph permeamenter, for comparison, except
for sandy soil, because it was not possible to reach the required depth to introduce the 50 x

243
120 mm probe due to sample collapse. A commercial Guelph permeameter is a constanthead device, which also operates on the Mariotte siphon principle and allows simultaneous
measurement of field saturated hydraulic conductivity, matric flux potential, and soil
sorptivity in the field (Soilmoisture Equipment Corporation, Santa Barbara California, U. S.).
In this work the Guelph permeameter operates as a "benchmark methodology" and is not to
be considered it as the only valid acceptable method. Direct point-by-point comparison of
results using different test methods is not valid since data is taken from different locations.
In addition, the automated infiltrometer presented is limited to conduct tests at the surface,
so Kfs variations at other soil depths is out of reach, in contrast with the Guelph
permeameter, capable of measuring Kfs up to 80 cm depth without any special instruments.
Nevertheless, the device described in this case study allowed the estimation of field
saturated hydraulic conductivity in agreement with the Guelph permeameter in some cases.
4. Conclusion
The automated infiltrometers presented in this work, can produce reliable information
about the infiltration process in-situ, with little supervision. The devices also allow the
acquisition of a large number of measurements compared to visually obtained
information, thus facilitating the calculation of Ks. Case study one shows the use of lowcost data loggers to automate the measurement process. A considerable simple
instrumentation circuit is necessary to obtain the maximum resolution from the data
logger. If a dedicated device is required, case study 2 shows the use of microcontroller
technology to build the data logger unit. The DAQ units allow sample time adjustment
on-site, which permits the investigation of different types of soils. The automated
infiltrometer offers a ~0.25mm column height measurement resolution improving the
quality of Ks calculations. Both cases present affordable and reliable instrumentation
solutions, that can be built for about $ 100 US dollars without considering development
time investment. Current and future work includes the development of a multi-channel
simultaneous sampling system, so that the test field can be correctly characterized using
multiple infiltrometers located around the test site.
5. Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the financial support from Public Education SecretariatMexico
(Spanish: SEP-Secretara de Educacin Pblica) under grants SEP-DGEST 4328.11-P and
PROMEP ITMOR-CA1 103.5/11/1091 to carry out this work.
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"Evaluacin de Parmetros y Procesos Hidrolgicos en el Suelo", pp. 35-38,
UNESCO, Paris, France.
pongrov, K. 2006. Design of an automated tension infiltrometer for unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity measurement. M.Sc. by Research. Cranfield University.
Wilson, M. A.; Brown, R. J. E.; Hoff, W. D. & Carter, M. A. (2000). A falling head
permeameter for the measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of granular solids.
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246
Wu, L. & Pan, L. (1997). A Generalized Solution to Infiltration from Single-Ring

Infiltrometers by Scaling, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., Vol. 61, pp. 1318-1322, ISSN 03615995
Wu, L.; Pan, L; Mitchell, J. & Sanden, B. (1999). Measuring Saturated Hydraulic
Conductivity using a Generalized Solution for Single-Ring Infiltrometers, Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J., Vol. 63, pp. 788-792, ISSN 0361-5995
13
Contribution of Tracers for Understanding
the Hydrodynamics of Karstic Aquifers
Crossed by Allogenic Rivers, Spain
Rafael Segovia Rosales, Eugenio Sanz Prez and Ignacio Menndez Pidal
Laboratorio de Geologa Aplicada, Escuela Tcnica, Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos
Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid
Spain
1. Introduction
Karstic aquifers provide a source of water supply over large parts of the Mediterranean
region. Spain has many large karstic springs under natural regime that contribute to the
base flow and quality of river water. Other aquifers are intensively exploited for human
water supply, and their vulnerability to pollution needs to be defined and protection zones
instated.
A large proportion of the karst systems are scarcely exploited and are under a near-natural
regime. They are connected to rivers to a greater or lesser extent. Some of these large
springs, such as La Galiana (Iberian Cordillera, Soria, Spain), represent the only drainage
point from aquifers and contain significant high-quality water resources. They are
responsible for the majority of the base flow of the rivers they give rise to, since the
Mediterranean climate means that precipitation falls irregularly. These watercourses can
also support a well-conserved aquatic fauna, whose survival depends largely on this base
flow. These types of aquifer also require meaningful hydrogeological study and, specially,
the knowledge of the hydrodynamics of the aquifer in general and their hydraulic
conductivity in particular.
The relative influence of the geomorphological, geological and process factors determines
the distribution of voids in the karst rock, and through that, the physical characteristics of
effective porosity, hydraulic conductivity and specific storage.
Karstic aquifers are particularly vulnerable to pollution due, amongst other factors, to the
presence of swallow holes through which polluted surface water can penetrate. In addition,
polluted water circulates rapidly through conduits that possess little capacity for selfpurification, transporting the polluted water over large distances. (COST 65; Goldscheider et
al. 2000; Zwahlen, 2004; Goldscheider, 2005; Panno, 2006; Fournier et al. 2007).
The study area dealt with in this paper lies in the northwest of the Iberian Cordillera
(Central Spain) and extends over approximately 400 km2. Its relief is determined by the
presence of a meseta of limestone layers that have been dissected by the River Lobos, giving
rise to a canyon 26 kilometres long. In 1985, this was declared a Natural Park, due to its
peculiar landscape and an important colony of Griffin Vultures, as well as colonies of other
birds of prey like the Golden Eagle (C.M.A. J.C.L., 1992). The River Ucero emerges from a
248
spring at La Galiana situated at the end of the canyon, with a mean flow of some 2000 l/s.
The Ucero is a right bank tributary of the river Duero. In turn, the river Lobos has a series of
left-bank tributaries whose headwaters lie outside of the calcareous massif in the less
permeable rocks around its perimeter.
Of the fish species present, the common trout is common and the river Ucero is one of the
most productive in Spain, being famous as a trout stream ever since Medieval times. With
respect to mammals, there are nearly thirty species represented, including otter, mountain
cat, beech marten and roe deer. The presence of the otter is linked to the abundance and
quality of the water. The majority of species depend on the deep pools of the Lobos to
survive the summer. The Lobos itself, whose flow is not regulated, has a natural regime,
ranging from the flood flows in winter and spring (which, in the narrowest reaches can
cover the entire bed of the canyon) to a river bed that is dry except for the deep pools where
the water table comes to the surface. The fauna are adapted to this dynamic the yellow
water lily, for example, which seems to be swept away by the winter flows, reappears each
spring in the quiet backwaters. Even during the most unfavourable months of high summer,
the largest deep pools still have water, whilst the rest of the watercourse is practically dry.
As intimated above, it is essential to conserve the animal communities that depend on the
deep pools.
Most of the Cretaceous aquifers and their recharge areas fall within the boundaries of the
Natural Park. One of the main objectives of declaring the Natural Park was to conserve
its waters and achieve compatible use of the aquifer as a groundwater reserve for supply
high-quality water to the centres of population in the vicinity. Although the groundwater
resources of the Weald Facies around the periphery of the karst would be sufficient
in quantity to satisfy current demand, they are mostly degraded by the naturally
poor quality of water, due to its high iron content. For this reason, the karstic aquifer of
the Lobos Canyon assumes greater importance as a water resource and as a significant
water reserve suitable for human consumption, which needs to be protected from
contamination.
The object of this study was to provide a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the aquifer in a
short time, bearing in mind the scarcity of data available. The methodology applied gave
good results, yielding quite a clear model of its hydrogeological behaviour. The study is
based on two preliminary studies of the geomorphology and hydrogeology, on the
geological maps for the aquifer (only available on a scale of 1/50.000), and on data from a
handful of drinking water supply wells. For this reason, it was necessary to devise a plan of
work that could yield quantitative knowledge and include aspects important to the future
management and conservation of the aquifer and its rivers, such as understanding the flow
and hydrodynamics of the aquifer.
These tests of tracers can be the basis for estimating the hydraulic conductivity, because
there is a direct relationship between the groundwater velocity and hydraulic conductivity.
This research shows how hydraulic conductivity presents spatial variation with regards to
variations of the karstification.
Existing wells are few and insufficient to draw an isopiezometric map. However, the
aquifer is suitable for tracer studies because of its numerous sinkholes. In fact, there have
been several qualitative antecedents with positive results, which have endorsed the viability
of tracer experiments (Hernanz y Navarro, 1972; Sanz, 1992, 1996). It was hoped that tracer
tests would determine how groundwater velocity varies under different rainfall regimes
Contribution of Tracers for Understanding the

Hydrodynamics of Karstic Aquifers Crossed by Allogenic Rivers, Spain
249
and with distance from the discharge point, and throw light on the dispersion of
contaminants within the aquifer.
Another important aspect was de determine the response of the aquifer to pollution. The
autogenous recharge area of the aquifer is mostly covered by woodland and there are no
pollution foci. Rather, the risk of pollution hails from discharges to allogenous rivers as they
flow through towns and villages before reaching the karst. There have been cases of illegal
discharges of purines from pig farms during the 1970s and 1980s, which reappeared through
La Galiana spring, as well as sewage spills from towns and villages upstream.
Thus, it is important to have a detailed understanding of the relationship between the river
Lobos and the karstic aquifer under different hydrological situations, since this river flows
from one side of the aquifer to the other and is the collector stream for all the surface
watercourses. It was not known if the river behaved solely as a losing stream along its entire
length, nor what the infiltration capacity of the riverbed was. The riverbeds hydraulic
conductivity of these streams determines the recharge of these allogenic streams. Tracer
studies were needed to elucidate the hydraulic connection between the rivers and the
aquifer and two temporary gauging stations were installed in the river Lobo, as well as three
on its tributaries and one at La Galiana spring.
2. Hydrogeology of the karst of the river Lobos canyon

2.1 Geology
Sedimentary terrains in the Natural Park date from the Jurassic to the Present Day. The
Jurassic rocks are essentially marine carbonate rocks. Overlying these, concordant with them
and in transition towards the Cretaceous, are detritic sediments of the Purbeck-Weald
Facies. Over these, lie sands of the Utrillas Facies (Albian), then Coniacian-SantonianCampanian marls, and the Turonian limestones, which project to form the surface relief, and
the cliff faces of the canyons in this region (including the canyons of the rivers Lobos,
Espeja, Abin en Burgo de Osma and Boos). Above these strata comes the Garumnian Facies
in transition with the Tertiary and, discordantly, the postorogenic sediments of the Miocene,
Plioquaternary and Quaternary (IGME, 1982).
2.2 Definition of the karstic aquifer
The ConiacianSantonianCampanian limestones are 240 m thick and comprise a highly
permeable hydrostratigraphic unit that forms the main aquifer. Its impermeable base
consists of a marly series with calcareous intercalations towards the top, some 70-100m
thick.
Due to the presence of the marly intercalations, the lower part of the aquifer can be locally
confined, while the rest is classified as a free aquifer, forming a meseta, with a syncline
structure oriented east-west. Its lateral borders are defined by impermeable Cretaceous
marly outcrops that also define the base of the aquifer, except in the south, where there is a
discordant contact between the clayey Miocene and the calcareous Upper Cretaceous. The
anticlinal axis of Santa Mara de las HoyasUceroAilagas raises the marly base and, whilst
it does not always outcrop, it forms the hidden lateral barrier. The hinge and axis of the
anticline form the underground watershed between the Lobos aquifer in the north, and the
one to the south that feeds the springs at Rejas, Fuencaliente and Ucero. This behaviour was
deduced from elevations, as indicated in the block diagram in figure 1.
250
Fig. 1. Block diagram showing the southern part of Lobos River Canyon aquifer (E. Sanz).
Green: Cretaceous marls. Blue: Cretaceous limestone (aquifer). Yellow: Tertiary clay.
The eastern border may be open towards Torreblancos, where a number of springs emerge
carrying flows of 200 l/s. For this reason, it was decided to define the limit of the system
there, where the Cretaceous is still covered by the Tertiary. The possibility of a hydraulic
connection with the Tertiary of the Almazn Basin cannot be ruled out.
The marls mentioned above mark the base of the karst, and surround the synform on almost
all sides. La Galiana spring emerges at a lower elevation (approximately 900 m a.s.l., at the
entrance to the Lobos Canyon, upstream of Ucero), where the karst meets these marls.
The carbonate rocks outcrop over some 160 km2 and represent the erosion surface of the
meseta (SEF). As the SEF dates from the end of the Miocene, it means that these rocks have
been exposed to karstification since this time. There are neither poljes nor uvalas, and
dolines are infrequent. More abundant are karren fields. With respect to the endokarst,
there is an overwhelming dominance of sinkholes over caves, and the only caves are
restricted to former or present-day discharge points of the aquifer, all of which are
concentrated at La Galiana, at the end of the canyon. The homogeneous distribution of the
abundant sinkholes throughout the massif suggests recharge is predominantly diffuse,
rather than concentrated.
Terra rossa soil is concentrated at the base of the slopes, in the stream beds, dolines and
infilled fissures. Rendzina soils are dominant and have developed over the limestone. They
contain more than 40% carbonate, and have a significant humus content, which has
encouraged a shrubby vegetation cover of pine and juniper woodland.
2.3 Characterization of natural recharge and water balance of the aquifer
The Lobo catchment can be divided into two zones with distinct hydrogeological
characteristics. The first contains Wealden deposits and Jurassic carbonates (197 km2). These
are located in the north and northeast and comprise mostly detritic deposits (Wealden), with

251
a narrow band of Jurassic carbonates. Its outflows, both surface runoff and groundwater (or
hypodermic) base flow, flow into the karst, since the headwaters of the rivers Lobos,
Navaleno, Chico and others all flow into the Lobos karstic zone.
The second zone is the karst (164 km2) in the south and southeast of the catchment and
defined by low permeability deposits. This zone receives slightly less rainfall than the first.
It discharges mainly towards La Galiana spring. The zone does not produce its own surface
runoff, except after very intense rainfall. In addition to recharge from rain falling over its
outcrops, it receives all of the runoff from the Wealden/Jurassic zone. When the flow from
the Wealden/Jurassic zone exceeds the infiltration capacity of the riverbeds (of the river
Chico and, especially, the river Lobos), the excess surface water leaves the karstic system via
the river Ucero.
The water balance calculated for the period (during which the aquifer was under natural
regime) was reported by Segovia (2008) and showed rainfall of 109.5 hm3, natural recharge
of 77 hm3, evapotranspiration of 64.3 hm3, and practically nil pumped water abstractions,
zero surface runoff and zero lateral transfers to other aquifers. The water stored in the
aquifer increased by 5.59 hm3.
Allogenous recharge was differentiated from autogenous using data from the temporary
gauging stations on the allogenous rivers. In this way, over the study period, autogenous
recharge was calculated to be 42.2 hm3 , or 54 % of the total recharge. Allogenous recharge
was calculated to be 31.5 hm3, or 41 % of the recharge. For the Lobos catchment as a whole
during this period, R = 77 hm3, which represents 32% of the precipitation. The recharge rate
with respect to precipitation in the karstic zone (Rk) was Rk = 41% , and Rw = 24 % in the
allogenous zone.
The sole discharges of the aquifer are via La Galiana spring, and through the river bed of the
Lobos upstream of this spring, where discharge takes the form of permanent pools,
interconnected by only a small stream of water under dry weather conditions, or by an
appreciable current in times of mid to high water (10 to 60 l/s).
These outflows were monitored at a gauging station downstream, to reconstruct the
hydrogram for the hydrological year 1995 1996 (1 September 1995 to 31 August 1996). The
mean flow was 2,423 l/s, the great majority of which flows from the Galiana spring, and the
remainder from the river Lobos discharges 4-5 km upstream.
As seen from figure 2, La Galiana spring has an irregular flow that is highly sensitive to
rainfall and snow melt, indicating quite a rapid emptying of the aquifer. The spring at La
Galiana reacts to heavy rainfall events with a delay of 4 or 5 days. This time lag is logical in
large karstic aquifers like this one, where there is a delayed reaction to recharge to allogenic
streams situated on the periphery at moderate or long distance. In addition, the allogenic
recharge has to penetrate the 100 m thickness of the unsaturated zone. (This phenomenon
is confirmed, to a certain extent, by the dripping from stalactites in the Lower cave at La
Galiana after rainfall events (Sanz, 2000).
2.4 Hydrodynamic functioning
2.4.1 Flow monitoring
The synclinal structure determines that groundwater flow converges and accumulates in its
centre, where the Lobos Canyon is set. In this way, the lower reach of the canyon acts as the
natural drain, creating the patent and visible discharge at La Galiana, described above.
Tracer studies were required to determine the hydrodynamics of the aquifer, since the
aquifer is under a natural regime and there is insufficient piezometric data from boreholes
(there are only three boreholes) to draw isopiezometric maps.
252
Fig. 2. Real and simulated hydrograms in 1989

2.4.2 Hydraulic gradient
Though no isopiestic map was available, the hydraulic gradient can be estimated using the
elevation of the spring at La Galiana (900 m), in addition to the boreholes (at Puente de Siete
Ojos, future supply wells for San Leonardo, Navaleno and Casarejos, and the well serving
the bar within the canyon). Furthermore, swallow holes containing permanent water (like
Valdecea) can be used because deep sinkholes that are always dry give us the maximum
hydraulic gradient. They also give the longitudinal gradient of the course of the river Lobos,
which provides a value for the maximum hydraulic gradient under high water conditions,
where they act as collectors.
In this way, the following gradients were calculated: under high water conditions, the
gradient could be around 2.5 per thousand (0.0025), whilst under low water (dry season), it
could be 0.62 per thousand (0.00062).
2.4.3 Variation in phreatic level
It is well known that karstic aquifers can suffer sharp piezometric oscillations, since their
porosity is relatively low but their recharge capacity is large - so that they can fill very
quickly.
Variation in the phreatic level is also indirectly reflected by oscillations and sharp changes in
flow seen in the hydrogram for La Galiana de Ucero.
Though no periodic piezometric measurements were available, the following observations
have been made about variations in piezometric level (Sanz, 1992)
The water level in a 25 m borehole on the talweg of the river Lobos at Puente de Siete
Ojos, which is usually dry, rose quickly (in less than a week) following intense rain
during December 1995/January 1996, reaching the same level as the river itself.
Appearance of the resurgences at Las Raideras.

253
Rapid rise of more than 20m in the cave at Hue Seca de Valdeavellano (a gallery that is
normally dry to at least 20 m depth and 400 m length) which began to discharge after
intense rain. Here, a spring bursts forth from the cave mouth, carrying up to 100 l/s
that forms the headwater of a stream.
The swallow hole at Hue Seca, in Santa Mara de las Hoyas, is 11 m deep and usually
dry, but it produces a flow that can exceed 200 l/s as the phreatic level rises during
exceptionally rainy spells. The flow usually persists only a few days and then the water
level in the swallow hole recedes slowly, until the stream dries up.
3. Methodology
Ten tracer tests were carried out by dosing uranine in sinkholes between 5 and 14 km
distance from each other. The tests were done in both low water and flood conditions
during the hydrological year 1995 1996, a year that included both severe low water and a
sudden winter recharge. A further test was done in the sporadic springs of Las Raideras via
a connected sinkhole with the phreatic level at its base.
Monitoring and sample collection was done at the presumed emergence points of the tracer,
i.e. at La Galiana spring, at a fish farm on the river Ucero, and at a point on the river Lobos.
At the latter point, samples were taken upstream of the surgence (when there was any flow
in the river). During the dry season, the lower reach of the river Lobos carries only a small
volume of groundwater discharge. However, during the wet season, it was not known what
connection the river flow has to the aquifer, nor its relevance. Samples were collected twice
a day, giving a total of 700 samples, which was considered sufficient given the extended
duration of the tests. In all cases, correct authorization had been obtained (though the tracer
plumes were invisible to the human eye and so passed unnoticed by members of the public).
Laboratory analysis employed precision fluoroscopy, with some samples being analysed for
pH and conductivity as well. Fluocaptors were also installed in the springs at Fuencaliente,
Rejas and Santervs, situated on the periphery of the karst, in order to check that there was
no communication between these and the sinkholes used in the tracer test.
In karstic aquifers where there are few boreholes that can be used to draw isopiestic maps
and understand groundwater flow, tracer studies can be used to understand the
hydrodynamics of the system and other aspects, such as vulnerability to pollution.
In hydrogeology as well, quantitative experiments have been carried out to obtain the
response curves (for example, Smart, (1988), Hauns et al.(1991), Meus and Bakalowicz, M.
(1997), Kss (1998), Birk et al. (2005), Massei et al. (2006), Geyer et al. (2007), Morales et al.
(2007), Goldscheider et al.(2008), Gppert and Goldscheider(2008), Perrin and Luetscher
(2008) ). G-Ylamos (1999) presents a clear summary of these kinds of experiments in Spain.
In the present case, the choice of this method is clearly justified, since we are dealing with a
practically unexploited aquifer, with numerous permanent and temporary swallow holes
distributed at various distances from the principal discharge point at La Galiana.
The methodology followed for the tracer tests during 1995 and 1996 involved the injection of
a total of 5,100 g of uranine through nine different injection sites, selected according to the
location of sinkholes and the hydrogeological knowledge available.
Injection sites were selected in order to elucidate the influence of orientation with respect to
the spring at La Galiana. In addition, sinkholes were selected at different distances from the
spring, to investigate the velocity and dispersion of the tracer. In addition to these two
aspects of spatial distribution, tests were also distributed temporally, to determine variation
254
in flow velocity under different hydrological situations (low and high water conditions, for
example). The points selected are indicated in the following table 1 and on Figure 3 We
consider that this range of distances and orientations is representative, given the
possibilities offered by the aquifer.
Injection Site
Distance to
spring at
La Galiana
(km)
River
Navaleno
9,5
sinkhole
River Chico
6,5
sinkhole
River
Navaleno
9,5
sinkhole
4,5
Sinkhole in
Arroyo de
1 (distance
Valderrueda
to river
(de Casarejos)
Lobos)
Sinkhole in
Arroyo del
10
Chorrn
Sima de
2,5
Valdecea
sinkhole in
the river
12
Lobos
(Apretadero)
Date
Mass of
tracer
injected
(gr)
Mean
time to
appear
(days)
Mean
flow at La
Galiana
(l/s)
Time
tracer
was
within
aquifer
(days)
Velocity
(km/day)
5/10/1995
200
12
2.600
18
0,8
11/11/1995
300
14
2.300
30
0,46
17/12/1995
500
8,5
1.400
18
1,1
28/12/1996
600
3.000
10
1,5
28/12/1996
600
1 (approx)
3.000
hours
4/1/1996
1.400
4,5
4.600
21
2,2
17/2/1996
500
<1
3.0?00
13/3/1996
1000
21
2.200
15
0,6
Table 1. Some value obtained by tracers testing

3.1 Tracer injections made
Prior to the current investigation, two other tests had been done in the river Navaleno (16
August 1967) and in the river Chico (1992). In both cases, the uranine reappeared at La
Galiana. The 1967 test formed part of research into karstic aquifers by the Centre for
Hydrographic Studies, and consisted of a single dose of 3 kg uranine dissolved in alcohol
and ammonia in a swallow hole in the bed of the river Navaleno, 9.5 km from the spring at
La Galiana (Figure 3, measured as the crow flies). The dye re-emerged at La Galina after 6.5
days. The dye tracer test in the river Chico was done 1991. These preliminary tests provided
orientation when planning the 1995-96 dye tracer survey.
3.2 Sampling
Water samples were taken periodically at La Galiana spring, and fluocaptors were also
used at the springs of Rejas de Ucero, Valdelinares, Fuencaliente and Sentervs, in case the
aquifer had any outflow, apart from the river Ucero, on its south-western edge. The tracer
was recovered only from the spring at La Galiana, which indicates that most or all of the
discharge from the karst emerges at this spring.

255
Samples were taken from the spring at La Galiana, from the river Lobos upstream of the
springhead (since water also surcharges here) and, on occasions, from the fish farm
downstream of the spring (which could be considered as the spring in its own right when
the river Lobs does not carry any surface runoff).
Samples were taken in sterilized translucent plastic bottles (100 ml) twice a day (morning
and afternoon), and more frequently for the injection sites close to La Galiana. Samples were
stored in the dark to avoid photodegradation of the tracer and to reduce microbial activity,
both of which could have reduced the concentration of the tracer in the samples.
Samples were analysed by measuring the sodium fluorescein spectra using a luminescence
spectrometer. This was equipped with synchronized scanning, which allows conjunctive
analysis of both the excitation and emission spectra (fluorimeter). Analyses were done
within one month of the samples being taken, in the Centro de Estudios de Tcnicas
Aplicadas del CEDEX (Madrid) and in the ETSCCP Applied Geology Laboratory of the
Universidad Politcnica de Madrid. A zero reference solution was used, corresponding to
the concentration of fluourescein present in the spring water at La Galiana at the start of the
dye tests. By this means, any background effect due to earlier tests is eliminated.
4. Results and discussions

Figure 3 shows the trajectories of groundwater confirmed by the tracer tests, while Figure 4
shows the response curves. From Figures 3 and 4 we can make the following observations:
1. Confirmation of the hydrogeological catchment
The tracer tests confirmed the recharge area, previously established from geological maps,
and identified the boundaries of the aquifer. They verified the communication between all
the swallow holes and the spring at La Galiana, and confirmed that there are no lateral
transfers to the springs of Funcaliente, Santervs and Rejas de Ucero, situated to the south.
The only zone of discharge is La Galiana spring - and the lower reach of the river Lobos
connected to this spring, which, in effect, forms part of the same discharge.
2. Relationship of the river Lobos with the aquifer as observed using tracer tests.
Under low water conditions, groundwater flow is towards La Galiana spring only, since the
river Lobos remains dry over its entire length, except for a number of deep pools where the
phreatic level comes to the surface, from downstream of the San Bartolom hermitage, over
a stretch of approximately 4 km. The dye appeared only in La Galiana, in the form of a
unimodal curve (Figure 4 and 5).
In times of intermediate flows, (neither dry season nor flood flows) which is the most
common situation, the phreatic level rises and the lower reach of the river Lobos becomes a
secondary surcharge for the aquifer, acting as a kind of overflow for La Galiana. This
involves a flow between the pools of no more than 30 l/s, since the majority of the flow
continues to emerge via La Galiana. The rest of the river Lobos watercourse, upstream of the
hermitage, is a losing stream. In the intermediate flow situations, dye also emerged in the
river Lobos. When sampling was done in the river Ucero, downstream of La Galiana and the
river Lobos, the response curves were bimodal, a smaller peak presaging these two outflow
plumes (Figure 5). When samples were taken in the river Lobos and at the Galiana spring,
separately and together, it was observed that the tracer appeared first in the river Lobos
and, later, at La Galiana. This makes sense, since the river Lobos sampling points are
upstream of the spring. In the test where dye was injected into the Apretadero sinkhole, the
delay at La Galiana with respect to the river Lobos was two days (Figure 6).
256
Fig. 3. Hydrogeological scheme at Lobos River Canyon and groundwater paths tested with
tracers. A. Non-karst rocks. B. La Galiana spring. C. Connection proven by tracer. D.
Streams with sinks
Fig. 4. Response curves concentration-time for different tracer tests.

257
Fig. 5. Response curve detailed at La Galiana spring and Lobos River for testing Navaleno
River, Arroyo de Valderrueda and Chorrones sink.
Fig. 6. Concentration-time in response curve for test in Lobos River, Apretadero sink place.
Under flood water conditions, the river Lobos contains water along the entire canyon. In its
upstream 6 km, between the head of the canyon and the Puente de Siete Ojos, the river now
acts as a gaining stream. This occurs as a consequence of producing copious ephemeral
surcharges that drain a hanging syncline. In 2000, a tracer test confirmed the existence of a
rapid, local flow between the groundwater flow from a cave called Sima del Portillo de
258
Hontoria to the principal of these springs (Las Raideras). In the reach between Puente de
Siete Ojos and the San Bartolom hermitage, more or less, the river is always a losing
stream, as evidenced by differential gauging, and by the fact that the tracers did not appear
here. The limit of the hermitage is approximate because, as the phreatic level rises again, it is
the intersection between this and the watercourse that separates the losing and gaining parts
of the river. As the river usually contains a great flow, it is difficult to appreciate this
transition and the only way to check it is using tracers. Between the hermitage and La
Galiana spring the river is a gaining stream, as shown by the appearance of the tracer
substance.
4.1 Typology of the tracer curves
Although the curves overlap at times (when two tracer tests were run successively), in
general it is possible to separate one from the other a grosso modo, as indicated tentatively
in Figure 4.
Four of the curves (tracer injections in the river Navaleno on 17/12/95, and at Valderrueda,
Torca de Valdecea and El Apretadero) follow the typical normal distribution, with an
steeply-ascending arm and a steeply-descending arm. All the curves have the two peaks
mentioned above: a principal wave followed by a much smaller one. It seems that this type
of curve occurs mostly, though not exclusively, under flood and intermediate flow
conditions.
However, three curves did not follow this pattern:
The first injection into the river Navaleno swallow hole (5/10/95) gave a serrated curve,
which we attribute more to the poor ability of the fluorometer to detect low concentrations
of tracer (only a small amount of uranine was used given the low water conditions).
The curve resulting from dye injection into the Chorrn sinkhole produced two clear peaks,
with the second one, paradoxically, being larger than the first. It is difficult to interpret this
feature, which once again, points to the complexity of karstic systems. It may have been due
to a bifurcation in flow but, more probably, that the tracer plume was split into two plumes
by the recharge caused by intense rainfall during the tracer test that caused a sharp change
from low flow conditions to flood flow. The direction of groundwater flow coincides with
the direction of flow in the river Lobos, so that the tracer plumes pass beneath the riverbed
and, sometimes, beneath its tributaries. The recharge produced when these losing streams
are carrying water can interfere and distort the geometry of the tracer plume.
The response curve for the tracer test in the river Chico under low flow conditions indicates
low flow velocity and a long retention time of the plume within the aquifer. The curve has
three peaks two small ones followed by a larger one all contrary to what is the norm. It is
possible that, here, there were a number of bifurcations in flow, a phenomenon that is more
common under a low water regime. The test cannot be repeated in this watercourse under
flood water conditions because the river flow obliterates the swallow holes.
Two small response curves apparently have no correspondence to any of the tracer tests.
These were recorded on 27/10/1996 and 8/02/1996, (Figure 5). The plume of 8/02/1996 can
be explained by the rainfall and consequent spate in the river Lobos which washed out
tracer remaining from the previous tests; this is a fair assumption as the plume coincides
with an increase in the hydrogram recorded at La Galiana and in the river Lobos at Puente
de Siete Ojos. The other plume (27/10/96) can be explained in the same way, though it
occurred much later than the tracer tests and was not accompanied by any flood flow. It is
relevant to note that the aquifer was contaminated by the fluorescein used in the second

259
tracer test, which was translated as an increase in background concentration at both La

Galiana and river Lobos springs.
4.2 Velocity of groundwater flow
According to the tests undertaken, the actual velocity of groundwater oscillated between
around 460 m/day to more than 3,000 m/day. This attests to the high water velocity close
to the Galiana spring and in more distant zones, both under high and low water conditions.
Figure 7 shows the variation in groundwater velocity as a function of spring flow at La
Galiana. It shows how the velocity of groundwater flow varies from low to high water
conditions as a function of the phreatic level and natural recharge. As expected in karstic
aquifers, phreatic level and recharge shows wide oscillation and this is reflected in the
hydrogram for La Galiana spring as well as in the water levels in the borehole at Puente de
Siete Ojos.
Fig. 7. Relationship of groundwater velocity and flow at La Galiana

Figure 8 shows the variation in groundwater velocity with respect to distance to the main
discharge point at La Galiana. Two curves are shown one for high water (rainy spells) and
one for intermediate flow (drier spells). From these, a rough estimate can be made of the
isochrones which, in the middle of the aquifer (which lies about 9 km from La Galiana), vary
quite markedly from 21 days for low water and 4 days under high water conditions. In
other words, the hydrodynamic regime varies widely according to rainfall and recharge.
It also seems that flow velocity varies according to the direction of flow. The river Casarejos
is the only point where flow is orthogonal to the general direction of flow and this supposes
that groundwater flows sub-parallel to the axis of the canyon and at a lower velocity. This
suggests certain anisotropy, since the velocity along the axis of the canyon (flowing northwest south-west) is four times that flowing NE-SW. This feature is unsurprising because it
makes sense that karstification has developed preferentially along the river, along the
260
vertical plane that is hydrodynamically most active and where the greatest inflows and
outflows to the aquifer occurred through the Quaternary.
a. Arroyo de Valderrueda- Lobos River

b. Valdecea- La Galiana spring y Lobos River
c. Sumidero del Chorrn- La Galiana spring
d. Arroyo de Valderrueda- La Galiana spring
e. Chico River- La Galiana spring
f. Navaleno River- La Galiana spring
g. Navaleno River- La Galiana spring
h. Lobos River (Apretadero)- La Galiana spring
Fig. 8. Variation of groundwater velocity depending on the distance to La Galiana and

isochrones calculation.
4.3 Turbidity as a natural tracer
The spring water emerging at La Galiana is normally clear but after very heavy rainfall it
can become turbid. We observed two cases where the turbidity of this spring water could
be used informally as a natural tracer, and allowed some conclusions to be drawn about the
vulnerability of the aquifer to pollution:
During the torrential rainfall of December 1995 and January 1996 the river Lobos reached
a peak flow of 30 m3/s, flooding the entire canyon, whilst five or six days after the flood
in the river, there was a rapid and significant increase in turbidity in the spring water
issuing from La Galiana. This reflects a groundwater flood in the hypogeic drainage
within the aquifer.
While the water in the river cleared a few days after the peak of the flood, the turbidity in
the spring water persisted for one or two weeks more, until it too gradually cleared.
This interesting feature is illustrated in Figure 9 as a flow-turbidity response curve,
alongside similar curves for conductivity and time. Measurements were made ex profeso,
using the samples taken for the artificial dye tracer tests. The curves in figure enable the
following observations:
Turbidity follows a normal distribution, which fits the peak of the La Galiana
hydrogram quite well.

261
This turbidity curve is delayed by 5-6 days compared to the peak of the flood in the
river Lobos.
Remobilization of clays in the endokarst and from allogenous streams indicate erosion
and a considerable capacity of hypogeic transport. During these periods, both the
turbulent flow regime and the circulation through karstic conduits must be very
significant.
The conductivity curve is the inverse of the flood flow and turbidity, as is to be
expected.
The turbidity during spate underlines the vulnerability of the aquifer to pollution under
flood conditions, showing how a large quantity of contaminants, allogenous or autogenous,
could be transported through the aquifer over a short period. It also indicates a marked
capacity for self-purification and for natural contamination by the turbidity itself; in fact, the
fish farm had to close its water intake for several days when the turbidity was greatest in
order to protect the trout.
Fig. 9. Turbidity curves, conductivity and flow. La Galiana sping. (floods in december 95 to
january 96)
Over the period 18 May to 7 June 2005, when practically no rain fell, the spring water at
La Galiana was continually whitish in colour. This is very different from the red colour
produced during natural floods. On this occasion, the cause of the turbidity was quite
different, and due to the drilling and subsequent development of two wells to supply
three villages (3580 permanent population and 8600 summer population), very close to
each other. These were drilled very close to each other in April 2005 by rotary drilling, to
depths of 275m and 280m at a distance of some 7 km from La Galiana spring. The
boreholes penetrated thick deposits of white limestone and marly limestone and both the
tailings and the water extracted during the drilling and development were drained
262
directly into the watercourse (C.M.A. J.C.L., 2006). From here they infiltrated the
aquifer and were left hanging with respect to the position of the phreatic level. From 21 to
25 April, the boreholes were developed using pistons and compressed air, and it was this
water, very turbid and milky, that was discharged into the watercourse. Without doubt,
these four days of continuous development of the borehole are what caused the turbidity
at La Galiana. What is interesting is that the plume took 27 days to appear at this spring,
and lasted for about 20 days. All this took place under a low water regime; the tracer
had to penetrate the unsaturated zone through sectors of matrix flow and where
permeability was not necessarily very high at the beginning: this explains why the plume
took so long to appear at La Galiana. The water velocity was calculated to have been 262
m/day. In contrast, the remaining tracer tests were carried out from injection points in
river beds that lay very close to the saturated zone and in sectors that certainly contained
developed conduits.
This is a good example of a tracer test from the surface of the meseta and it demonstrates the
sensitivity of the aquifer to drilling and development of wells. It took the Natural Park
Authorities by surprise, and, from 18 May to 7 June, the intake to the La Galiana fish farm
had to be changed to take water from the river Lobos (which had not been visibly affected
by the turbidity). Obviously, there was no option to call a halt to the borehole work, since
this had been completed more than a month previously.
4.4 Mass of tracer recovered
Since some of the response curves from the tracer tests overlapped, it would have been
difficult to separate the tracer recovery for each individual test. Instead, the cumulative
recovery was calculated. This indicates that 3,300 g of the 4,500 g were accounted for, or
73.3%. It is clear that the remainder was retained in the ground. Some of this tracer is
released during spells of intense rain, as occurred around the 8/02/96. This retention is not
surprising since both the saturated and unsaturated zone of the aquifer, as well as the
alluvium of the river where the injections were made, hold abundant clays (as confirmed by
the turbidity increases described above).
The low concentrations recovered is also noteworthy, despite the volume of tracer used
(sometimes 1.5 kg), and this indicates both that the aquifer stores considerable volumes of
water and that significant dispersion must occur. Segovia (2008) estimated permanent
reserves of 203 hm3 and a refill rate of 2.55 years.
4.5 Hydrodynamic dispersion
It is recognized that the tracer mixture is displaced through a porous medium in three ways:
carried along by the current to which it is added; molecular diffusion; and dispersion
through the porous medium, whereby the tracer molecules take different paths through the
conduits, dispersing it both longitudinally and transversely.
Taking the retention times of the tracer in the aquifer an approximate estimate was made of
the parameters involved in longitudinal dispersion. Logically, these vary with distance.
The graph in Figure 10 shows that there is a linear relationship between the distance of the
injection point from the emergence point at La Galiana. This gives an approximate
longitudinal dispersion, which is measured from the leading edge of the plume to the end
of its tail. The retention time of the dye in the aquifer and the average flow velocity in each
tracer test is taken into account and the response curves deduced.

263
Fig. 10. Relationship between longitudinal dispersion and distance from La Galiana spring
to each tracer injection point.
4.6 Observations on the vulnerability of the aquifer to pollution
In this section we outline some qualitative and semi-quantitative ideas. (We do not aim to
calculate the transfer and evolution of pollution plumes to enable transit times to be
calculated along with the predicted falls in pollutant concentration for point or diffuse
pollution events.)
The first point to note is the very high velocity of the groundwater. Also, all of the
preferential conduits (which is the network of conduits supposedly investigated in the tracer
tests) would give residence times of less than one month, whatever the hydrological regime.
Consequently, bacterial or viral pollutants could survive in the aquifer. This is an important
point because there are several villages situated over the aquifer, and although these have
wastewater treatment works, there could always be accidental or illegal spills of wastewater,
or from farm slurry (pig and sheep purines).
The water flowing through the karst is extremely vulnerable. An accidental spill to the
rivers that recharge the aquifer, or to any intermediate point within the calcareous outcrop,
would contaminate the water that emerges from the aquifer at La Galiana and the lower
reaches of the river Lobos, to some extent.
The dispersive effect of the aquifer is significant. It increases with distance from the spring
under a low flow regime, with a NE-SW orientation. Closer to the discharge, and under high
264
water conditions, the curves are more unimodal in form. Where water levels are very high,
the aquifer is vulnerable to acute turbidity crises, and it is also very sensitive to turbidity
arising from drilling of boreholes.
The aquifer has not demonstrated any self-purification capacity, except for the partial
retention of tracer due, undoubtedly, to the absorption onto clay particles of alluvial
deposits.
5. Conclusions
It is a relatively frequent occurrence, in hydrogeological practice, to search karst aquifers
little known, little used, but with large resources. It is also quite common that these systems
are connected, in some way, by allogenic surface rivers. For these cases we have proposed a
methodology that can provide in a short period of time some key issues for future
management, such as the hydrogeological conceptual model, knowledge about
hydrodynamics and flow, water balance and preliminary assessment for risk of
contamination.
The proposed method basically includes the following: hydrogeological interpretation of
geological mapping, numerous tracer tests, control of allogenic river flows that recharge the
aquifer and measures in the discharge capacity of the aquifer.
The methodology has been applied to the Lobos River Canyon karst system during one
hydrological year and it was obtained the following more relevant results:
The tracer tests confirm the hydrogeological basin initially defined by geology. This is an
area of Upper Cretaceous carbonate outcrops of 160 km2 which forms an unconfined aquifer
structured in a moderate syncline and is verified natural recharge of 42.2 hm3. Allogenic
rivers provide a recharge of 53.7 hm3. The discharges are carried out mainly by the spring of
La Galiana, and a little by Lobos river.
The groundwater velocity varies between 460 and 3.000 m/day depending on rainfall
regime and increases with proximity to the La Galiana spring and as far as flow is
subparallel to the axis of the syncline.
The tracer tests were used to find the connection Lobos river along 26 km through the
aquifer in the canyon and in different hydrological situations. In case of low water table, the
river Lobos and tributaries loose through simple sinks at headwater and only carries water
on its final discharge path, where is also the source of La Galiana. In this case, sinksunderground discharges communication is showed. Hydraulic conductivity of sediment
channel plays an important role in connection between Lobos river and aquifer.
Knowing spatial variation of groundwater velocity, is showed that hydraulic conductivity
increases with proximity to aquifer outpoint, and also with direction. This one is greater in
longitudinal direction to the flow, along the syncline, showing the heterogeneity of karst.
In high rainfall regime and in the header stretch of the canyon, the river becomes an effluent
one, and its waters are traced. The intermediate stretch is a influent river and tracers do not
show up, and at the final stretch, river is an effluent one. It emphasizes the high
groundwater velocity. Also notorious is the fact that the whole preferential conduit net of
the aquifer is located within the perimeter where residence time is less than a month in any
hydrological regime. Therefore, any bacterial or viral contamination will survive in this
aquifer. This is important because this aquifer system is located downstream of several
villages. Although they have got wastewater treatment works, always could be accidental or
illegal spills of wastewater or pig or beef cattle manure and slurries.

265
The dispersive effect in the aquifer is significant. It increases with distance from the
discharge system in low rainfall regime and with NE-SW direction. Closer to the discharge,
and under high water conditions, the response curves are more unimodal in form. It should
be noted the existence of potential turbidity crises in water regime very high. The aquifer is
also very sensitive to turbidity arising water from drilling of boreholes
6. Acknowledgements
We should like to thank the director of the Natural Park of the River Lobos Canyon, Don
Jos Manuel Meneses Canalejo, for all the help given during field studies, from assistance
obtaining necessary permissions, to help from the Natural Park rangers for water sampling
during the tracer tests, taking readings at the gauging stations that they installed, etc. We
should also like to thank the Confederacin Hidrografica del Duero for giving permissions
to undertake the tracer tests. Part of this investigation formed part of of Research Project
AMB95-0154: Hydrodynamic Function and Pollution Propagation in the karstic aquifer of
the Natural Park of the River Lobos Canyon (Soria Burgos).
7. References
Birk S, Geyer T, R and Sauter M (2005) Process-based interpretation of tracer tests in
carbonate aquifers. Ground Water 43(2): pp. 381-388.
C.M.A. J.C.L. (Consejera de Medio Ambiente y Ordenacin del Territorio Junta de
Castilla y Len) (1992). Plan Rector de Uso y Gestin del Parque Natural Can
del ro Lobos. Unpublished report. 457 pp.
C.M.A. J.C.L. (Consejera de Medio Ambiente y Ordenacin del Territorio Junta de
Castilla y Len) (2006) Informe sobre los sondeos realizados en la obra: Navaleno,
Casarejos, y San Leonardo de Yage. Abastecimiento Mancomunado. Clave: 21 50
202. Uxama Ingeniera y Arquitectura S. L.
COST 65 (1995) Hydrogeological aspects of groundwater protection in karstic areas, Final
report (COST Action 65). European Commision, Directorate-General XII-Science,
Research and Development, Report EUR 16547 EN, Brussels, 446.
Fournier, M., Massei, N., Bakalowicz, L. Rodet, S. and Dupont, J. P. (2007). Using turbidity
dynamics and geochemical variability as a tool for understanding the behavior and
vulnerability of a karst aquifer. Hydrogeology Journal, 15: 689 704.
Geyer, T., Birk, S., Licha, T.,R. and Sauter, M. (2007) Multitracer test approach to characterize
reactive transport in karst aquifers. Ground Water. 45(1): pp. 36-45.
Goldscheider N, Klute M, Sturm S, Htzl H (2000) The PI method: a GIS-based approach to
mapping groundwater vulnerability whit special consideration of karst aquifers. Z.
Angew Geol 463: pp. 157-166.
Goldscheider, N. (2005) Karst groundwater vulnerability mapping: application of a new
method in the Swabian Alb, Germany. Hydrogeology Journal 13(4): pp. 555-564.
Goldscheider, N., Meiman, J., Pronk, M., and Smart, C. (2008) Tracer tests in karst
hydrogeology and speleology. International Journal of Speleology 37(1): pp. 27-40.
Gonzlez Ylamos, J. (1999): Ensayos de trazadores en acuferos krsticos: desarrollo
histrico y anecdotario. In: Carrasco, F.; Duran, J.J. and Andreo, B. (Eds). Karst and
Enviroment, 75 83.
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Gppert, N., Goldscheider, N. (2008) Solute and Colloid Transport in karst conduits under
low and high flow conditions. Ground Water, 46(1): pp. 61-68.
Hauns, M., Jeannin, P-Y, and Atteia, O. (1991) Dispersion, retardation and scale effect in
tracer breakthrough curves in karst conduits. Hydrogeology Journal. 24(3-4): pp.
177-193.
Hernanz, A. and Navarro, J. M. (1973). La Cueva de La Galiana, Ucero (Soria). Revista
Celtiberia n 19, pp. 87 92.
IGME (Instituto Geolgico y Minero de Espaa)(1982). Mapa Geolgico de Espaa 1/50.000.
Hoja 349. Cabrejas del Pinar.
IGME (Instituto Geolgico y Minero de Espaa) (1982). Mapa Geolgico de Espaa 1:50.000
Hoja 348. San Leonardo de Yage
Kss, W. (1998) Tracing techniques in geohydrology. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Massei N, Wang HQ, Field MS, Dupont JP, Bakalowicz M, and Rodet J (2006) Interpreting
tracer breakthrough tailing in a conduit-dominated karstic aquifer. Hydrogeology
Journal. 14(6): pp. 849-858.
Meus, P. and Bakalowicz, M. (1997). Les traages artificiels, outils de reconnaissance et
ftudedes aquifires karstiques. Hidrogologie n3, 43 50.
Morales T, Valderrama IF, Uriarte JA, Antigedad I, and Olazar M (2007) Predicting travel
times and transport characterization in karst conduits by analysing tracerbreakthrough curves. Hydrogeology Journal. 15(1): pp. 183-198.
Panno SV (2006) Karst aquifers: can they be protected? Ground Water 44(4): p. 494.
Perrin J and Luetscher M (2008) Inference of the structure of karst conduits using
quantitative tracer tests and geological information: example of the Swiss Jura.
Hydrogeology Journal. 16(5): pp. 951-967.
Segovia, R (2008). El drenaje subterrneo en el acufero krstico del Caos del ro Lobos
(Soria-Burgos). Tesis Doctoral(Indita).Universidad Politcnica de Madrid.
Sanz, E. (1992). Las aguas subterrneas en el Parque Natural del Can del ro Lobos (Soria
Burgos). Boletn Geolgico y Minero. Vol. 103 102, 309 329
Sanz, E. (1996). Le karst du canyon du Lobos et son fonctionnement hydrogologique.
Karstologa, n 28, 45 56.
Sanz, E. (2000). Infiltration measured by the dripping of stalactites. Groundwater, volume
38, n2, 247 253.
Smart CC (1988) Artificial Tracer techniques for the determination of structure of conduit
aquifers. Ground Water 26(4): pp. 445-453.
Zwahlen F (ed) (2004) Vulnerability and risk mapping for the protection of carbonate (karst)
aquifers, final report (COST action 620). European Commission, DirectorateGeneral XII Science, Research and Development, Brussels.
14
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity of
Highly Disturbed Clastic Rocks in Taiwan
Cheng-Yu Ku1 and Shih-Meng Hsu2
1National
2Sinotech
Taiwan Ocean University

Engineering Consultants, Inc
Taiwan
1. Introduction
Understanding groundwater flow in fractured consolidated media has long been important
when undertaking engineering tasks such as dam construction, mine development, the
abstraction of petroleum, slope stabilization, and the construction of foundations. To study
groundwater flow in support of these tasks, the focus of most hydrogeological
investigations has been on the characterization of the hydraulic properties of the higherpermeability fractures in the rock mass.
Taiwan is situated on the edge of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plate. Plate tectonics have
created numerous fault lines that crisscross the island. As a result of high density of faults,
rock core data with fractures, soft and cohesive gouges, and various lithologies are extensive
in boreholes. In general, the permeability of clay-rich gouges has extremely low values. On
the contrary, the fractures often have higher permeability. The hydraulic properties of
fractured rocks in Taiwan, therefore, vary with highly disturbed geological structures and
lithology. To obtain hydraulic properties of fractured rocks in Taiwan, the investigation of
vertical variation of the fractures in a borehole is of importance. This study utilized a highresolution BoreHole acoustic TeleViewer (BHTV, Williams and Johnson, 2004) to scan
images of the borehole. The information gathered from BHTV was used to characterize
lithology and fractures for the borehole and was essential to conduct a proper measurement
of rock mass hydraulic conductivity. The double packer systems were then used to
determine the hydraulic conductivity in a portion of borehole using two inflatable packers.
Although this type of test can directly measure the hydraulic parameter, costs of the
testing are fairly high. Several studies (Black, 1987; Carlson and Olsson,1977; Louis, 1974;
Burgess, 1977; Wei et al., 1995, Zhao, 1998) have proposed the estimation of rock mass
hydraulic conductivity using different empirical equations. These empirical equations
provide a great feature for characterizing rock mass hydraulic properties quickly and
easily. However, the applicability of these equations in highly disturbed clastic
sedimentary rocks in Taiwan is very limited.
This study proposed the establishment of an empirical HC model for estimating rock mass
hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan using the
BHTV and the double packer hydraulic tests. Four geological parameters including rock
quality designation (RQD), depth index (DI), gouge content designation (GCD), and
268
lithology permeability index (LPI) were adopted for establishing the empirical HC model.
To verify rationality of the proposed HC model, 22 in-situ hydraulic tests were carried out
to measure the hydraulic conductivity of the highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in
three boreholes at two different locations in Taiwan. Besides, the model verification using
another borehole data with four additional in-situ hydraulic tests from similar clastic
sedimentary rocks was also conducted to further verify the feasibility of the proposed
empirical HC model. This paper presents the measured hydraulic conductivity results and
the relationship among the hydraulic conductivity, RQD, DI, GCD, and LPI. The application
of the proposed HC model was also addressed.
2. Description of study areas and boreholes

2.1 Description of study areas
Taiwan's strata are distributed in long and narrow strips, almost parallel to the island's axis.
Metamorphic rock lies under the Central and Snow Mountain Ranges. Sedimentary rock
forms part of the island-wide piedmonts and coastal plains as well as the Coastal Mountain
Range. The island of Taiwan has three geological zones divided by longitudinal faults: the
Central Range, Western Piedmont and Eastern Coastal Mountain Range zones (Fig. 1(a)).
About 26 hydraulic conductivity measurements were conducted in four boreholes in
Western Piedmont, primarily at three sites: Da-Keng, Shang-Ming, and Caoling (Fig. 1(a)) in
which borehole HB-94-01 is in the Da-Keng site, boreholes HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are in the
Shang-Ming site, and borehole CH-04 is in the Caoling site. Besides, the Da-Keng and
Caoling sites are in central Taiwan and the Shang-Ming site is in southern Taiwan. The
dominant rock strata of the Shang-Ming site include Miocene sedimentary rock with layers
of sandstone or shale or their alternation. The major structures consist of a series of parallel
easterly inclined thrust faults and folds, which often form local fractured zones, including
geological structures such as the Pingshi fault, the Biauhu fault, and the Chin-Shan fault.
Figure 1(b) presents the distribution of these geological strata and structures. In addition,
borehole HB-94-01 in the Da-Keng site and borehole CH-04 in the Caoling site also have
similar rock strata but without geological structures.
Based on the loggings and geological analysis, HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are strongly
influenced by the faults; nevertheless, HB-94-01 and CH-04 are not.
2.2 Boreholes
The depth of the borehole HB-94-01 is 110 m. The principal lithologic units for the borehole
are sandstone and siltstone. The interval of 36 m to 44 m is a fractured zone compared to
other depths in the borehole. A total of 8 hydraulic tests using a double packer system were
carried out to determine hydraulic conductivity (Sinotech, 2006). The strategy of the test
design from the drilling work was to determine hydraulic properties from different
geological structures such as no fracture, a single fracture, or multiple fractures at
different depths.
The drilling depths of HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are 250 m and 350 m, respectively. The
principal lithologic units for HB-95-01 are sandstone, argillaceous sandstone, and sandy
mudstone. The principal lithologic units for HB-95-02 are sandstone, argillaceous sandstone,
and sandstone mixed with some mudstone. HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are close to the Biauhu
fault and Pingshi fault, respectively (Fig. 1(b)). Rock core photos (Fig. 2(a)) indicated soft
and cohesive gouges are extensive in both boreholes in which the hydraulic properties of
Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity of Highly Disturbed Clastic Rocks in Taiwan
269
fault-related rocks can be studied. The study completed 3 and 14 hydraulic tests in HB-95-01
and HB-95-02, respectively (Sinotech, 2006). The strategy of the test design was to determine
hydraulic conductivity in more permeable zones and clay-rich gouge zones. Besides, the
borehole CH-04 is not influenced by the faults (Fig. 2(b)) and used for the model verification
and it is described in Section 5.7.
E astern C oastal M ountain R ange zone

C entral R ange zone (east)
C entral R ange zone (w est)
W estern P iedm ont zone
C oastal plains
A ctive faults
34
H B -94-01
(D a-K en g)
C H -04
(C aolin g))
H B -95-01
(S h a n g-M in g )
H B -95-02
(S h a n g-M in g )
Fig. 1. (a) Location of major faults and four boreholes for this study in Taiwan.
270
Pingshi
fault
Elevation (m)
1500
1300
Syncline
Biauhu
fault
HB-95-02
1100
HB-95-01
900
700
SH
500
MSS
SS/SH
300
Syncline
SS/SH
SS/SH
SS
SS-SH
SS-SH
Distance (m)
Chin-shan
fault
Chin-shan
river
4000 m
SH: Shale
SS: Sandstone
SS/SH: Alternation of sandstone and shale
SS-SH: Sandstone interbedded with some shale
MSS: Massive sandstone
Fig. 1. (b) Detailed distribution of geological strata and structures of boreholes HB-95-01 and
HB-95-02.
154
155
Soft and cohesive gouges
156
157
158
196
197
198
199
Fig. 2. (a) Rock core photos of borehole HB-95-2 with fault influence.
271
Fig. 2. (b) Rock core photos of borehole CH-04 without fault influence.
3. Hydraulic conductivity of fractured rock masses

It is widely recognized that fracturing plays a decisive role in rock hydraulics, especially
in low permeability rocks such as crystalline, volcanic and carbonate rocks, and in some
classic sedimentary formations, such as sandstones, shales, glacial tills and clays. In
highly disturbed fractured rocks, hydraulic properties depend on density, size, infillings
and interconnection of fractures. A distinction can be made between hydraulic
conductivity of fracture and of intergranular (matrix) material. Previous study (Lee and
Farmer, 1993) has proposed the hydraulic conductivity of a rock mass with three
orthogonal joint sets with similar spacing ad constant aperture in all directions. The effect
of stress on permeability is also of importance for estimating rock mass hydraulic
conductivity (Snow, 1969).
Several studies, shown in Table 1, have also pointed out that rock mass permeability may
decrease systematically with depth (Black, 1987; Carlson and Olsson,1977; Louis, 1974;
Burgess, 1977; Wei et al., 1995, Zhao, 1998). The decrease in permeability with depth in
fractured rocks is usually attributed to reduction in fracture aperture and fracture spacing.
The reduction is due to the effect of geostatic stresses, and thereby the permeability of
fractured rocks will be reduced. Accordingly, the depth may be considered as a factor in
evaluating rock mass permeability.
4. Measurement of rock mass hydraulic conductivity

For decades, the determination of hydraulic properties in fracture rocks has been
qualitatively estimated using the Lugeon test. It is now recognized that this approach is
not suitable in highly disturbed fractured rocks. The type of test only gives an average
value of hydraulic conductivity in a stratum and is not able to identify (1) aquifers type in
a required testing section; (2) storativity of an aquifer; and (3) relations between hydraulic
properties and geological structures such as water-bearing fractured zones. Results from
the test may be insufficient to characterize hydraulic properties for complex geological
environments. They may be subject to hazards such as extensive water inflow during
underground excavation.
To provide a better characterization of hydraulic properties of fractured rocks, a double
packer technique can be adopted and is often utilized to overcome the shortcomings of the
272
Lugeon test. Packers can be used to isolate a portion of borehole for hydraulic testing.
Hydraulic properties for a single of fracture, a group of fractures, or an entire rock
formation can be easily identified by the technique.
Equation
Reference
k = az b
Black (1987)
a and b are constants, z is the vertical depth below the
groundwater surface.
log K = 8.9 1.671log Z
Snow (1969)
K (ft2) is the permeability. z (ft) is the depth.
K = 10 (1.6 log z + 4)
Carlson and Olsson (1977)

K (m/s) is the hydraulic conductivity. z (m) is the
depth.
K = Ks e
Louis (1974)
K (m/s) is the hydraulic conductivity. K s is the
hydraulic conductivity near ground surface. h (m) is the
depth. A is the hydraulic gradient.
( Ah )
log K = 5.57 + 0.352 log Z

2
0.978(log Z ) + 0.167(log Z )
K = Ki [1 Z /(58.0 + 1.02Z )]3
Burgess (1977)
K (m/s) is the hydraulic conductivity. Z (m) is the
depth.
Wei et al. (1995)
Z is the depth. K is the hydraulic conductivity. K s
(m/s) is the hydraulic conductivity near ground
surface.
Table 1. Diverse approximations for estimating rock mass hydraulic conductivity.

4.1 Borehole acoustic televiewer(BHTV) investigation and hydraulic test design
Prior to hydraulic testing, the study utilized a high-resolution borehole acoustic televiewer
(BHTV) to scan images of boreholes. The information (Fig. 3(a) and (b)) gathered from
BHTV was used to characterize lithology and fractures for the borehole and was essential to
the proper design of the hydrogeological program.
Test design is dependent on the characteristics of the zone tested and the desired
information. Accordingly, the main testing strategy in this study was to detect waterbearing fractures. In addition, the study investigated the vertical variation of the hydraulic
conductivity in a borehole and hydraulic property of fault-related rocks.
A water-bearing zone of subsurface commonly appears in the section with multiple fractures.
According to BHTV logs from boreholes, the study selected locations with images that show
multiple fractures as hydraulic test sections. Figure 3 shows that two test zones were selected
by this strategy. Other testing zones for other study purposes can be selected by BHTV images.
273
136
00
200
Bedding
Fracture
N3150
600
N0450
900
137
138
Fig. 3. (a) The pack-off zones and their corresponding BHTV images (depth 136m~138m,
HB-95-01).
113
N 00
200
Bedding
Fracture
600
900
N3150
114
115
Fig. 3. (b) Identification of shear band from BHTV (depth 113m~115m, HB-95-02).
N0450
274
4.2 Double packer system

Double packer systems are the most commonly used tools for hydrogeological testing in
boreholes. They can be used to determine the hydraulic property in a section of borehole
based on two inflatable packers. It is now recognized that this approach is appropriate to
investigate the variability of a borehole as it intersects various hydrogeological units.
The double packer system in this study (Fig. 4) consists of two inflatable rubber packers, a
shut-in valve, a submersible pump, and pressure transducers for monitoring above and
below the packers and the isolated interval. The shut-in valve can open or close the
hydraulic connection between the pipe string and the test section. The rubber packers can be
inflated using nitrogen delivered through a polyethylene air line. The pumping or injecting
rate can be monitored at the land surface with a flow meter. To conduct each hydraulic test,
the packers are inflated to isolate a section of borehole, and the rate of flow and/or pressure
in the test interval over a period of time can be measured.
The BHTV images for different test intervals in Boreholes HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are shown
in Fig. 5(a) and 5(b). It is obvious that the fractures can be identified clearly using our highresolution BHTV. The intervals in the depth from 118.5 m to 121.7 m and from 134.8 m to
138.0 m were sealed by double packers for conducting a pressure pulse test and a constant
head injection test, respectively. Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show the results of hydraulic tests
which were conducted by different type of hydraulic tests by means of AQTESOLVE. The
type of hydraulic test chosen in this study for each test interval was decided by a
hydraulic diagnosis test which mainly detects permeability of the test interval prior to a
normal test. For the test interval of 118.5 m to 121.7 m, although three fractures and a
fracture zone of approximately 7.25 cm thickness were seen on the borehole image, lack of
interconnectivity of fractures and soft and cohesive gouges existing at the fractures may
reduce the permeability of rock masses. In addition, four types of tests, including
pumping tests, injection tests, slug tests, and pressure pulse tests can be applied to the
double packer system.
Pumping tests involve pumping at a constant or variable rate and measuring changes in
water levels during pumping. In injection tests, fluid is injected into a test interval while
keeping the head of the test interval at a constant value. A slug test involves the abrupt
removal, addition, or displacement of a known volume of water and the subsequent
monitoring of changes in water level as equilibrium conditions return. In a pressure pulse
test, an increment of pressure is applied to a packed zone. The pressure decay is
monitored. Typically, the decision on which type of test to perform is based on the
expected permeability of the test interval, the volume of rock to be sampled, and the
availability of time and equipment (NRC, 1996). Hydraulic properties determined by slug
tests or pressure pulse tests are representative only for the material in the immediate
vicinity of the borehole.
To obtain hydraulic conductivity over a large area, the procedure of a single-hole hydraulic
test is to perform a pumping test at a test interval first. If the pumping test cannot be
performed due to low permeability of the test section, a constant head injection test will be
conducted instead. Once the flow rate cannot be measured by limitation of the flow meter
(less than 0.11 l/min) during the injection test, a slug test or pressure pulse test can be
performed. The duration of a pressure pulse test is much shorter than that of a slug test. For
this reason, the pressure pulse test is commonly applied to test intervals of very low
permeability. However, the volume of rock tested by a pressure pulse test is significantly
smaller when compared to a slug test.
275
Data acquisition
Packer pressure
Flowboard
Pressure Borehole Shut-in

valve
transducer
Aquifer
Screen
Test interval
Upper
packer
Lower
packer
Fig. 4. Schematic drawing of BHTV, acoustic image of borehole, and the double packer
system.
276
1.
0.1
0.
600.
1.2E+3
1.8E+3
2.4E+3
3.0E+3
Fig. 5. (a) Evaluation of hydraulic parameters using AQTESOLVE (right lower figure) and
BHTV images at pack-off zones 118.5 m to 121.7 m in Borehole HB-95-02.
277
1.
0.1
1.
10.
100.
Fig. 5. (b) Evaluation of hydraulic parameters using AQTESOLVE (right lower figure) and
BHTV images at pack-off zones 134.8 m to 138 m in Borehole HB-95-02.
278
A total of 26 hydraulic tests were designed to determine hydraulic conductivity in the

boreholes. Data collected during hydraulic tests can be analyzed by analytical methods.
Water pressure and discharge rate measurements with time for each hydraulic test were
collected in this study. The data analysis was performed using a professional version of the
AQTESOLVE test analysis software, which enables both virtual and automatic type curve
matching (Duffield, 2004). The quantitative evaluation of hydraulic parameters was carried
out as an iterative process of the best-fit theoretical response curves based on the measured
data of the hydraulic test.
5. Empirical model of rock mass hydraulic conductivity

Prior to describing the empirical model of rock mass hydraulic conductivity, an attempt to find
the decrease in permeability with depth was conducted. Figure 6 demonstrates that the testing
data of HB-94-01 shows the tendency that the hydraulic conductivity decreases with depth.
The form of the regression equation is close to the result obtained by Black, 1987. The
coefficient of determination of the regression equation is 0.633. However, the testing data from
HB-95-01 and HB-95-02 are very scattered. No relationship can be found between hydraulic
conductivity and depth. Accordingly, potential factors, including rock quality designation
(RQD), depth index (DI), gouge content designation (GCD), and lithology permeability index
(LPI), that may affect the degree of permeability should be considered. The rating approach for
each factor that represents the magnitude of permeability is also described as following.
5.1 Rock quality designation
To assess the influence of the fracture characteristic on permeability, the rock quality
designation (RQD) index (Deere et al., 1967), can be adopted. The RQD index was
introduced over 40 years ago as an indicator of rock mass conditions. The RQD value is
defined as the cumulative length of core pieces longer than 100 mm in a run (RS) divided by
the total length of the core run (RT) and can be obtained from the following equation.
RQD =
Length of Intact and Sound Core Pieces

Total Length of Core Run, mm
R
= S 100%
RT
> 100 mm
100%
(1)
In this study, a core run for calculating a RQD value is herein defined as a selected zone of a
hydraulic test. Eq. 1. may be utilized to identify rock mass permeability.
5.2 Depth index
The decrease in permeability with depth in fractured rocks is usually attributed to reduction
in fracture aperture and fracture spacing. The reduction is due to the effect of geostatic
stresses, and thereby the permeability of fractured rocks will be reduced. The depth may be
considered as a factor in evaluating rock mass permeability.
To assess the influence of the depth on permeability, a Depth Index, namely DI, was defined
as the following equation.
DI = 1
Lc
LT
(2)
279

Rock mass hydraulic conductivity (m/sec)
10
-11
10
-10
10
-9
10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
0
K = 9.34 Zepth 0.106206
Depth below groundwater surface (m)
50
R 2 = 0.633
100
150
200
250
HB-94-01
HB-95-01
300
HB-95-02
350
Fig. 6. Relationship between hydraulic conductivity and depth.

in which LT is the total length of a borehole; LC is a depth which is located at the middle of
a double packer test interval in the borehole. The value of DI is always greater than zero and
less than one. The greater the DI value, the higher the permeability.
5.3 Gouge content designation
The RQD value may decrease by an increase of fractures in a core run. If the fractures
contain infillings such as gouges, permeability of the fractures will reduce. To assess the
influence of the gouge materials on permeability, a Gouge Content Designation (GCD) index
was defined as the following equation.
GCD =
RG
,
RT RS
(3)
in which RG is the total length of gouge content. The value of GCD is always greater than
zero and less than one. The greater GCD value stands for the more gouge content in a core
run, and thereby it will reduce the permeability.
5.4 Lithology permeability index
Lithology is the individual character of a rock in terms of mineral composition, grain size,
texture, color, and so forth. For an intact rock, the magnitude of permeability depends
largely on the individual character of the rock. It may be affected by the average size of the
pores, which in turn is related to the distribution of particle sizes and particle shape. In
sedimentary formations grain-size characteristics are most important because coarsegrained and well-sorted material will have high permeability as compared to fine-grained
sediments like silt and clay. Thus, the lithology may be regarded as a factor in evaluating
rock mass permeability.
280
To assess the influence of lithology on permeability, a Lithology Permeability Index (LPI)

was defined as Table 2.
Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)
Lithology
Range of
rating
Suggested
Rating
Sandstone
10-6~10-9
10-7~10-9
10-7~10-9
10-7.5
0.8-1.0
1.00
Silty Sandstone
0.9-1.0
0.95
Argillaceous Sandstone
0.8-0.9
0.85
S.S. interbedded with some Sh.
0.7-0.8
0.75
Alternations of S.S & Sh.
0.6-0.7
0.65
Sh. interbedded with some S.S.
0.5-0.7
0.60
Alternations of S.S & Mudstone
0.5-0.6
0.55
10-7~10-10.5
10-9~10-10
10-8
0.6-0.8
0.70
Dolomite
10-6~10-10.5
Limestone
10-6~10-10.5 10-7~10-9
10-9~10-10
10-8
0.6-0.8
0.70
Shale
10-10~10-12 10-10~10-13
10-10.5
0.4-0.6
0.50
0.60
Sandy Shale
0.5-0.6
Siltstone
10-10~10-12
10-11
0.2-0.4
0.30
Sandy Siltstone
0.3-0.4
0.40
Argillaceous Siltstone
0.2-0.3
0.20
Claystone
10-9~10-13
10-11
0.2-0.4
0.30
Mudstone
0.2-0.4
0.20
Sandy Mudstone
0.3-0.4
0.40
Silty Mudstone
0.2-0.3
0.30
Granite
10-11~10-12
10-11.5
0.1-0.2
0.15
10-11.5
0.1-0.2
0.15
Basalt
1
Reference1 Reference2 Reference3 Kaverage
10-6~10-10.5 10-10~10-13
B.B.S. Singhal & R.P. Gupta (1999)2Karlheinz Spitz & Joanna Moreno (1996)3Bear(1972)
Table 2. Description and ratings for lithology permeability index.

5.5 Rock mass permeability index
As stated above, the rock mass permeability may be dependent on the following four
parameters: RQD, DI, GCD, and LPI. However, the permeability is not simply affected by only
one factor. It may account for the synthetic effect from the four parameters on permeability.
Accordingly, Rock mass permeability index, called the HC index, was proposed herein.
HC = ( 1-RQD )( DI )( 1-GCD )( LPI ) .,
(4)
The value of each parenthesis at the right hand side of Eq. 4. is always greater than zero and
less than one depending on the values assigned to the four parameters. The greater the value
of each parenthesis, the higher the permeability. Thus, the model performs a numerical
assessment of rock mass permeability using the four parameters. Since it is rare to encounter
the condition that RQD is 100% in highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan, the
term of (1-RQD) is usually greater than zero. However, it should be noted that if (1-RQD) is
281
zero, the value of 0.01 in the term of (1-RQD) is suggested to avoid the HC value to be zero.
Currently, the study took the same weight for each factor in Eq. (4). In addition, Eq. (4) is
limited in sedimentary rocks only and is only applied to vertical boreholes at present. With
more testing data, a further study can be considered to assign a different weight for each factor
to give a better correlation between the hydraulic conductivity and HC.
5.6 The empirical HC model
Regression analysis was performed to estimate the dependence of HC on hydraulic
conductivity. A total of 22 hydraulic test data were applied to the study. HC-values for the
hydraulic tests can be computed from borehole image data and rock core data, in which the
values of RQD and GCD at each test interval can be calculated from borehole image data
and rock core data with Eqs. 1. and 3., respectively. The value of DI can be calculated using
Eq. 2. The value of LPI for each test zone can be obtained from rock core data and Table 3.
Table 3 shows the calculated results for the HC model based on the verified data. The
regression results indicated that a power law relationship exists between the hydraulic
conductivity and HC with a coefficient of determination of 0.866 as shown in Fig. 7. The
empirical HC model is obtained as shown in Eq. 5.
K = 2.93 10 -6 ( HC )
1.380
, R 2 = 0.866
(5)
If only HB-94-01 testing data were adopted, a better correlation with the coefficient of
determination of 0.905 can be obtained as shown in Eq. 6.
K = 2.31 10 -6 ( HC )
1.342
, R 2 = 0.905
(6)
-5
Rock mass hydraulic conductivity (m/sec)
10
HB-94-01
HB-95-01
HB-95-02
-6
10
-7
10
-8
10
K = 2.93 10 6 HC 1.380 , R 2 = 0.866

K = 2.31 10 6 HC 1.342 , R 2 = 0.905
-9
10
All data included.

Only HB-94-01 data included.
-10
10
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15 0.20 0.25

HC value
0.30
0.35
Fig. 7. Relationship between hydraulic conductivity and HC-values.
0.40
282
Boreholes
HB-94-01
HB-95-01
HB-95-02
Test intervals
(m)
34.7-36.3
36.4-38.0
56.7-58.3
74.6-76.2
77.2-78.8
82.6-84.2
90.2-91.8
94.2-95.8
99.0-101.9
117.2-120.1
133.2-136.1
88.6-91.4
96.0-99.2
118.5-121.7
134.8-138.0
154.8-158.0
173.0-176.2
189.8-193.0
196.6-199.8
213.2-216.0
249.0-251.8
272.0-274.8
1-RQD
DI
1-GCD
LPI
HC
K (m/s)
0.094
0.438
0.063
0.500
0.010
0.125
0.010
0.500
0.345
0.690
0.724
0.071
0.031
0.219
0.344
0.938
0.938
0.594
0.563
0.679
0.393
0.214
0.677
0.662
0.477
0.315
0.291
0.242
0.173
0.136
0.598
0.526
0.461
0.743
0.721
0.657
0.610
0.553
0.501
0.453
0.434
0.387
0.285
0.219
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.200
1.000
0.286
1.000
1.000
0.071
0.727
0.103
0.103
1.000
0.500
1.000
0.091
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.950
0.400
0.400
0.400
0.400
0.400
0.400
0.850
1.000
0.600
0.600
0.700
0.700
0.700
0.700
0.700
1.000
1.000
0.700
0.700
0.0635
0.2895
0.0283
0.0629
0.0012
0.0121
0.0007
0.0273
0.0165
0.3081
0.0954
0.0318
0.0135
0.0072
0.1068
0.0376
0.0340
0.1883
0.1220
0.2625
0.0071
0.0328
7.06E-08
1.64E-06
1.53E-08
5.3E-08
4.22E-10
2.31E-09
2.86E-10
4.53E-09
9.8E-09
9.76E-07
4.68E-08
1.56E-07
2.42E-08
1.36E-09
1.17E-07
1.99E-08
9.08E-09
1.01E-06
6.00E-08
4.54E-07
4.03E-09
3.36E-08
Table 3. The calculated results for HC-system based on 22 hydraulic test data.
It should be noted that the values of (1-GCD) in HB-94-01 borehole are all equal to 1. The
results of Eq. 6 demonstrate that the empirical HC model may also be more accurate for the
estimation of the rock mass hydraulic conductivity if the fractures do not contain infillings.
There are a few limitations that need to be noted for the use of Eq. 5. The data used to
develop the equation are limited in number and in the lithologies represented. From the
definition of DI, DI cannot be determined for inclined boreholes because the data collected
were from vertical boreholes.
5.7 Model verification
In order to further verify the feasibility of the proposed empirical HC model, the model
verification is conducted. Another borehole data with the drilling depth of 120 m is adopted
to verify the empirical HC model. The principal lithologic units of the borehole, namely CH04, are mainly sandstone, shale, and sandstone with some thin shale. The depth from 24.5 m
to 26.6 m, 32.5 m to 34.1 m, 65.7 m to 67.8 m, and 77.8 m to 79.9 m were sealed by double
packers for conducting the hydraulic tests. The quantitative evaluation of hydraulic
parameters was then performed using AQTESOLVE which uses an iterative process of the
best-fit theoretical response curves based on the measured data of the hydraulic test. Figure
283
8 shows that the comparison of the rock mass hydraulic conductivity obtained by in-situ test
and that from the estimation of the empirical HC model. Very good correlation can be found
(Fig. 8). This verification example demonstrates that the empirical HC model is able to
determine the rock mass hydraulic conductivity for different sites in which the lithologic
conditions are similar.
-5 .5
K
versus
KHC model
Kin-situ
test K
e s t vs
obs
Log Kin-situ test
-6 .0
R = 0.8 5
-6 .5
-7 .0
-7 .5
-8 .0
-8 .5
-8 .5
-8 .0
-7 .5
-7 .0
-6.5
-6 .0
Log
model
L o gK
(KHC
e st )
Fig. 8. Correlation between Kin-situ and KHC model.
Test intervals (m)

RQD(%)
DI
1-GCD LPI
HC
KHC model
Kin-situ
24.5~26.6
81.0
0.787
0.952 0.55 0.0785 9.06E-08
7.14E-08
32.5~34.1
43.8
0.723
0.975 0.55 0.2179 3.69E-07
1.11E-06
65.7~67.8
47.6
0.444
0.976 0.55 0.1248 1.71E-07
9.95E-08
77.8~79.9
95.2
0.343
1.000 0.55 0.0090 4.59E-09
9.09E-09
KHC model and Kin-situ represent K obtained by Eq. 5 and the in-situ hydraulic test, respectively.
Table 4. Four hydraulic test data for the model verification (Borehole CH-04).
6. Conclusions
The estimation of rock mass hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed clastic sedimentary
rocks in Taiwan was performed using the data of BHTV and double packer hydraulic tests.
The field results indicated that the rock mass in the study area has the conductivity between
the order 10-10 and 10-6 m/s at the depth between 34 m and 275 m below ground surface.
The results demonstrate that the rock mass hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed
clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan mainly depends on the following four parameters:
RQD, DI, GCD, and LPI.
This paper proposes an empirical HC model for estimating rock mass hydraulic using data
collected for highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan. The HC-value can be
calculated from borehole image data and rock core data. To verify rationality of the
proposed HC model, the study collected data from the results of two hydrogeological
284
investigation programs in three boreholes to determine a relationship between hydraulic

conductivity and HC. Besides, good correlation is found from the model verification which
demonstrates that the empirical HC model is able to determine the rock mass hydraulic
conductivity for different sites in which the lithologic conditions are similar.
The regression results indicated that the relationship of a power law exists between the two
variables with a coefficient of determination of 0.866. The empirical HC model may provide
a useful tool to predict hydraulic conductivity of fractured rocks based on measured HCvalues. By using this model, hydraulic conductivity data in a given site can be directly
acquired, which removes the cost on hydraulic tests. For in-situ aquifer tests, the empirical
HC model is valuable for preliminary assessment of the degree of permeability in a packedoff interval of a borehole.
7. References
Bear, J. (1972). Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Materials, American Elsevier.
Black, J. H. (1987). Flow and flow mechanisms in crystalline rock, in Fluid Flow in
Sedimentary Basins and Aquifers. Geol. Soc. Special Publication No. 34, 186-200.
Burgess, A. (1977). Groundwater Movements Around a RepositoryRegional Groundwater
Analysis. Kaernbraenslesaekerhet, Stockholm, Sweden, 116.
Carlson, A. & Olsson, T. (1977). Hydraulic properties of Swedish crystalline rocks-hydraulic
conductivity and its relation to depth. Bulletin of the Geological Institute,
University of Uppsala 7, 71-84.
Deere, D. U.; Hendron, A. J.; Patton, F. D.& Cording, E. J. (1967). Design of surface and near
surface construction in rock. Proceedings of 8th U.S. Symposium Rock Mechanics,
AIME, New York 237-302.
Duffield, G. M. (2004). AQTESOLVE version 4 users guide, Developer of AQTESOLV
HydroDOLVE, Inc., Reston, VA, USA.
Lee, C. H. & Farmer, I.(1993). Fluid flow in discontinuous rocks. Chapman&Hall, London, UK.
Louis, C. (1974). Rock Hydraulics. in Rock Mechanics (ed. L. Muller), Springer Verlag, Vienna.
National Research Council. (1996). Rock fractures and fluid flow: contemporary
understanding and applications. National Academy Press, Washington D. C., USA.
Singhal, B. B. S. & Gupta, R. P.(1999). Applied hydrogeology of fractured rocks. Kluwer
Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 400.
Spitz, K. & Morena, J. (1996). A Practical Guide to Groundwater and Solute Transport
Modeling, Wiley.
Sinotech Engineering Consultants, LTD. (2006). Tseng-Wen transbasin diversion tunnel
project-supplemental geology investigation, Southern Water Resources Office,
Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan (in Chinese).
Snow, D. T. (1969). Anisotropic permeability of fractured media. Water Resources Research,
5(6), 1273-1289.
Wei, Z.Q., Egger, P., Descoeudres, F. (1995). Permeability predictions for jointed rock
masses. International Journal of Rock Mechanics, Mineral Science and
Geomechanics 32, 251-26l.
Williams, J. H. & Johnson, C. D. (2004). Acoustic and optical borehole-wall imaging for
fractured-rock aquifer studies. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 55(12): 151159.
Zhao, J. (1998). Rock mass hydraulic conductivity of the Bukit Timah granite, Singapor.
Engineering Geology, V 50, 211-216.
15
Field Measurement of Hydraulic
Conductivity of Rocks
Maria Clementina Caputo and Lorenzo De Carlo
Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR)

Via F. De Blasio, Bari
Italy
1. Introduction
Groundwater often represents the main and most precious source of drinking water supply
for the population. In recent decades, overexploitation, uncontrolled anthropogenic actions
and continuous reduction of rainfall, due to climate change, led to a depletion of the water
resource by affecting both its quantity and quality. The scientific community pays attention
to this particular environmental issue in order to implement effective strategies for the
safeguarding, protection, and remediation of the aquifers. Over the last decade, considerable
efforts have been made to develop methodologies and techniques aimed at improving
knowledge of the processes that are based in the unsaturated zone or vadose zonethe
portion of the soil above the groundwater levelwithin which flow and transport processes
occur. In this portion of subsoil, in fact, important physicochemical phenomena take place,
which regulate the environmental balance of the hydrogeological system, such as the ability
to store water and transport it into the ground below. It also has a natural protective
function as a filter for any potential pollutants carried by fluids circulating in the solid
matrix before reaching the groundwater. The knowledge and the understanding of the
processes that take place in the unsaturated zone are, therefore, essential for groundwater
management and protection, to evaluate the recharge rate and assess groundwater
vulnerability. In particular, the measurement and monitoring of the unsaturated hydraulic
properties are very important, even though it is difficult and expensive (Castiglione et al.,
2005). The methods and techniques developed are designed to investigate the unsaturated
flow process in the soils. When the vadose zone consists of rock, rather than soil, technical
aspects increase the difficulties in several ways (Bogena et al., 2007; Kizito et al., 2008).
Usually, different kinds of probes are used to monitor the water infiltration in soils: the
Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) (Jones et al., 2004; Robinson et al., 2003), the Frequency
Domain Reflectometry (FDR) and multi-sensor capacitance probes (Baumhardt et al., 2000;
Seyfried et al., 2004) are used to measure the water content in the subsurface, while
tensiometers measure water pressure (Masbrucha & Ferr, 2003). These devices are hard to
utilize in the rocks, mainly because the probes are brittle. Therefore it is difficult to install
them, as there needs to be good contact between the rock and the sensor to reduce the
uncertainty of the measurements due to the gap effects. Field studies, set up to measure
hydraulic conductivity, have employed infiltrometer tests under different conditions, but
they have rarely been performed directly on the outcropped rock, owing to the difficulty of
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installation. Reynolds et al. (2002) conducted infiltrometer tests under different conditions,
Ledds-Harrison & Youngs (1994) used very small diameter rings (from 1.45 mm to 2.5 mm)
for field measurements on individual soil aggregates, Youngs et al. (1996) used a 20 m
diameter infiltrometer cylinder to measure highly structured and variable materials that
could not be sampled adequately by a smaller cylinder. Castiglione et al. (2005) developed
in the laboratory a tension infiltrometer ring, 4 cm in height and 27.5 cm in diameter,
suitable for accurate measurements of infiltration into a big sample of fractured volcanic
tuff, at very low flow rates over long equilibration times. Most field studies employ cylinder
infiltrometers with diameters ranging commonly from 1 to 50 cm, which are poorly
representative of the heterogeneous media, such as fractured rocks, in which hydraulically
important fractures may, typically, be spaced further apart than the cylinder's diameter.
Indeed, up to now infiltrometer tests have rarely been performed directly on-site on rock
outcrops. This chapter describes a methodology to obtain the field-saturated hydraulic
conductivity, Kfs, by using a ring infiltrometer, with a large (~2 m) adjustable diameter,
developed for measuring quasi-steady infiltration rates on outcropped rock. Kfs is the
hydraulic conductivity of the medium (soil or rock) when it has been brought to a nearsaturated state by water applied abundantly at the land surface, typically by processes such
as ponded infiltration, copious rainfall or irrigation. The proposed device is inexpensive and
simple to implement, as well as very versatile, owing to its large adjustable diameter that
can be fixed on-site. Moreover, certain practical problems, related to the installation of the
cylindrical ring on the rock surface, were solved in order to achieve a continuous and
impermeable joint surface between the rock and the ring wall. An issue of major concern is
linked to the edge effects, related to the radial spreading of the infiltrating water; obviously
smaller rings are more influenced by these effects. Swartzendruber & Olson (1961) and Lai
& Ren (2007) found that the ring infiltrometer needs a diameter greater than 1.2 m and 0.8
m, respectively, to avoid the edge effects. For this reason, the proposed large ring
infiltrometer is made of a strip of flexible material with which build the cylinder on-site,
with a suitable diameter in relation to the lithological and topographical features of the field.
The flexible material, such as plastic or glass resin, allows the minimization of the size of the
ring and, therefore, its movement easily, in order to acquire a large number of independent
Kfs measurements over a given area. In fact, because of the extreme spatial variability of Kfs,
its value finds statistical consistency in multiple tests. Geophysical techniques were coupled
with the infiltrometer tests in order to monitor, qualitatively, the water infiltration depth, to
allow a rapid visualization of the change in water content in subsurface and to ensure that
the decrease in the water level in the ring was caused mainly by vertical water infiltration,
and not by the lateral diversion of water flow. Since the late 1980s, many geophysical
applications have been aimed at hydrogeological studies. White (1988) conducted electrical
prospecting to determine the direction and the flow rate of saline aquifers using a tracer.
Daily et al. (1992) used borehole electrical resistivity surveys to obtain the distribution of
electrical resistivity in the subsurface, and compare the results with infiltrometer tests.
Recently, electrical resistivity techniques have been used to monitor hydrogeological
processes. Cassiani et al. (2006) conducted a monitoring test of a salt tracer by means of the
application of electrical resistivity tomography using a time-lapse technique. The movement
of the tracer was monitored with geophysical images. The methodology described in this
chapter was carried out on different lithotypes in order to verify the applicability of the
experimental apparatus in very different geological conditions. In particular two cases are
described: the Altamura test site that represents a case of hard sedimentary rock consisting
Field Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Rocks
287
of limestone, and the San Pancrazio test site as an example of a soft porous rock, specifically
calcarenite. Both sites, located in the Puglia region of southern Italy, have been studied
because they are both contaminated areas, for which the understanding of the flow rate in
the subsurface is very important in order to design a remediation strategy. The experimental
approach gave good results in both situations that mean it could be used successfully on
each different lithology of outcropped rock.
2. Method
The objective of this chapter is to describe a methodology to obtain the field-saturated
hydraulic conductivity, using a large ring infiltrometer installed directly on the outcropped
rock. The method considers an integrated approach that combines the infiltrometer test with
geophysical techniques, in order to visualize the change in water content in the subsurface
during the experiment. Among geophysical techniques, we have used electrical resistivity
images (ERI) because the electrical resistivity is extremely sensitive to subsurface water
content. Moreover, electrical time-lapse resistivity measurements (Binley et al., 2002; Deiana
et al., 2007), carried out simultaneously with the infiltrometer test, allow us to check the
performance of the experimental apparatus and, particularly, that the decrease of water
level in the ring is due to the infiltration and not to the losses along the edge of the ring.
2.1 Large ring infiltrometer
A ring infiltrometer for studying water flow in rock formations needs to be made from a
tough material, suitable for installation on the rock surface. At the same time, the material
must be both flexible, to allow a cylinder to be built that is adjustable to the field conditions,
and light, to facilitate transport and setup. Where the ground surface is very irregular, small
adjustments to the ring diameter ensure efficient sealing, thus facilitating the setting-up of
the device. If electrical methods are to be used for the detection of water content or salinity,
the ring must also be made of a non-metallic material. The large ring infiltrometer was,
therefore, designed in a light and flexible material, such as plastic or glass resin, to allow
easy installation on the rock surface, and the adaptation of its size to the field conditions.
Strips of the flexible material 30 cm wide and 0.2 cm thick were used to build in-situ rings
of internal diameter of about 2 m, by sealing the two ends of the strip with impermeable
adhesive tape to form the cylinder. The large diameter provides infiltration data that are
representative both of the anisotropy and the heterogeneity of the rock, characteristics
which cannot be sampled adequately by using smaller rings. It thus allows an improved
representation of the natural systems heterogeneity, while also taking into consideration
irregularities in the soil/rock subsurface. In addition, the large diameter allows the
avoidance of the edge effects that usually occur during infiltration, such as the radial
spreading of the infiltration water. Among a variety of materials tested to seal the ring to the
ground, both in the laboratory and in the field, gypsum was shown to be the most suitable
because it is cheap, easy to prepare in situ and to apply on the ground in a previously
hollowed furrow, ensuring good sealing. Clay, instead, needed to be worked for a long time
in order to obtain a consistency that would allow the ring to be sealed to the ground. It
nevertheless gave poor results, because the clay did not grip the ring wall firmly on the
ground. Moreover, tests carried out with clay at the laboratory showed water losses from
cracks in the clay due to its characteristics of swelling and shrinking. Silicon was also tested,
although using it for sealing a large-diameter infiltrometer would be expensive. However, it
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was also discarded, as it did not seal well due to the dissimilarity of the soil, rock, and
plastic materials being sealed. Polyurethane foam was easy to apply and proved
impermeable, but was also discarded because it was expensive and did not grip well on the
rock and/or soil.
2.2 Geophysical techniques
Geophysical techniques are used routinely for subsurface investigation, as they provide
information about the physical properties related to geological and hydrogeological
conditions. There are two main groups of geophysical methods: the active methods, which
measure the subsurface response to electromagnetic, electrical, and seismic artificially
generated signals; and the passive methods, which measure the earth's natural fields, such
as the magnetic, electrical, and gravitational ones. Among these, the electrical resistivity
method is a relatively new imaging tool in geophysics; it is an active method that
determines the subsurface distribution of electrical resistivity from a large number of
resistance measurements. The electrical resistivity, , is an intrinsic property of rock and
soil, and is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. The
direct current resistivity tomography method considers spatial variations in electrical
resistivity among geologic materials for mapping the subsurface structures. It is used
extensively in the search for suitable groundwater sources, and also to monitor types
of groundwater pollution. In engineering it is used to locate subsurface cavities, faults
and fissures, permafrost, mineshafts etc., and in archaeology, for mapping out the areal
extent of the remnants of buried foundations of ancient buildings, and many other
applications (Reynolds, 1998). The electrical resistivity method is based on the Ohms
laws; the first of which states that when the electrical current, I (ampere, symbol A),
passes through an electrically uniform medium of side length, L (m), the material has a
resistance, R (ohm, symbol ), resulting in a potential drop, V (volt, symbol V), between
opposite faces of the medium. The first Ohms law correlates the three physical
parameters into the formula:
V = RI
(1)
The resistance, R, is proportional to the length, L, of the resistive material and inversely
proportional to the cross-sectional area, S (m2) (second Ohms law)
RS
L
(2)
where is the electrical resistivity (ohm x m, symbol m); it is the inverse of the
conductivity (siemens/m, symbol S/m).
Electrical current can flow in rocks and soils by three main mechanisms: 1) electrolytic
conduction that occurs by means slow migration of ions in a fluid electrolyte, controlled by
ions type, ion concentration, and ionic mobility; 2) electronic conduction that occurs in
metals through rapid movement of electrons; 3) dielectric conduction that occurs in
conducting materials, or insulators, in the presence of an external alternating current when
atomic electrons are shifted slightly relative to the nucleus. In most rocks, electrical current
flows by electrolytic conduction (Telford et al., 1990). The electrical resistivity of the soils
and rocks correlates with other soil/rock properties which are of interest to the geologist,
hydrogeologist, and geotechnical engineer. Many factors affect electrical resistivity, such as
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texture, porosity, water saturation, clay content, permeability and temperature. Thus, the
resistivity measurements cannot be related directly to the type of soil or rock in the
subsurface without direct sampling, or some other geophysical or geotechnical information.
Porosity is the major controlling factor of the changing resistivity of the rock, because the
electricity flows in the near surface by means of the passage of ions through the pore space
of the subsurface materials. The porosity (amount of pore space), the permeability
(connectivity of pores), the water (or other fluid) content in the pores, and the presence of
salts all are contributing factors to changing resistivity. Archie (1942) developed the
empirical formula of the effective resistivity of the rock, e:
e = w a mS k
(3)
where (%) is the porosity, S (adimensional) is the volume fraction of pores with water, w
is resistivity of pore fluid, a, m and k are physical parameters. w is influenced by dissolved
salts and can vary between 0.05 m for saline groundwater, up to 1,000 m , for glacial
melt water. Archies law ignores the effect of pore geometry, but it is a reasonable
approximation for many sedimentary rocks.
2.2.1 Electrical resistivity imaging
The technique of electrical resistivity imaging utilizes measurements of electrical potential
associated with the subsurface electrical current flow, generated by a direct current. In the
electrical resistivity method, the spatial variation of resistivity in the field is determined
using four electrode measurements, and is based on measuring the potential difference
between one electrode pair while another electrode pair, used as the current source,
transmits the current (Dahlin, 2001). Measurements of the potential difference between the
two electrodes allow the determination of the apparent resistivity, a:
a =
K V
I
(4)
where K (m) is a geometric factor depending on the used array. The measured quantity is
called apparent resistivity because the resistivity values measured are averages over the
total current path length, but are plotted at one point for each potential electrode pair. The
data can be arranged in a 2-D plot, called pseudosection, which displays both horizontal
and vertical variations in apparent resistivity. The conventional presentation places each
measured value at the intersection of two 45-degree lines through the centres of the
dipoles (Edwards, 1977). The interpretation of the resistivity data consists of two steps: a
physical interpretation of the measured data, by means of an inversion process that
results in a physical model; and a geological interpretation of the resulting physical
parameters (Dahlin, 1996). Many configurations of array can be used for measuring the
distribution of electrical resistivity of the subsurface. The arrays most commonly used for
2-D imaging surveys are: Wenner, dipole-dipole, Wenner-Schlumberger. The choice of the
best array considered for the surveys, depends on the depth of investigation, the
sensitivity of the array to vertical and horizontal changes in the subsurface resistivity, the
horizontal data coverage, and the signal strength (Loke, 2001). In general, Wenner array is
relatively sensitive to vertical changes in the subsurface resistivity, but it is less sensitive
to its horizontal changes. It is useful for recognized horizontal structures (vertical
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resistivity changes), but relatively poor in detecting narrow vertical structures (horizontal
resistivity changes). Dipole-dipole is good for mapping vertical structures, such as dykes
and cavities, but relatively poor for mapping the horizontal structures such as
sedimentary layers or water table. Wenner-Schlumberger is moderately sensitive to both
horizontal and vertical structures. In areas where both types of geological structures are
expected, this array might be a good compromise between the Wenner and the dipoledipole array.
3. Field tests
The infiltration experiments described in the chapter refer to two sites that differ in their
geological and hydrogeological conditions, in order to show how the methodology can be
applied widely. The sites consist of outcrop of hard sedimentary rock, fractured limestone,
in the case of Altamura, and soft sedimentary rock, in the case of San Pancrazio (Fig. 1). The
different lithology implies different infiltration process and, consequently, different
experimental approaches and interpretations of the experimental data. All these aspects are
described in detail for each test site.
Fig. 1. Schematic geological map of the Puglia region.
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3.1 Test on limestone

The infiltration experiments were performed in the study area belonging to Altamura
territory, located in southern Italy (Fig. 1). The site is part of the Murge plateau, formed
from Cretaceous limestone during the Paleogene and Neogene periods. The limestone is
part of a sedimentary sequence of a carbonatic platform some thousands (up to 3,000) of
meters thick. The main rock units consist of calcilutites, which in the study area constitute a
unit known as Calcare di Altamura and Calcare di Bari (Ciaranfi et al. 1988). During a
large part of the Neogene, the area was uplifted and affected by tectonic stress and karst
morphogenesis. The experimental tests were conducted on the top of a karstic fractured
limestone formation constituting the deep Murge aquifer, which has a water table ranging
in depth from 400 to 500 m below the ground surface. The fractured limestone studied is
characterized by low effective matrix porosity with respect to fracture porosity. Borgia et al.
(2002) measured the effective matrix porosity of the limestone, at field scale, and found
values up to 0.1%, together with a permeability lower than 24 mD (millidarcy), and a
hydraulic conductivity of 2.1x10-2 m d-1 (for water at 20C), on average. These values
indicate a conductivity 1,000 times lower than that of the fracture network (877 m d-1) of
the same limestone formation (Masciopinto, 2005), which is characterized by an effective
fracture porosity at field scale of up to 0.4% (Borgia et al., 2002). In light of these results, it is
clear that the water flow rate component in the rock matrix can be considered negligible as
compared to the water flow rate component in the network of fractures. This site was chosen
for testing the newly developed large ring infiltrometers because it was affected by
untreated sludge waste deposits that have caused soil and rock contamination by heavy
metals (chromium, lead, zinc, nickel and cadmium), as well as hydrocarbons. Several soil
chemical analyses carried out, showed chromium and nickel contamination, with
concentrations higher than both Italian and European legal limits. The infiltrometer tests
were carried out at two locations, 300 m apart, to evaluate the quasi-steady vertical flow
rates in outcrops of limestone that showed different fracture frequencies and sizes on visual
inspection. Specifically, the site of test #1 showed prominent visible fractures of about 5 cm
spacing and about 1 mm aperture, whereas the site of test #2 showed no visible fractures
(Fig. 2). A 2 m diameter ring, coupled with an external ring, was used in test #1. In this case,
the infiltration area consisted of a central part with numerous visible fractures (Fig. 2a),
while the rest was partially covered by soil, 510 cm thick, on average. For this reason, at
this site, a second ring with a larger diameter (2.2 m) was positioned (Fig. 2b), in order to
improve the hydraulic packing during the water infiltration test. Continuity between the
ring infiltrometer wall and the rock-soil surface was obtained by filling the space between
the external and internal rings with gypsum, up to a height of about 2 cm, to create a seal.
As a result, the second ring improved the gypsum sealing of the first ring to the ground,
overcoming the challenge presented by the presence of different media (rock and soil) along
the edge of the ring. In the second test (#2), located in an area with an outcrop of limestone
characterized by no visible fractures, a 1.8 m diameter ring was inserted into a thin furrow 2
cm deep, previously hollowed into the rock (Fig. 3), which was then also sealed with
gypsum. In both tests, the large diameter ring allowed the obtaining of data more
representative of the anisotropy and heterogeneity of rocks than those obtained with a small
ring. The difference in size of the rings used in the two tests was due simply to the local field
conditions; in fact, the device is designed to allow the diameter to be adjusted easily when
the irregularity of the surface at the test site so requires. In both cases the infiltration tests
have been supported by ERI, carried out simultaneously by means time-lapse technique,
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in order to monitor the infiltration and redistribution of water in the subsurface. The water
used for the infiltration test had moderate salinity (electrical conductivity of 2.39 mS/cm) to
enhance the subsurface electrical resistivity measurements.
Fig. 2. Test # 1 at the Altamura site: a) fractured limestone with visible fractures of about 5
cm of spacing (s); b) plastic ring infiltrometer resting directly on the ground and sealed with
gypsum by using a second ring.
Fig. 3. Test # 2 at the Altamura site: a) limestone without visible fractures; b) plastic ring
infiltrometer installed into a thin (2 cm) furrow hollowed in the limestone and sealed with
gypsum.
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In test #1, the resistivity data were collected using a 7.5 m long straight-line array of 16 steel
electrodes with 0.5 m spacing, oriented in the parallel direction to the visible fractures. In
test #2, two similar linear arrays were set up, perpendicular to each other, with the same
length and electrode spacing, crossing at the center of the ring infiltrometer (Fig. 4.). The
Wenner array was chosen over other array types because it provides a good signal-to-noiseratio. Additionally, it is also highly sensitive to vertical changes in the subsurface resistivity.
This makes the Wenner array a useful tool in studying the movement of the wetting front in
time. The investigation depth is about 1.5 m, easily achievable with the chosen electrode
configuration. Both tests used the IRISSYSCAL Pro Switch 48 instrument to acquire
electrical resistivity measurements. To obtain 2-D resistivity models, the field data were
inverted using Res2Dinv software (Griffiths & Barker, 1993; Loke & Barker, 1996). In the
processing of resistivity data, an inversion routine based on the smoothness-constrained
least-squares method was implemented (deGroot-Hedlin & Constable, 1990). The 2-D model
used by the inversion program divides the subsurface into a number of rectangular blocks,
whose arrangement is linked to the distribution of points in pseudosections. The
distribution and size of the blocks is generated automatically by the program, using the
distribution of the data points as a rough guide. The depth of the bottom row of blocks is set
to be approximately equal to the equivalent depth of investigation (Edwards, 1977) of the
data points. The optimization method basically tries to reduce the difference between the
calculated and measured apparent resistivity values, by adjusting the resistivity of the
model blocks. A forward modeling subroutine is used to calculate the apparent resistivity
values, and a non-linear least-squares optimization technique is used for the inversion
routine (Loke & Barker, 1996). A measure of this difference is given by the root-mean
squared (RMS) error. However, the model with the lowest possible RMS error can
sometimes show large and unrealistic variations in the model resistivity values, and might
not always be the "best" model from a geological perspective. The water in the ring reached
a maximum level of 0.13 m above the ground surface in both tests. During approximately 2
hours of the falling-head infiltrometer tests, the specific lateral water leakage fluxes were
about 8% (0.1 m d-1) and 3% (0.007 m d-1) of the infiltrate water fluxes in the rings, for the
first and second tests, respectively. The specific (i.e., per unit of ring area) leakage rates, due
Fig. 4. Test # 2 at the Altamura site: a) scheme of electrode array; b) detail of field
installation of electrodes.
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not to the water flux from the edge of the ring (i.e., losses) but to the amount of infiltrated
water which flowed laterally within the subsurface, was estimated by dividing the total
water volume of the lateral diverted water flow by the duration of the infiltration (2 and 3.2
hours for tests #1 and #2, respectively). This estimation was performed on the basis of the
areas of the wetted surfaces (1.6 and 1.5 m2 for tests 1# and 2#, respectively), which were
observed around the rings at the end of each test, and multiplying them by the average
thickness of the wetted layers (5 and 3 cm, respectively), and by their porosities (0.29 and
0.03) (Borgia et al. 2002). The thickness of the wetted layers was derived from measurements
on core samples drilled at the test sites. During the experiments, water levels in the ring
infiltrometer were monitored using a submersible pressure probe (PTX DRUCK LTD).
3.2 Test on calcarenite
The study area is an abandoned calcarenite open quarry, located near San Pancrazio city
(Fig. 1). The quarry was used for about ten years, from 1980 to 1990, for the disposal of
waste from a pharmaceutical company that produced antibiotics (in particular
erythromycin), using fermentative processes and subsequent chemical transformations
causing subsurface contamination. For this reason, field infiltrometer tests, coupled with
electrical resistivity measurements, were carried out to evaluate the flow rate of potential
contaminants in the porous aquifer. The geology of the study area consists of Cretaceous
bedrock formed from dolomitic limestone and limestone, overlaid unconformably by PlioPleistocenic calcarenite. The oldest formations contain a deep and confined aquifer
characterized by a potentiometric surface, ranging from 70 m to 80 m, in depth below
ground surface. Electrical resistivity measurements have detected a shallow aquifer with a
water table about 25 m below ground surface, and about 12 m below the bottom of the
quarry in the Plio-Pleistocenic calcarenite. A large infiltrometer ring was installed in the
field directly on the rock surface with an adaptable size to fit the condition in the field. A
strip of 30 cm high flexible plastic material was used to build an in-situ infiltrometer ring, of
about 2 m in diameter, sealing the two edges with impermeable tape. The ring was installed
into a 5 cm deep thin furrow hollowed in the calcarenite at the bottom of the quarry, and
sealed with gypsum (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. Test at the San Pancrazio site: a) scheme of electrode array; b) detail of field
installation of electrodes.
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The infiltration tests were performed with constant and falling head conditions. About 0.27
m3 of water was poured in the ring until the water level reached 8 cm from the bottom, and
then another 0.2 m3 to maintain that constant level in the ring for the duration of the test,
which took 3 hours. No more water was added for the falling-head test because it started
from the constant water level considered for the first test (under constant head condition).
The second test took 2.5 hours. In order to study the infiltration/redistribution of water in
the subsurface, electrical resistivity tomography was carried out simultaneously with the
infiltrometer tests by collecting resistivity data along two electrical profiles, each of which
was 11.5 m long, with 24 steel electrodes with 0.5 m spacing. The two electrical profiles were
set up, perpendicular to each other, with the same length and the same electrode spacing for
each direction (x, y), and in a symmetrical position with respect to the center of the ring
infiltrometer (Fig. 5). The so-called Wenner array was chosen as at the Altamura test site.
The same instrument resistivity meter, IRISSYSCAL Switch Pro 48, was used to measure
the resistivity of the subsurface. During the infiltrometer tests, the monitoring of the
infiltrated water was carried out by means of a time-lapse technique, collecting more than
2,000 measurements for each acquisition. The total acquisition time was about 3 hours for
the constant head test, and about 2.5 hours for the falling head test.
4. Results
In the following paragraphs the results related to the two different test sites are described:
the Altamura site consisting of limestone with and without visible fractures, such as an
example of hard sedimentary rock, and the San Pancrazio site consisting of calcarenite, such
as an example of soft sedimentary rock. Different approaches are used for the elaboration of
the experimental data collected at the two geological outcrops. It is highlighted that in the
case of fractured limestone the interpretation of the data collected experimentally, needs a
numerical elaboration supported by mathematical models.
4.1 Limestone
The results of the infiltrometer tests are summarized in the graph in Figure 6, which shows a
constant decrease in the water level in the ring during the tests, after the water level had
reached its maximum depth of 0.13 m in both cases. The slope of the trend line of
experimental sites gives an average infiltration rate equal to 1.330.0034 m d-1 for test #1,
and 0.220.0027 m d-1 for test #2, where the standard deviations take into account the
standard errors of the best fit procedures. In order to interpret the results of the falling head
infiltrometer test, the simplified equation from Nimmo et al. (2009) was considered:
K fs =
LG LG + + Do
ln
t
LG + + D
(5)
where Kfs (LT-1) is the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity, t is the time, Do and D are the
initial and final ponded depths, respectively, LG = C1d + C2b is the ring-installation scaling
length, with 0.993 and 0.578 as recommended values for C1 and C2, while d and b are the
ring insertion depth and ring radius, respectively, and is an index of how strongly water is
driven by capillary forces in a particular medium. The macroscopic capillary length, ,
during downward water movement in a fracture plane, is related to the fracture aperture
and the interfacial surface tension (M/T2) between air and water (equal to 71.97 dyn/cm
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at 25C) (de Gennes et al., 2002), using the following Young-Laplace equation (Pruess &
Tsang, 1990):
=2
g bc
(6)
assuming that the water-air contact angle equals zero, and that the cutoff aperture, bc ,
equals the fracture aperture which delimits the region occupied only by the non-wetting
phase, g (L/t2) is the gravity acceleration and (M/L3) is the water density. In order to
estimate the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity value, Kfs, by means of equation (5), the
macroscopic capillary length, , is required. It is determined by inverse modeling, using an
unsaturated fractured flow model in the vertical 2-D fracture (Masciopinto & Benedini,
1999). The model solutions were then calibrated on the basis of the comparison between the
shapes of the wetting front obtained from the simulation outputs and those of the electrical
resistivity images at the correspondent time (Figs. 7 - 8). After estimating the macroscopic
capillary length (0.90 m and 0.95 m for tests #1 and #2, respectively) and the corresponding
cutoff aperture (16.5 m and 15.5 m), equation (5) gave field-saturated conductivity values
of 0.670.01 m d-1 and 0.0540.001 m d-1 for tests #1 and #2, respectively.
Fig. 6. Measured water level versus time during tests # 1 and #2 at the Altamura site.
The notable difference between the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity values of tests #1
and #2 highlights the great variability in hydraulic properties which characterizes the
carbonate rocks studied. In fact, even though the two test sites were only 300 m apart, and
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the experiments were performed on the same geological formations, the infiltration rates
observed in the areas tested were very different. For the Altamura fractured limestone, the
modified Kozeny-Carman equation (Pape et al., 1999) leads to outcrop saturated
conductivity values ranging from 0.6 m d-1 to 12 m d-1, considering the rock outcrop
porosity from 1% to 2%.
Fig. 7. Best selected model simulation output in order to fit the shape of the wetting front at
t = 80 min. Contour lines represent model output expressed as matric potential (m) in the
fracture.
It should be noted that the former conductivity value is very similar to the field-saturated
conductivity obtained by the ring infiltrometer in test #1 (0.67 m d-1). In contrast, the fieldsaturated conductivity (0.054 m d-1) derived from test #2, where the limestone outcrop had
no visible fractures, is close to the value (0.02 m d-1) obtained by laboratory tests on the rock
matrix of the Murge limestone (Borgia et al., 2002). The above comparison supports the
field-saturated hydraulic conductivity values obtained using the large ring infiltrometers.
Simultaneous electrical subsurface measurements, inverted by using the Res2Dinv software,
also show a difference in behavior between the two tests as a consequence of the water
infiltration during the tests (Fig. 8). Before the infiltrometer tests (t0 min), the subsurface
resistivity was above 500 m at the first site and more than 2,000 m at the second site. In
test #1, the low resistivity area, below 150 m, was visualized after 80 minutes to about 1.5
m of depth; similar results were obtained for the electrode arrays in the perpendicular
direction. The low resistivity zones can be related qualitatively to fractured rock with high
water content and moderate salinity. The same resistivity value was visualized at shallower
depth, at the same time, during test #2 than the previous test. In fact, in the last case, it is not
possible to evaluate the depth of wetting front from a quantitative point of view, because the
298
resolution of the resistivity images depends on the electrode spacing. As rule of thumb, a
structure or object in the subsurface, having dimensions less than the electrode spacing,
cannot be defined clearly. For both tests the electrical resistivity measurements confirmed
the effectiveness of the ring sealing, showing that the water infiltrated from within the ring
and not from outside (Fig. 8). Additionally, electrical resistivity imaging highlights not only
that the water reached different depths in the two infiltrometer tests, but also that its
variable redistribution, within the investigated vertical plane, results from the structural
characteristics of the limestone outcrop. As expected, in test #1, the deepening of the level of
the low resistivity anomaly associated with the infiltration of moderately saline water was
much greater than in test #2, and was, in fact, consistent with the different number and size
of the fractures observed visually in the limestone.
4.2 Calcarenite
The results of the field experiments carried out on the calcarenitic layer of the vadose zone
outcropping at the bottom of the quarry, are shown in Figures 9 and 10. The Figures show
the infiltration data and the electrical resistivity images, respectively. In order to interpret
the results of constant head infiltrometer test we have plotted the infiltration rate,
q = dI / dt , versus time, t, as shown it the graph of Figure 9a. The value of q, initially
decreases rapidly with time and then approaches a constant value. Practically, the rate of
infiltration falls, starting from very high values at the beginning of the test when the
subsurface is in an unsaturated condition, up to a value of 9x10-4 0.0001 cm/s (i.e. between
0.86 md-1 to 0.69 md-1), when the rock is in quasi-saturated condition. For the studied
calcarenite, this value of the infiltration rate, obtained by considering the horizontal
asymptote of the curve, was reached after about 2 hours from the start of the infiltration,
depending upon the water content of the rock at the beginning of the test. This value should
be approximately equal to the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity value, Kfs. Again for the
falling head infiltrometer test, equation (5) was considered. In this case a value equal to
0.01 m was used for the calcarenite, taking into account that the sensitivity of conductivity
calculations to the value of is small (Nimmo et al., 2009), and that Elrick et al. (1989)
proposed a value of about 0.08 m suitable for most soils with structural development, a
value of 0.03 m for gravelly soils, and 0.25 m for fine-textured soil without macropores.
Figure 9b shows the plot of the effective infiltration length (right-hand side of equation (5),
except the variable t) vs. time and the slope of this regression line is a convenient calculation
of Kfs. The graph shows how the Kfs values decrease during the infiltration test, from the
highest value of 1.22x10-3 cm/s (i.e. 1.05 md-1), at the start of the test, until the lowest of
5.61x10-4 cm/s (i.e. 0.48 md-1) at the end of the infiltration, with an average value of 8.13x10-4
cm/s (i.e. 0.77 md-1). This last value is consistent with the quasi-steady infiltration rate
value, obtained from the constant head test (Fig. 9a). The variability of the field-saturated
hydraulic conductivity, Kfs, observed in Figure 9b depends on the change in water content
with the time during the experiment: higher Kfs values are obtained in the initially dry rock
than in that wet. In fact, the soil water content during the test has been considered an
important factor that affects the Kfs value of the experimental area (Bagarello & Sgroi, 2007).
In order to have a rough estimation of the wetting front depth, a porosity value of about 0.4
was considered. Using this value of porosity and the high infiltration rate of about 4 cm/s
for the first 20 minutes of the constant head test, it was estimated that the wetting front should
reach a depth of about 20 cm, while up to the end of the falling head test, by considering
Fig. 8. Electrical resistity profiles during test # 1 and # 2, before (t = 0 min) and during
(t = 80 min) water infiltration tests at the Altamura site.
299
300
Fig. 9. Test at the San Pancrazio site: a) constant head infiltration test infiltration rate
versus time; b) falling head infiltration test effective infiltration length versus time.
an average infiltration rate of about 9x10-4 cm/s, it should only deepen by about another
6 cm. Obviously, this so small a difference in depth that it is not perceptible in the
chronological sequences of electrical resistivity images (Fig. 10). Knowing that the shallow
aquifer is at 12 m below the bottom of the quarry where the waste was disposed, it was
estimated that the time required for the pollutants to reach the shallow groundwater is just
over 15 days. Concerning the results of the electrical resistivity surveys, using time-lapse
301
Fig. 10. Electrical resistivity profiles during infiltration test at the San Pancrazio site
profile 1.
techniques, 2-D resistivity images were obtained for different acquisition times. The
electrical resistivity images showed no significant differences between the two
perpendicular directions (Fig. 10). The first two profiles on the top of Figure 10, measured
302
before starting water infiltration (t 0 min) and characterized by resistivity values above
1,000 m, represent the profiles with which to compare the following profiles, in order
to monitor the water flux in the subsurface. The images from the constant head test show
that the wetting front (resistivity values around 60 m) deepens in the first 20 minutes
of the experiment, much more than in the following 4.5 hours, up to the end of the test.
These results are consistent with the high values of infiltration rate, correspondent to the
initial part of the constant head test. The images related to the sequences of the electrical
resistivity profiles, acquired during the falling head test (Fig. 10), are similar to the last
profile of the constant head condition, such as we expected by considering that the fieldsaturated hydraulic conductivity values, obtained from the tests under the different
conditions, are similar.
5. Conclusion
The large ring infiltrometer, coupled with subsurface electrical resistivity measurements,
described in this chapter, has proved to be a simple and inexpensive field tool, capable of
evaluating the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity of rock formations, even if it requires
numerical elaboration supported by mathematical models, in certain conditions. It is
designed to be installed directly on an outcrop of both hard and soft rock, and easily
constructed on site with inexpensive, lightweight materials, and has an adjustable diameter.
These characteristics improve the versatility of the infiltrometer method and its adaptability
to various geological conditions. Thus it expands the potential for exploring field-hydraulic
conductivity of rocks, which until now has been investigated more frequently in
laboratories, mainly because of the practical difficulties involved in field investigations.
Simultaneous electrical resistivity measurements are used to monitor the subsurface water
infiltration instead of humidity sensors or tensiometers, thus sidestepping the difficulty of
inserting probes into the rock. Further technical difficulties, related to the installation in the
field of the large ring infiltrometer, were solved using non-commercially available
equipment during the on-site installation procedure. Specifically, the setup of the
experimental apparatus requires the hollowing out of a furrow in which to install the ring
and seal it to the rock surface with gypsum. Otherwise, if the field conditions of the
infiltration area are very heterogeneous, consisting of different media, e.g. rock and soil, an
infiltrometer made of two concentric rings is suggested in order to improve the hydraulic
packing during the water infiltration test. In this case the continuity between the ring
infiltrometer wall and the rock-soil surface is obtained by filling the space between the
external and internal rings with gypsum, up to a height of about 2.0 cm,to create a seal. Thus
the second ring improves the gypsum seal of the first ring with the ground, overcoming the
challenge presented by the presence of different media along the edge of the ring. The
efficacy of the seal of ring infiltrometer with soil/rock surfaces was confirmed by the
simultaneous electrical resistivity measurements that show the deepening and spreading of
the water during the infiltration tests. The time required for the installation was about two
hours and the water volume used for each infiltration test was about 0.5 m3 for the
limestone, and about 0.3 m3 for calcarenite, depending on the local rock permeability. On
the whole, the field- hydraulic conductivity data obtained from the infiltrometer tests (0.67
m d-1 and 0.054 m d-1, for tests #1 and #2 on limestone, respectively, and 0.77 m d-1 for
calcarenite) are consistent with the nature of the rocks tested and are corroborated by
laboratory measurements carried out by other authors (Quarto & Schiavone, 1994; Borgia et
303
al., 2002). The difference between the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity values obtained
by the infiltration tests, highlights the difference of the outcrops studied, owing to the
different geological formations characterized from variable heterogeneity degree (number
and size of fractures). The possibility of building a ring with a large adjustable diameter on
site, has the advantage of including fractures and other features of the rock in order to
obtain field-saturated hydraulic conductivity data at a more representative scale of
measurements, with negligible border effects. The proposed installation procedure of a large
ring infiltrometer on rocky outcrops extends the possibility of performing field infiltrometer
tests on rocks that would, previously, have been very difficult to test. Simultaneous
subsurface electrical resistivity imaging, using time-lapse techniques, is a useful indicator of
water infiltration/redistribution. Moreover, the electrical resistivity survey provides
evidence that the conductivity structure is confined under the ring infiltrometer, confirming
that the apparatus works well in order to minimize the lateral lack of water, without having
losses along the edge of the ring, allowing the acquisition of accurate and representative
experimental data. On the other hand, it is important to highlight that the geophysical
inversion model used, Res2Dinv, has not been able to represent the heterogeneities and
anisotropies of the heterogeneous system, such as fractured or karstic rocks. This
consideration encourages further research and study in order to define new algorithms able
to derive real images closer to the real subsurface features than now, starting from the
electrical resistivity measurements of heterogeneous systems. Using the simplified equation
for determining the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity from the experimental data of
falling head infiltrometer tests, it is demonstrated that the proposed method works well, in
different cases, proving it is a good tool to know how quickly the water moves through the
unsaturated zone in real field conditions.
6. Acknowledgment
The work was partially funded by the Italian Government (Regional Autority), which is
gratefully acknowledged. We thank Costantino Masciopinto for his collaboration in
modelling on fractured systems and for his fruitful cooperation during the field
experiments. We also thank Rita Masciale and Francesco De Benedictis for their support for
the field work and for their comments during the preparation and revision of this
document.
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16
Electrokinetic Techniques for the Determination
of Hydraulic Conductivity
Laurence Jouniaux
Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg,

Universit de Strasbourg, Strasbourg
France
1. Introduction
In a porous medium the uid ux and the electric current density are coupled, so that the
streaming potentials are generated by uids moving through porous media and fractures.
These electrokinetic phenomena are induced by the relative motion between the uid and
the rock because of the presence of ions within water. Both steady-state and transient uid
ow can induce electrokinetics phenomena. It has been proposed to use this electrokinetic
coupling to detect preferential ow paths, to detect faults and contrast in permeabilities within
the crust, and to deduce hydraulic conductivity. This chapter proposes a comprehensive
review of the electrokinetic coupling in rocks and sediments and a comprehensive review
of the different approaches to deduce hydraulic properties in various contexts.
Electrical methods are sensitive to the uid content because of the relative high conductivity
of water compared to the one of the rock matrix. The electrical resistivity can be related to
the permeability and to the deformation, in full-saturated or in partially-saturated conditions
(Doussan & Ruy, 2009; Henry et al., 2003; Jouniaux et al., 1994; 2006). The electrokinetic
phenomena are induced by the relative motion between the uid and the rock matrix.
In a porous medium the electric current density, linked to the ions within the uid, is
coupled to the uid ow (Overbeek, 1952) so that the streaming potentials are generated
by uids moving through porous media (Jouniaux et al., 2009). The classical interpretation
of the self-potential (SP) observations is that they originate from electrokinetic effect as
water ows through aquifer or fractures. Therefore some formula have been proposed to
predict the permeability of porous medium or fault using the electrokinetic properties. The
SP method consists in measuring the natural electric eld on the Earths surface. Usually
the electric eld is measured by a high-input impedance multimeter, using impolarizable
electrodes (Petiau, 2000; Petiau & Dupis, 1980) and its interpretation needs ltering techniques
(Moreau et al., 1996). Moreover, for long-term observations the monitoring of the magnetic
eld is also needed for a good interpretation (Perrier et al., 1997). Some studies have proposed
to use SP observations to infer water-table variations, to estimate hydraulic properties
(Glover & Walker, 2009), and to deduce where to make a borehole for water-catchment.
These studies involve surface or borehole measurements (Aubert & Atangana, 1996;
Fagerlund & Heison, 2003; Finizola et al., 2003; Perrier et al., 1998; Pinettes et al., 2002), some
of them have monitored self-potentials during hydraulic tests in boreholes (Darnet et al.,
2006; Darnet & Marquis, 2004; Ishido et al., 1983; Maineult et al., 2008). Direct models
308
Hydraulic Conductivity Issues, Determination and

Applications
Will-be-set-by-IN-TECH
(Ishido & Pritchett, 1999; Jouniaux et al., 1999; Sheffer & Oldenburg, 2007) and inverse
problems (El-kaliouby & Al-Garni, 2009; Fernandez-Martinez et al., 2010; Gibert & Pessel,
2001; Gibert & Sailhac, 2008; Minsley et al., 2007; Naudet et al., 2008; Sailhac et al., 2004;
Saracco et al., 2004) have been developed to locate the source of self-potential. Because of
similarity between the electrical potential with pressure behavior, it has been proposed also
to use SP measurements as an electrical ow-meter (Pezard et al., 2009). However, inferring
a rm link between SP intensity and water ux is still difcult. Recent modeling has shown
that SP observations could detect at distance the propagation of a water front in a reservoir
(Saunders et al., 2008).
We distinguish 1) The steady-state and passive observations which consist in measuring
the electrical self-potential (SP). 2) The transient and active observations which consist in
measuring the electrical potential induced by the propagation of a seismic wave. These
observations are called seismo-electric conversion. The reverse can also be observed:
the detection of a seismic wave induced by injection of electrical current and is called
electro-seismic conversion.
2. Streaming potential coefcient in rocks and sediments

2.1 Theoretical background
The uid ow in porous media or in fractures can induce electrokinetic effect because of the
presence of ions within the uid which can induce electric currents when water ows. The
general equation coupling the different ows is,
Ji =
Lij X j
(1)
j =1
which links the forces X j to the macroscopic uxes Ji , through transport coupling coefcients
L ij (Onsager, 1931).
When dealing with the coupling between the hydraulic ow and the electric ow, assuming a
constant temperature, and no concentration gradients, the electric current density Je [A.m2 ]
and the ow of uid Jf [m.s1 ] can be written as the following coupled equation:
Je = 0 V L ek P.
(2)
k0
P.
f
(3)
Jf = L ekV
where P is the pressure that drives the ow [Pa], V is the electrical potential [V], 0 is the bulk
electrical conductivity [S.m1 ], k0 the bulk permeability [m2 ], f the dynamic viscosity of the
uid [Pa.s], L ek the electrokinetic coupling [A Pa1 m1 ]. Thus the rst term in equation 2 is
the Ohms law and the second term in equation 3 is the Darcys law. The coupling coefcients
must satisfy the Onsagers reciprocal relation in the steady state: the coupling coefcient is
therefore the same in equation 2 and equation 3. This reciprocity has been veried on porous
materials (Auriault & Strzelecki, 1981; Miller, 1960) and on natural materials (Beddiar et al.,
2002).
The streaming potential coefcient Cs0 [V.Pa1 ] is dened when the electric current density Je
is zero, leading to
Electrokinetic
Techniques
forof the
Determination
Electrokinetic Techniques
for the Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
3093
V
L
= ek = Cs0
(4)
P
0
This coefcient can be measured by applying a driving pore pressure P to a porous medium
and by detecting the induced electric potential difference V. The driving pore pressure
induces a streaming current (second term in eq. 2) which is balanced by the conduction current
(rst term in eq.2) which leads to the electric potential difference V that can be measured.
We detail here what we know about this streaming potential coefcient (SPC) on sands and
rocks because we will see that it can be used with the electro-osmosis coefcient to deduce
the permeability. In the case of a unidirectional ow through a cylindrical saturated porous
capillary, this coefcient can be expressed as (Jouniaux et al., 2000; Jouniaux & Pozzi, 1995b):
Cs0 =
f
f e f f
(5)
with the uid electrical permittivity f [F.m1 ], the effective electrical conductivity e f f
[S.m1 ] dened as e f f = F0 with F the formation factor and 0 the rock conductivity which
can include a surface conductivity. The potential [V] is the zeta potential described as the
electrical potential inside the EDL at the slipping plane or shear plane (i.e., the potential within
the double-layer at the zero-velocity surface). Minerals forming the rock develop an electric
double-layer when in contact with an electrolyte, usually resulting from a negatively charged
mineral surface. An electric eld is created perpendicular to the surface of the mineral which
attracts counterions (usually cations) and repulses anions in the vicinity of the pore matrix
interface. The electric double layer (Fig. 1) is made up of the Stern layer, where cations are
adsorbed on the surface, and the Gouy diffuse layer, where the number of counterions exceeds
the number of anions (Adamson, 1976; Davis et al., 1978; Hunter, 1981). The streaming current
is due to the motion of the diffuse layer induced by a uid pressure difference along the
interface. This streaming current is then balanced by the conduction current, leading to
the streaming potential. When the surface conductivity can be neglected compared to the
uid conductivity F0 = f and the streaming coefcient is described by the well-known
Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation (Dukhin & Derjaguin, 1974):
Cs0 =
f
f f
(6)
The assumptions are a laminar uid ow and identical hydraulic and electric tortuosity.
The inuencing parameters on this streaming potential coefcient are therefore the dielectric
constant of the uid, the viscosity of the uid, the uid conductivity and the zeta potential,
itself depending on rock, uid composition, and pH (Guichet et al., 2006; Ishido & Mizutani,
1981; Jaafar et al., 2009; Jouniaux et al., 2000; Jouniaux & Pozzi, 1995a; Lorne et al., 1999a;
Vinogradov et al., 2010). There exists a pH for which the zeta potential is zero: this is the
isoelectric point and pH is called pH IEP (Davis & Kent, 1990; Sposito, 1989). At a given pH
the most inuencing parameter is the uid conductivity (Fig.2). When collecting data from
1
literature on sands and sandstones we can propose that Cs0 = 1.2 x 108
f which leads
to a zeta potential equal to 17 mV assuming eq. 6 and that zeta potential and dielectric
constant do not depend on uid conductivity. These assumptions are not exact, but the value
of zeta is needed for numerous modellings which usually assume the dielectric constant
not dependent on the uid conductivity. Therefore an average value of 17 mV for such
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modellings is rather exact, at least for medium with no clay nor calcite. Another formula
is often used (Pride & Morgan, 1991) based on quartz minerals rather than on sands and
sandstones, which may be less appropriate for eld applications. When the medium is not
fully saturated Perrier & Morat (2000) suggested a model in which the streaming potential
coefcient is dependent on a relative permeability model kr .
C (Sw ) = Cs0
kr
Sw n
(7)
n . The parameter n is the

assuming that the relative electrical conductivity is equal to Sw
Archie saturation exponent (Archie, 1942). This exponent has been observed to be about 2
for consolidated rocks and in the range 1.3 < n < 2 for coarse-texture sand (Guichet et al.,
2003; Lesmes & Friedman, 2005; Schn, 1996). Note that the use of Archies law is valid in
the absence of surface electrical conductivity. Recently Allgre et al. (2010) (and Allgre et al.
(2011)) proposed original streaming potential measurements performed during a drainage
experiment and measured the rst continuous recordings of the streaming potential coefcient
as a function of water saturation. These authors observed that the streaming potential
coefcient exhibits two different behaviours as the water saturation decreases. Values of
Cs0 rst increase for decreasing saturation in the range 0.55 0.8 < Sw < 1, and then
decrease from Sw = 0.55 0.8 to residual water saturation. This behaviour was never
reported before and still needs further interpretation. Jackson (2010) used a bundle capillary
model to compute the streaming potential coefcent as a function of water-saturation. He
showed that the behaviour of the SPC depends on the capillary size distribution, the wetting
behaviour of the capillaries, and whether we invoke the thin or thick electrical double layer
assumption. Depending upon the chosen value of the saturation exponent and the irreductible
water-saturation, the relative SPC may increase at partial saturation, before decreasing to
zero at the irreductible saturation. Up to now permeability predictions using electrokinetic
techniques use theoretical developments in full saturated conditions.
Similarly the electro-osmosis coefcient is dened when the ow of uid Jf is zero, leading to
P
L
= ek = Ce0
V
k0
(8)
This coefcient can be measured by applying an electric potential difference V and by

detecting the induced electro-osmotic ow [m.s1 ] corresponding to the rst term of equation
3, by controlling the hydraulic gradient, usually maintaining identical water heads. Assuming
the Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation (eq. 6) the electro-osmosis coefcient can be written
as:

Ce0 =
(9)
k0 F
and then depends also on pH (Beddiar et al., 2005) through the zeta potential.
Since the permeability and the formation factor are not independent, but can be related by
k0 = CR2 /F (Paterson, 1983) with C a geometrical constant usually in the range 0.3-0.5 and R
the hydraulic radius, the electro-osmosis coefcient can be written as:
Ce0 =

CR2
(10)
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Hydraulic
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3115
As we can see from this section, the streaming potential coefcient and the electro-osmosis
coefcient are directly proportional to the zeta potential, which can not be directly measured
and which is difcult to model at a rock-water interface. Therfore the zeta potential is
usually deduced from streaming potential measurements. Moreover the streaming potential
coefcient is inversely proportional to the uid conductivity, whereas the electro-osmosis
coefcient is inversely proportional to the hydraulic radius.
2.2 Permeability prediction
These electrokinetic properties have been used to predict the permeability. Li et al. (1995)
dened an electrokinetic permeability k e by the following relation:
Cs0
(11)
Ce0
with r the rock conductivity (measured when Jf is zero).
These authors veried on 12 samples of sandstones, limestones and fused glass beads that the
electrokinetic permeability k e successfully predicts the rock permeability kr (measured when
Je is zero) over a range of about four decades from 1015 to 1011 m2 . Pengra et al. (1999)
veried also this relation on eight samples of sandstone and limestone, and four fused glass
beads, in the permeability range 1015 to 1011 m2 (Fig. 3). This approach has been used to
propose the permeability measurement (Wong, 1995) within boreholes (Fig. 4). The advantage
was that we only needed to apply or to measure the pressure and the electric eld.
A simplest way to measure the permeability in borehole, was performed using only the
streaming potential coefcient (eq. 4). Although this coefcient does not depend directly
on permeability, Hunt & Worthington (2000) showed that the borehole streaming potential
response could detect fractures and cracks. A pressure pulse is generated by a nylon
block which displaces water as it moves upwards (Fig. 5). This mechanical system avoids
spurious electrical noise induced by electro-mechanical systems. The electrode response is
normalized to the peak pressure recorded by the hydrophone. The authors showed that the
maximum electrical signal was clearly associated with the highest fracture density and the
widest aperture (few cm). The recorded amplitudes were in the range 4x107 to 1.5x106
V/Pa. It was proposed that the uid ow in the cracks causing the streaming potential was
predominantly caused by the seismic wave within the rock that distorts crack aperture as it
passes, rather than by the source directly forcing uid into cracks. In this case the permeability
dependence of the streaming potential coefcient may be linked to the indirect effect of surface
conductivity which may not be negligeable: the effective conductivity can decrease with
increasing permeability, leading to an increase in the streaming potential coefcient (eq. 5)
(Jouniaux & Pozzi, 1995a).
Recently, Glover et al. (2006) proposed a new prediction for the permeability by comparing an
electrical model derived from the effective medium theory to an electrical model for granular
medium. These authors derived the RGPZ model dened as:
k e = r
d2 3m
(12)
4am2
where is the porosity, m the cementation exponent from the Archies law, a is a parameter
thought to be equal to 8/3 for samples composed of quasi-spherical grains, and d is the
relevant grain size. They showed that the relevant grain size is the geometric mean, which
can be deduced from Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP). The relevant grain size
k RGPZ =
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can also be inferred from borehole NMR data, and then must be deduced from an empirical
procedure relating grain size to the T2 relaxation time. This new model was shown to match
data over 348 samples over a 500 m thick sand-shale succession in the North Sea. Since the
porosity can also be derived from NMR data, the advantage of this approach is to provide a
log of permeability along the studied borehole, at the scale which is investigated by the NMR
tool.
3. Fault and hydraulic fracturing

3.1 Permeability prediction within fault
It has also been proposed to deduce the permeability of the Nojima fault (Japan) using the
self-potential observations in surface when water is injected into a well of 1800 m depth
(Murakami et al., 2001). Water ow is induced at about 1600 m depth when crossing the
fracture zone, and the change in voltage in the aquifer is conducted to the whole part of
the well through the iron casing pipe (Fig. 6). Therefore the electrokinetic source occuring at
depth can be detected at the surface. Self-potential variations of 10-35 mV in response to water
pressure of 35-38x105 Pa were observed. The magnitude of self-potential variations decreases
with increasing distance from the injection well. An amplitude of 20 mV was detected
near the well, about 10 mV at 40 m, and within the noise at one hundred meters. The
electrokinetic source is the dragging current expressed by the second term in eq. 2. Assuming
the Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation (eq. 6) and the Darcys law (second term in eq. 3), and
using the denition of the formation factor F, we can write the dragging current:
Jedragg =
f
Fk
Jf
(13)
This dragging current is balanced by the conduction current (the rst term in eq. 2).
Assuming a line source model with L the length of the casing pipe, the potential difference V
between two electrodes at the surface is related to the total conduction current Icondtot [A] by
(Murakami et al., 2001):
I
V = condtot log( a/b )
(14)
2r L
where a and b are the distances from the borehole to the electrodes. Then the permeability of
the fault is deduced by:
f Q f tot
k f ault =
(15)
F Icondtot
The total conduction current Icondtot is deduced from surface potential measurements V
(eq. 14). The total water injection (usually several liters/min) provides the value of Q f tot
[m3 s1 ]. The formation factor F of the fault can be deduced from resistivity well-logging
assuming Archies law and knowing the uid conductivity. The value of zeta potential has
to be deduced from laboratory experiments published in the literature, possibly using gure
2. Murakami et al. (2001) deduced that the permeability of the fault was higher at the end
of the water injection than at the beginning. Assumming different hypotheses for the zeta
potential to 1 to 10 mV they deduced a permeability in the range 1016 to 1015 m2 . The
chemical properties of the injected water is important since it can decrease dramatically the
zeta potential if species such as Ca2+ or Al3+ are present in high quantity. The advantage of
this method is to be able to deduce the permeability at depth of the fault.
Electrokinetic
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Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
3137
3.2 Self-potentiels related to hydraulic fracturing
Since uid ow can create streaming potentials, the hydraulic fracturing can induce streaming
potentials as the fracture propagates, if the fracture remains fulllled with water.
Laboratory experiments on hydraulic fracturing on granite samples showed that the
streaming potential varies linearly with the injection pressure (Moore & Glaser, 2007).
However the SPC increases in an exponential trend when approaching the breakdown
pressure. Since the permeability also shows an exponential increase with injection pressure,
the authors concluded that the SPC is varying as k1.5 . The explanation was not an effect due to
the surface conductivity, but a difference in the hydraulic tortuosity (David, 1993) and electric
tortuosity (as suggested by Lorne et al. (1999b)) induced by dilatancy of microcracks.
The streaming potential induced by an advancing crack has been modeled by Cuevas et al.
(2009). The authors modeled the streaming electric current density by dening a source-time
function from the pressure prole in the propagating direction of the opening crack. The
streaming electric current is maximum at the tip of the fracture and decays exponentially
in front of the tip. The decay constant linearly increases with the propagation speed of the
fracture. As the fractures progresses, the streaming potential observed at a distant point
results from a superposition of delayed sources arising at the position of the advancing uid
front. The results show that the energy is focused in the vicinity of the advancing fractures
tip, however a tail can also be distinguished as the source behind the tip does not vanish
instantaneously. Cuevas et al. (2009) could model the streaming electrical spike recorded by
Moore & Glaser (2007) during hydraulic fracturing by modeling the propagation of two cracks
and adjusting the propagation velocity, the direction of propagation and the initial fracture
volume. The authors concluded that direct information of the hydraulic fracture propagation
can be provided by measuring the electrical eld at distant.
Hydraulic stimulation is often used to stimulate uid ow in geothermal reservoirs. Surface
electrical potentials were measured when water was injected (during about 7 days) in
granite at 5 km depth at the Soultz Hot Dry Rock site (France) (Marquis et al., 2002). An
anomalous potential of about 5 mV was interpreted as an electrokinetic effect a depth
and measured at the surface because of the conductive well casing. The question of the
exact origin between electrokinetic and electrochemical (Maineult, Bernab & Ackerer, 2006;
Maineult, Jouniaux & Bernab, 2006) effects was raised by Darnet et al. (2004). Finally it
has been shown that whatever the injection rate was, the electrochemical contribution was
almost negligeable (Maineult, Darnet & Marquis, 2006): the SP anomaly was mainly related
to the temperature contrast between the in-situ brine and the injected fresh water only at
the earliest stage of injection, and was essentially related to water-ows afterwards. Further
investigations showed that a slow SP decay is observed after shut-in : its was interpreted
as related to large uid-ow persisting after the end of stimulation and correlated to the
microseismic activity (Darnet et al., 2006). The uid ow was not detected on hydraulic
data because it took place in a zone hydraulically disconnected from the openhole. The
authors concluded that the SP observations could monitor the uid ow at the reservoir
scale and revealed that the uid ow plays a major role in the mechanical response of
the reservoir to hydraulic stimulation. Another eld experiment was performed with
periodic pumping tests (injection/production) in a borehole penetrating a sandy aquifer
(Maineult et al., 2008). The attenuation of SP amplitude with distance was roughly similar
to the pressure attenuation. Therefore the authors proposed that hydraulic diffusivity could
be inferred from SP observations. Moreover the comparaison between surface and borehole
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Applications
measurements suggested that nonlinear phenomena are present, probably related to the
saturation and desaturation processes occuring in the vadose zone (Maineult et al., 2008).
4. Seismo-electromagnetic conversions to detect hydraulic property contrasts

4.1 Theoretical background
The electrokinetic effect can also be induced by seismic wave propagation, which leads to a
relative motion between the uid and the rock matrix. In this case the electrokinetic coefcient
depends on the frequency as the dynamic permeability k( ) (Smeulders et al., 1992). Pride
(1994) developed the theory for the coupled electromagnetics and acoustics of porous media.
The transport relations [(Pride, 1994) equations (250) and (251)] are:

Je = ( )E + L ek ( ) p + 2 f u s
(16)
iJf = L ek ( )E +

k( )
p + 2 f u s
(17)
The electrical elds and mechanical forces which induce the electric current density Je and the
uid ow Jf are, respectively, E and ( p + i 2 f u s ), where p is the pore-uid pressure, u s is
the solid displacement, E is the electric eld, f is the pore-uid density, and is the angular
frequency. The electrokinetic coupling L ek ( ) is now complex and frequency-dependent
and describes the coupling between the seismic and electromagnetic elds (Pride, 1994;
Reppert et al., 2001):
m
L ek ( ) = L ek 1 i
c 4
d
12
2

1i
3/2
2 12
(18)
where m and are geometrical parameters of the pores ( is dened in Johnson et al.
(1987) and m is in the range 4 8), d the Debye length. The transition frequency c
dened in the Biots theory separates the viscous and inertial ow domains and depends
on the permeability k0 . The frequency-dependence of the streaming potential coefcient
has been studied (Chandler, 1981; Cooke, 1955; Groves & Sears, 1975; Packard, 1953;
Reppert et al., 2001; Schoemaker et al., 2007; 2008; Sears & Groves, 1978) mainly on synthetic
samples. Both models (Gao & Hu, 2010; Garambois & Dietrich, 2001; 2002; Haartsen et al.,
1998; Haartsen & Pride, 1997; Pain et al., 2005; Schakel & Smeulders, 2010) and laboratory
experiments (Block & Harris, 2006; Bordes et al., 2006; 2008; Chen & Mu, 2005; Zhu et al.,
1999) have been developed on these seismoelectromagnetic conversions.
Note that assuming the Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation for the streaming potential
coefcient leads to the electrokinetic coupling inversely dependent on the formation factor
F as:
f
L ek =
(19)
f F
The formation factor is inversely related to the permeability and proportionnal to the
hydraulic radius F = CR2 /k0 (Paterson, 1983). Since the permeability can vary of about
fteen orders of magnitude, whereas this is not the case of the hydraulic radius, the static
electrokinetic coupling L ek will increase with increasing permeability.
Electrokinetic
Techniques
forof the
Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
3159
4.2 Detection of permeability contrasts
Two kinds of mechanical to electromagnetic conversions exist: 1) The electrokinetic signal

which travels with the acoustic wave; 2) The interfacial conversion occuring at contrasts of
physical properties such as permeability.
The rst kind of conversion has been used to show that a reliable permeability log can
be derived from electrokinetic measurements (Singer et al., 2005), using an acoustic source
within a borehole (Fig. 7). Singer et al. (2005) showed by a nite element model and by
laboratory experiments that the normalized coefcient dened by the electric eld divided
by the pressure depends [V Pa1 m1 ] on the permeability. This coefcient is coherent with
the electrokinetic coefcient L ek (eq. 19) per unit of conductance [S] and then should increase
with increasing permeability. At low permeability the oscillating source will induce a larger
solid displacement because the uid is not easily displaced. However the relative movement
between solid and uid is limited, leading to a decrease of the electric eld even if pressure
increases, so that this normalized coefcient is decreased. The investigated depth of such a
permeability is of the order of centimeters. The source was a short steel tube near the top of
the borehole and hit on top with a hammer. The main wave propagation is a Stoneley wave
which induces the electric eld. The logging tool is moved step-by-step within the borehole
(Fig. 7). This model showed that the normalized coefcient could detect a 0.5 m-thick bed of
permeability 1013 m2 within a formation of permeability 1015 m2 . The measured amplitude
of the normalized coefcient on sandstones is in the range 1.6x107 to 2.5x106 [V Pa1 m1 ]
increasing with increasing permeabilities from 6.2 1015 m2 to 2.2x1012 m2 .
The second kind of conversion can be used to detect contrasts in permeability in the crust.
The seismic source induces a seismic wave propagation downward up to the interface (Fig.
8). Because of the difference in the physical properties there is a charge inbalance that causes
a charge separation on both sides of the interface. This acts as en electric dipole which emits
an electromagnetic wave that travels with the speed of the light in the medium and that can
be detected at the surface (Fig. 9). The velocity of the seismic wave propagation is deduced by
surface measurements of the soil velocity. Then the depth of the interface can be deduced by
picking the time arrival of the electromagnetic wave. Usually the seismoelectric signals show
low amplitude from 100 V to mV. Then signal processing needs ltering techniques such as
Butler & Russell (1993). The advantage of this method is to detect the contrasts of permeability
at depth from few meters to few hundreds of meters (Dupuis & Butler, 2006; Dupuis et al.,
2007; Dupuis et al., 2009; Haines, Guitton & Biondi, 2007; Haines, Pride, Klemperer & Biondi,
2007; Strahser et al., 2007; 2011; Thompson et al., 2005).
5. Limitations of this technique

The limitations of this technique arise from the low amplitude of the electrical signal. It needs
good pre-ampliers to be able to detect the signals. Then it needs an adapted signal processing
to remove the anthropic noise, and further ltering techniques to extract the expected signal
from the remaining records. The interpretation of self-potential observations may not be easy
if the signals are induced not only by the electrokinetic effect, but also by a thermoelectric
effect, and by an electrochemical effect. The interpretation of the seismo-electric conversion
may not be easy if the contrast in the permeability is not high enough.
316
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Applications
Fig. 1. Electric double layer, courtesy of P.W.J. Glover (Glover & Jackson, 2010). The solid
mineral presented is the case of silica. At pH above the isoelectric point the cations are
adsorbed within the Stern layer; there is an excess of cations in the diffuse layer. The zeta
potential is dened at the shear plane. The uid ow creates a streaming current which is
balanced by the conduction current, leading to the streaming potential.
Fig. 2. Streaming potential coefcient from data collected (in absolute value) on sands and
sandstones at pH 7-8 (when available) from Ahmad (1964); Guichet et al. (2006; 2003);
Ishido & Mizutani (1981); Jaafar et al. (2009); Jouniaux & Pozzi (1997); Li et al. (1995);
Lorne et al. (1999a); Pengra et al. (1999); Perrier & Froidefond (2003). The regression (black
1
line) leads to Cs0 = 1.2 x 108
f . A zeta potential of 17 mV can be inferred from these
collected data (from Allgre et al. (2010)).
Electrokinetic
Techniques
forof the
Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
317
11
Fig. 3. Comparison between the permeability k and the electrokinetic permeability k e . The
solid line is k e =k (modied from Pengra et al. (1999)).
Fig. 4. In-situ permeability measurement (from Wong (1995)) from streaming potential and
electro-osmosis measurements using eq. 11. For the streaming potential measurement: an
oscillating presure is applied by electromechanical transducer (22) to the rock formation (20)
through uid chamber (21) with valve (42) open. The pressure differential in the rock
between uid chamber (21) and (21) is measured by a pressure sensor (25) and the induced
voltage difference is measured by the voltage electrodes (32) and (32). For the
electro-osmosis measurements the valve (42) is closed, the pressure difference induced when
a current is passed through the rock (by current electrodes 29 and 29) is measured by
pressure sensor (25).
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Applications
Fig. 5. Scheme of the principle of borehole electrokinetic response to detect fractures

(modied from Hunt & Worthington (2000)). The source is a nylon block (N) pulled by the
rope, which induces uid ow near the wall of the rock formation, leading to an
electrokinetic effect. The electrodes are 1 m apart. The hydrophone is 2.5 m below the source.
The electrode response is normalized by the peak pressure.
Electrokinetic
Techniques
forof the
Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
319
13
Fig. 6. Measurement of the permeability of the Nojima fault (modied from Murakami et al.
(2001)). The water injection inside the borehole of 1800 m depth crosses the fault inducing an
electrokinetic source at depth within the fault. The conduction current is conducted by the
iron pipe up to the surface. The difference of potential V is measured by electrodes on the
surface. The permeability is deduced from eq. 15
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Applications
Fig. 7. Scheme of the principle of electrokinetic logging to measure the permeability

(modied from Singer et al. (2005)). The acoustic source induces a Stoneley wave
propagation (detected by the hydrophones) leading to an electric eld (measured by the
electrodes). The experiment is repeated by moving the tool downward.
Electrokinetic
Techniques
forof the
Determination
Hydraulic
Conductivity
321
15
Fig. 8. The seismic waves propagates up to the interface where an electric dipole is generated
because of the contrast in permeability. This electromagnetic wave can be detected at the
surface by measuring the difference of the electrical potential V between electrodes. Picking
the time arrival allows to know the depth of the interface.
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Applications
Fig. 9. Model of the seimoelectric response to a hammer strike on the surface at position zero
(from Haines (2004)). The seismoelectric signal is shown as measured at the surface along a
line centered on the seismic source. The interfacial signal is related to a contrast between
properties of the media, such as the permeability.
6. Conclusion
The electrokinetic properties can be used to deduce permeability in the crust, possibly at
depth, within fault, and along boreholes. Some conditions are needed to be able to use
electrokinetic coupling to infer hydraulic properties. The electrical noise can prevent being
able to detect small electric potentials, even using appropriate ltering techniques. When
possible, the joint inversion with other observations can improve parameters such as electrical
conductivity. The seismoelectric method could provide deeper investigations when using
stronger seismic sources.
7. Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the French National Scientic Center (CNRS), by
ANR-TRANSEK, and by REALISE the "Alsace Region Research Network in Environmental
Sciences in Engineering" and the Alsace Region.
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17
Contribution of Seismic and Acoustic
Methods to Reservoir Model Building
Jean Luc Mari and Frederick Delay
IFP School and University of Strasbourg
France
1. Introduction
The seismic reflection method has the advantage of providing a picture of the subsurface in
three dimensions (3D) with a regular grid. In high resolution seismic surveys, the size of the
grid cell is of the order of tens of meters for horizontal distances, and of several meters for
vertical distances. The initial success of the seismic reflection method was solely linked to
structural interpretation: it only recognized geometric shapes, regardless of the content.
Stratigraphic interpretation permitted a deeper understanding of seismic data. To be
validated, seismic data must be tied to wells. The tying and calibration of seismic data are
carried out with the use of geophysical measurements in wells. Well measurements are
seismic data such as vertical seismic profiles (VSP) with a resolution comparable to that of
seismic reflection and log data with a vertical resolution ranging from tens of centimetres to
several meters. Acoustic logs establish the link between seismic data (surface and wells) and
other logs. The acoustic log has the vertical resolution of the other logs (electric, nuclear, etc)
but obeys the same propagation laws as the seismic methods, although it operates in a
different frequency bandwidth. The purpose of this chapter is to show the contribution of
seismic and acoustic methods to reservoir model building. After a description of the
geophysical methods (acoustic logging and reflection seismics), we show, with field
examples, how the geophysical data have been recorded and processed to estimate porosity
and hydraulic conductivity of the studied geological formations.
2. Geophysical methods
In this section, we will provide the necessary background for the understanding of the
following discussion. More information of geophysical methods and tools can be found in
Mari et al. (1999) , Glangeaud & Mari (2000), Robein (2003 ) and Chaouch & Mari (2006 ).
2.1 Acoustic logging
The transmission of an acoustic wave through geological formations is used for formation
characterisation. The tools are of the monopole type or the dipole type. Monopole-type tools
are the most commonly used. Sources and receivers are multidirectional. Sources generate
in the fluid a compression wave which creates in the formation a compression wave (P
wave) and a shear wave (S wave) at the refraction limit angles. In a vertical well, these tools
are used to record five propagation modes: the refracted compression wave, the refracted
330
shear wave (only in fast formations), the fluid wave, two dispersive guided modes: the
pseudo Rayleigh waves (only in fast formations) and the Stoneley waves.
Acoustic logging allows the measurement of the propagation velocities and frequencies of
the different waves which are recorded by an acoustic tool. Velocities and frequencies are
computed from the picked arrival times of the waves (P-wave, S-wave and Stoneley wave).
For a clean formation, if the matrix and fluid velocities are known, an acoustic porosity log
can be computed from the acoustic P-wave velocity log. The analysis of the acoustic waves
recorded simultaneously on both receivers of the acoustic tool is used to compute additional
logs, defined as acoustic attributes, useful for the characterization of the formation, such as
amplitude, shape index, wavelength and attenuation logs. Attempts to predict permeability
from acoustic data have been made by several researchers. The historical focus has been on
predicting permeability from P-wave velocity (Vp) and attenuation. The attenuation of a
formation is dependent both on the clay content and the rock (clean part of the formation).
Laboratory experiments (Morlier & Sarda, 1971) have shown that the attenuation of a clean
formation can be expressed in terms of three structural parameters: porosity, permeability
and specific surface. Both theoretical and experimental studies have identified the relation
between acoustic attenuation and petrophysical parameters:
= (C .S ) . 2 .k. f . f
13
(1)
with : attenuation (dB/cm) , f: frequency (Hz), f: fluid density, : porosity , : fluid

viscosity (centipoise), S: Specific surface (cm2/cm3), C: calibration coefficient,
k: permeability (mD).
To compute permeability from eq 1, it is necessary to measure the P-wave attenuation and
the porosity of the formation and calculate the effective specific surface of the formation. Ida
L. Fabricius et al. ( 2007) have found that specific surface with respect to grain volume ( Sg)
is apparently independent from porosity. In an attempt to remove the porosity effect on
Vp/Vs and mimic a reflected vs log (Sg) trend, they propose to use the following
relationship between porosity , Vp/Vs ( Vs: S-wave velocity) and Sg:
log ( Sg.m ) = a. + b. (Vp Vs ) + c with Sg = S ( 1 )
(2)
where it should be observed that Sg is multiplied by m to make Sg dimensionless. The a, b, c

coefficients have to be computed to minimize the fluctuations of the specific surface Sg. In
practice we try to predict permeability from P-wave attenuation, acoustic porosity, Vp to Vs
ratio, and P-wave frequency. The log thus obtained is proportional to permeability and must
be calibrated on core measurements or pumping tests.
2.2 Seismic reflection method
Today, most surveys are three-dimensional (3-D) designs where source and receiver points
are distributed on a region of the earth's surface. This distribution typically forms a grid
pattern, composed of source lines and receiver lines. When source and receiver lines are
orthogonal, the 3-D survey design is called an orthogonal design. Design considerations for
an orthogonal design include the spacing of the source and receiver lines, and the spacing of
the source and receiver locations along the lines. The signal sent from any given source
point is monitored by multiple receivers on different lines. The set of receivers that monitor
a single source signal are often referred to as the template or active spread.
Contribution of Seismic and Acoustic Methods to Reservoir Model Building
331
The classical approach to seismic processing can be summarized in two main steps. The first
step includes pre-processing of the data and the application of static corrections. The
purpose of pre-processing is to extract reflected waves from individual shots, by filtering
out the parasitic events created by direct and refracted arrivals, surface waves, converted
waves, multiples and noise. It is intended to improve resolution, compensate for amplitude
losses related to propagation, and harmonize records by taking into account source
efficiency variations and eventual disparities between receivers. Static corrections, that are
specific to land seismic acquisition, are intended to compensate for the effects of the
weathering zone (Wz) and topography. Static corrections can be computed by conventional
methods such as the PlusMinus method (Hagedoorn, 1959) or the refraction tomography
method. The refraction tomography method, which is used to solve the travel time
tomography, considers the velocity model provided by the PlusMinus method to be a good
solution for the global search and applies a simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique
(SIRT) for the local search to produce an even more accurate result. The optimization
scheme uses a misfit function defined as the least-square error between the computed and
picked first break times. The velocity model is ray traced and updated until the misfit
function value reaches a value previously defined by the modeler. The inversion technique
(Mendes, 2009) gives the velocity distribution in the weathering zone (Wz) and is an
effective method to compute the static corrections in 2D or 3D geometries. Records are then
sorted in common mid-point gathers or constant offset sections.
If the data are sorted in common mid-point gathers, the second processing step is the
conversion of the seismic data into a migrated seismic section after stack. This second step
includes the determination of the velocity model, with the use of velocity analyses, the
application of normal move-out (NMO) corrections, stacking and migration. If dip values
are sufficiently large, velocity analyses provide time-depth relationships that are affected by
dips. To overcome this inconvenience, a correction for dip effects or dip move-out (DMO)
correction prior to determining velocity relationships must be applied to the data. If the data
are sorted in constant offset sections, a pre-stack time (PSTM) or depth (PSDM) migration
procedure which simultaneously performs dip correction, NMO correction, common midpoint stack and migration after stack, is applied. It is indispensable to have a good velocity
model to carry out the migration process. The role of migration is to place events in their
proper location and increase lateral resolution, in particular by collapsing diffraction
hyperbolas at their apex. Proper migration requires the definition of a coherent velocity field,
which must be a field of actual geological velocities in migrated positions. Several methods can
be used to generate velocity models such as tomography or stereo-tomography methods. The
migrated section can then be depth converted and transformed in pseudo velocity or acoustic
impedance sections if well data (such as acoustic logs) are available. The procedures used to
obtain acoustic impedance sections are often referred to as Model-based seismic inversions
which require an a priori impedance model (obtained from well data) which is iteratively
refined so as to give a synthetic seismic section to match the seismic section to be inverted. The
final impedance model can be converted in porosity by using an empirical relationship
between porosity and acoustic impedance established at well locations.
3. First field example: Acoustic logging and 3D seismic surveying in a

carbonate formation
The 3D seismic data were recorded in France at the boundary of the Meuse and HauteMarne departments in the vicinity of the Andra Center (National radioactive waste
332
management Agency). The acoustic data were recorded in well "EST 431" located on the
Ribeaucourt township, in the national forest of Montiers-sur-Saulx, 8 km North-North-West
of the Andra Center.
3.1 Geological context
One of the drilling platforms, located in the center of the studied zone, was used to study
formations ranging from the Oxfordian to the Trias. The analysis presented here concerns
borehole "EST 431" and covers the Oxfordian formation. The objective of this borehole is to
complement the geological and hydrogeological knowledge of this formation. This
formation consists essentially of limestone deposited in a vast sedimentary platform (Ferry
et al., 2007). The limestone facies, which vary from one borehole to another, are generally
bio-detritic with reef constructions. In this formation, porosity ranges between 5 and 20%
and "porous horizons" of a kilometric extension have been identified. As far as
hydrogeology is concerned the observed water inflows are usually located in high porosity
zones (Delay et al., 2007). The base of the Kimmeridgian shales was observed at 258.3 m
(100 m ASL) and the base of the Oxfordian limestones at - 544.3 m (-186 m ASL). During the
drilling, water inflows were detected at - 368m and - 440 m. At the end of the drilling, the
well was left in its natural water.
3.2 Acoustic logging
Figure 1 shows the 3 m constant offset section in the 333 510 m depth interval, opposite the
geological description. On the acoustic section, the refracted P-waves appear in the 0.6 1.2
ms time interval, the converted refracted shear waves in the 1.2 2 ms time interval, and the
Stoneley wave in the 2 2.4 ms time interval. On the acoustic section, we can differentiate:
an event at 345 m showing a very strong attenuation of all the waves; an interval showing a
very strong slowing down of the P and S waves (360 375 m); a relatively homogeneous
mid-level interval (375 397 m); a level which stands out because of its strong variations in
P, S and Stoneley velocities (397 462 m); a very homogeneous zone below 495 m with
easily identifiable P and S waves, and an image of alteration between 501 and 507 m.
Figure 2 is a comparative display of acoustic logs (P-wave velocity, P-wave frequency,
acoustic porosity), borehole diameter, gamma ray log and NMR porosity. A strong
correlation between acoustic porosity and NMR porosity can be noted (correlation
coefficient: 0.86).
The correlation coefficient between acoustic porosity and borehole diameter is high
(0.84).The attenuation of the formation is computed from the amplitudes of the refracted Pwave acoustic signal in selected time windows. The energy ratio (between the two adjacent
receivers of the acoustic tool) gives the attenuation (expressed in dB/m) of the formation.
Two attenuation logs have been computed with two selected time windows. The first
window is a short window centered on the first arch of the acoustic signal. The second is a
large window centred on the first three arches of the acoustic signal. The correlation
coefficient between the two attenuation logs is high (0.78). This allows the computation of an
average attenuation log with its associated standard deviation which gives an indication of
the uncertainty. The event at 345 m shows a strong attenuation, a high porosity value, a
significant increase of the borehole diameter and a high gamma ray value. It has been
interpreted as a shaly carbonate layer. P-wave attenuation and permeability are both
strongly dependent on clay content. The gamma ray log was used to compute both shaliness
333
and the shaliness corrected attenuation log in order to evaluate the formation permeability.
It was also used to compute an effective porosity log (Figure 2, bottom right). Figure 3 (left)
shows the attenuation logs with their associated standard deviation before (a) and after (b)
shaliness correction.
Fig. 1. Acoustic logging and lithological description (Courtesy of Andra)

The a, b, c coefficients of equation 2, computed in the 370 500 m depth interval (a = 0.02,
b = 0.012 and c = 6.25), were used to calculate the specific surface Sg with respect to grain
volume.
Figure 3 (right) shows the Sg specific surface log and the acoustic permeability log calculated
from eq. 1. The fluid viscosity and density f have been assumed to be constant ( = 1
centipoise, f = 1 g/cm3). The acoustic permeability log detects three permeable zones at 368
m, between 400 and 440 m, and 506 m. The permeable zone located at 506 m corresponds to a
high value of conductivity and is characterized by a low porosity (6 %), a 10 dB/m
attenuation, but a significant decrease of the P-wave frequency and of the specific surface.
During the drilling, water inflows were detected at 368 m and - 440 m. At the end of the
drilling, the well was left in its natural water. The hydraulic tests and conductivity
measurements conducted later on did not confirm the inflow at 368 m seen during the
drilling, but they validated the 400 440 m and 506 m permeable zones detected by the
acoustic logging. The absence of active hydraulic fracture in this borehole was confirmed by
hydrogeological tests and acoustic logs.
334
The 3D seismic survey was performed to predict the porosity of a carbonate formation and
to evaluate the hydraulic conductivity between the porous bodies of the aquifer.
Fig. 2. Acoustic logs (P-wave velocity, P-wave frequency, acoustic porosity), borehole
diameter, and gamma ray log . Comparison between acoustic porosity and NMR porosity.
Total porosity and effective porosity.
335
Fig. 3. Permeability estimation from acoustic logs (Specific surface, porosity, P-wave
frequency). Left: Attenuation logs and their associated Std before (a) and after (b) shaliness
correction, Right: Specific surface log and Predicted Permeability from acoustic logs.
3.3 Seismic acquisition and processing
The 3-D survey design is an orthogonal design. The active spread is composed of 8 receiver
lines with 74 receivers per line. The distance between 2 adjacent receiver lines is 100 m. The
distance between 2 receivers is 25 m. A single source line is fired per active spread. The
distance between two source points is 25 m. The source is a vibroseis source generating a
signal in the 14-140 Hz frequency bandwidth. The distance between 2 adjacent source lines
is 100 m. The cell or bin size is 12.5 m x 12.5 m. The nominal fold is 37. The size of the area
covered by the 3D is 4 km2.
A conventional seismic sequence was applied to the data set. It includes amplitude recovery,
deconvolution and wave separation, static corrections, velocity analysis, CMP-stacking and
time migration. After migration, a model-based stratigraphic inversion (a priori impedance
model obtained from well data) provides a 3D impedance model cube. Figure 4 is an
example of an impedance section extracted from the 3D block. It also displays the porous
layers (Hp1 to Hp4) associated with the Oxfordian carbonate.
3.4 From 3D impedance to 3D porosity
At well locations, the acoustic impedance log was calculated from the density and velocity
logs. The porosity vs. impedance cross plot, displayed in figure 5 (top), was used to define a
linear law between the two. The porosity is expressed in % and the acoustic impedance in
(m/s).(g/cm3). The cross plot was obtained by using density, acoustic velocity, and porosity
(NMR) logs recorded in 6 wells. This empirical relationship between porosity and acoustic
impedance was used to convert the 3D impedance into porosity within the Oxfordian layers
(Figure 5, bottom). The porous layers are clearly visible.
336
Fig. 4. Acoustic impedance section (Courtesy of Andra).

The 3D cube makes it possible to provide 3D imaging of the connectivity of the porous
bodies. Core analysis was carried out to establish porosity vs. permeability laws and it
demonstrated that the permeable bodies have porosity larger than 18 %. Consequently, a
porosity cut-off of 18% was used to show the connectivity of the porous bodies (figure 6). A
porosity cut-off of 21% was also applied to extract the porous bodies having the best
hydraulic conductivity within the porous layers.
4. Second field example: Case study of a near surface heterogeneous aquifer

Many underground aquifers were developed as experimental sites during the past decade.
These sites are designed for in-situ measurements and calibration of flow, transport and/or
reactions in underground reservoirs that are heterogeneous by nature. The University of
Poitiers (France) had a Hydrogeological Experimental Site (HES) built near the Campus for
the sole purpose of providing facilities to develop long-term monitoring and experiments
for a better understanding of flow and transfers in fractured rocks (Bernard et al., 2006;
Kaczmaryk & Delay, 2007a,b ; Bourbiaux et al., 2007).
4.1 Geological context
The aquifer studied, 20 to 130 m in depth, consists of tight karstic carbonates of Middle
Jurassic age. It lies on the borderline, named the "Poitou threshold", between the Paris and
the Aquitaine sedimentary basins (Figure 7). The Hydrogeological Experimental Site (HES)
covers an area of 12 hectares over which 35 wells were drilled to a depth of 120 m (Figure 7).
Fig. 5. Porosity vs. Acoustic Impedance law and Porosity section (Courtesy of Andra).
337
338
Fig. 6. 3D porosity blocks. 3D connectivity of bodies with porosity larger than 18 % (on the
left) and larger than 21 % (on the right). (Courtesy of Andra).
Hydrogeological investigations show that maximum pumping rates vary from well to well
and range from 5 to 150 m3/h. The top of the reservoir was initially flat and horizontal, 150
millions years ago, but has been eroded and weathered since, during Cretaceous and
Tertiary ages. It is shaped today as hollows and bumps with a magnitude reaching up to
20 m. The building phase started in 2002 and up to now, 35 wells have been bored over the
whole thickness of the reservoir. Most wells dispose of documented drilling records and
logs of various nature among which are gamma-ray, temperature, and acoustic logs. In
addition, two wells were entirely cored. To sum up, the aquifer responds fairly evenly to the
hydraulic stress of a pumped well, with pressure depletion curves merged together in time
and amplitude whatever the distance from the pumped well. This merging is assumed to be
the consequence of a local karstic flow in open conduits that have been unclogged by the
drilling and pumping works. The presence of pervasive karstic drains is supported by
recent logs in the wells using optic imaging. Almost all the wells have shown caves and
conduits cut by the walls of the boreholes with sometimes mean apertures of 0.2 0.5 m.
These conduits are mostly enclosed in three thin horizontal layers at a depth of 35, 88 and
110 m. Of course, these layers are intercepted by vertical wells and this potentially results in
a good connection between wells and karstic drains. This connection is mainly controlled by
the degree to which drains are re-opened in the vicinity of the well. In the end, it was
considered crucial to better image the geometry of the reservoir with a resolution
compatible with, on the one hand, the scale of a well and, on the other hand, the scale of the
entire experimental disposal. High resolution geophysical tools seem well designed to
undertake that kind of investigation.
339
Fig. 7. Hydrogeological Experimental Site in Poitiers: site map and well locations.
4.2 3-D seismic acquisition and processing
Due to the limitations of the area, the length of the seismic line could not exceed 250 m in
the in-line direction. In the cross-line direction, the extension of the area does not exceed
300 m. As a result, 20 receiver lines were implemented, with a 15 m distance between
adjacent lines.
Figure 8 shows the map locating the seismic lines and the wells. In the acquisition of data a
48 channel recorder was used. An explosive source (25 g) was detonated and a single
geophone (10 Hz) per trace was deployed. Such a source makes it easy to identify and pick
first arrivals. A 5 m distance between two adjacent geophones was selected to avoid any
spatial aliasing. A direct shot and a reverse shot were recorded per receiver line. Figure 8
shows an example of an in-line direct and reverse shot gather. Three shot points in the crossline direction were fired at distances of 40, 50 and 60 m from the receiver line under
consideration. Figure 8 shows an example of a cross-line shot gather. The range of offsets
was selected to optimize the quality of the seismic image over the reservoir depth interval,
between 40 and 130 m. The minimum offset distance was chosen equal to 40 m to reduce the
influence of the surface waves. The time sampling interval is 0.25 ms and the recording
length is 0.5 s.
4.2.1 Seismic refraction survey
To obtain the velocity of the refractor (top of the reservoir) and its depth, the PlusMinus
method was used. This method requires recordings where geophones are aligned with shot
points. The arrival times of the direct and refracted waves were picked on all the in-line
shots. The procedure was applied on each line independently. In order to obtain a map with
a homogeneous sampling interval both in cross-line and in-line directions, the delay time
curves were interpolated by kriging (Chils & Delfiner, 1999) on a grid 2.5 m x 5m.
340
To perform the depth conversion, the velocity of the medium (Wz) situated above the
refractor must be known. Here, it is given by the slope of the direct wave. In the area, the
velocity V2 of the refractor was found to be 3350 m/s and the velocity of the Wz to be 850
m/s. On the Wz depth map (Figure 8), the arrow indicates the direction N 90 which
corresponds to the main orientation of fracture corridors.
In order to add information in the inversion procedure, we used simultaneously in-line and
cross-line cross shots with an offset of 60 m. The shots were selected to be sure to have the
refracted wave as first arrival wave whatever the source receiver distance. The picked times
of the first seismic arrivals on all the shots (in-line and cross-lines shots), the Wz depth map
and the velocity model obtained by the PlusMinus method are input data for the inversion
procedure. The 3D a priori model is a homogeneous two layer model of V1 = 850 m/s and
V2 = 3 350 m/s with the interface given by the Wz depth map.
For the inversion, we worked with 56 shots simultaneously: 40 shots acquired along the 2Dlines plus 16 shots acquired with a cross-offset equal to 60 m. A 400 Hz frequency was
considered to compute the Fresnel volume. This value was estimated after tests with several
frequencies to study the sensitivity of model velocity to the smoothing nature of the Fresnel
volume method.
As we consider the 3D a priori model a valuable approach for the background velocity, we
used it for the inversion SIRT procedure. Figure 9 shows the result of this process which was
stopped when the rms error reached a value around = 0.87 ms, with an improvement of
about 80% during the optimization procedure. Figure 9 shows the velocity distribution at 20
m in depth and the 2500 m/s iso-velocity depth map. We can notice a strong correlation
between the 2500 m/s iso-velocity depth map (Figure 9, left) and the Wz depth map (Figure
8, bottom left). The correlation coefficient reaches 0.96. Figure 10 shows a 3D block with
velocity sections located at a 0 m, 60 m and 180 m distance in the cross-line direction and
velocity map located at 20 m in depth.
The velocity distribution versus depth can be represented by a two-layer model. The
interface corresponds to the top of the karstic reservoir. Above the interface, the velocities
are low (Vp ranging from about 850 m/s to about 2500 m/s) with no significant lateral
variation but with a strong increase in depth associated with the 2500 m/s iso-velocity in the
vicinity of the interface.
The inversion results obtained with 3D data emphasize the geological structures mentioned
previously in Mari et al. (2009) allowing a better recognition of their alignments and shape
(corridor of fractures). Furthermore, no cavities were detected near the surface.
The velocity model obtained by inversion of the first arrival picked times was used to
extend the 3D velocity block obtained by the reflection survey (Mari et al. 2009) to the 0
35 m depth interval, emphasizing the necessity of employing 3D acquisitions for near
surface studies.
4.2.2 Seismic reflection surveying
The processing sequence has been described in detail by Mari & Porel (2007). Each shot
point (both in the cross-line direction and in the in-line direction) was processed
independently to obtain a single-fold section with a sampling interval of 2.5 m (half the
distance between 2 adjacent geophones) in the in-line direction and with a sampling interval
of 5 m in the cross-line direction.
341
top left: Seismic line implementation and well location (red points),
top right: Example of direct and reverse in-line shot points,
bottom left: Wz depth map,
bottom right: example of cross-line shot point.
Fig. 8. Seismic acquisition: examples of shot points and Wz-depth map obtained by seismic
refraction surveying.
For seismic imaging based on reflected waves, it is necessary to be able to separate weak
reflected events from high-energy surface waves such as pseudo - Rayleigh waves. Wave
separation is a crucial step in the processing sequence. This specific field case illustrates the
benefit of combining two different wave-separation methods in order to remove all the
energetic wave-field. The conventional F-K method was used to filter surface waves and
converted refracted waves. The SVD method (Singular Value Decomposition) was then used
to extract refracted waves.
342
a: Velocity distribution at 20 m in depth, b: 2500 m/s iso-velocity depth map
Fig. 9. Results of 3D tomographic inversion .
3D block with velocity sections located at a 0 m, 60 m and 180 m distance in the cross-line direction and
velocity map located at 20 m in depth.
Fig. 10. Result s of 3D tomographic inversion.

After amplitude recovery, deconvolution and wave separation, normal move-out
corrections were applied to the residual sections in order to obtain single-fold zero offset
343
sections at normal incidence. In well C1 situated in the central part of the site, a Vertical
Seismic Profile (VSP) was recorded. VSP data were processed to obtain a time versus depth
relationship and a velocity model. The velocity model was used to apply the normal move out corrections. The VSP time versus depth law was also used to convert the time sections
into depth sections with a 0.5 m depth sampling interval. The single-fold depth sections
were merged to create the 3D block. The width of the block in the in-line direction equals
240 m and 300 m in the cross-line direction. In the in-line direction, the abscissa zero
indicates the location of the source line. The abscissa of the reflecting points varies between
120 m and 120 m in the in-line direction, the distance between two reflecting points equals
2.5 m. In the cross-line direction, the distance between two reflecting points equals 5 m. The
depth sections were deconvolved in order to increase the vertical resolution. They were then
integrated with respect to depth to transform an amplitude block into a 3D pseudo velocity
block in depth, using velocity functions (acoustic logs recorded at wells C1, MP5, MP6, M08,
M09) as constraints. The pseudo velocity sections of the 3D block thus obtained were
merged with those obtained by refraction tomography (Figure 10) to create a 3D extended
velocity model from the surface. Figure 11 shows the in-line pseudo velocity sections
extracted from the 3D extended velocity model and situated at cross-line distances of 0, 60
and 180 m. It also shows the velocity map at 87 m in depth. The 3D velocity model shows
the large heterogeneity of the aquifer reservoir in the horizontal and vertical planes.
4.3 3D porous model building
In the area covered by the 3D seismic surveying, 23 wells (location shown in Figure 7) have
been drilled. The wells are regularly spaced ( 50 m) and are used to perform many
hydraulic tests (interference pumping and slugs). In the wells, several logs have been
recorded (electrical and gamma ray logs).
Due to the homogeneous spatial distribution of wells, in which resistivity logs have been
recorded, we chose to use a method based on electrical measurements to quantify the 3D
porosity distribution within that aquifer. The seismic interval velocity-to-porosity
conversion was performed in two steps (Mari et al., 2009):
first step: from 3D interval seismic velocity to 3D resistivity
second step: from 3D resistivity to 3D porosity.
4.3.1 From 3D interval seismic velocity to 3D resistivity

Faust (1953) established an empirical relationship between seismic velocity V, depth Z, and
electrical resistivity measurements Rt. For a formation of a given lithology, the velocity V
can be written as a function of the depth Z and resistivity Rt as follows:
V = C . ( Z.Rt )
1/b
(3)
with V the P-wave velocity of the formation in m/s, Z the depth in m, Rt the electrical
resistivity in ohm.m, C and b the coefficients associated with the Faust's equation.
At each well where a long normal log was recorded, an interval velocity log was extracted
from the 3D seismic interval velocity block. The two sets of data (resistivity and seismic
velocity) were combined to calibrate an empirical Faust's law, which was then used as a
local constraining function to transform the 3D pseudo-velocity block into a 3D pseudoresistivity. For each well, the two coefficients, C (constant coefficient) and b (power law
344
c
d
3D block with velocity sections located at a 0 m (a), 60 m (b) and 180 m (c) distance in the cross-line
direction and velocity map located at 87 m in depth (d).
Fig. 11. Results of 3D seismic reflection processing.

exponent), of that empirical law were determined through a least-square minimization of the
difference between the 3D-block-extracted seismic velocities and the velocities predicted from
Faust's law using the long normal resistivity log data as input. 2D distribution maps of the C
and b values over the site could then be built from the calibrated values in each of the 22 wells.
These maps were used for the velocity - resistivity conversion of the 3D seismic block. Figure
12 shows the results obtained at well MP6 and the resistivity map at 87 m in depth.
4.3.2 From 3D resistivity to 3D porosity
Archie (1942) showed empirically that for water-saturated permeable formations, the
relation between the true formation resistivity, Rt, and the resistivity, Rw, of the water
impregnating the formation was given by :
Rt Rw = F = m
(4)
where F is the " resistivity formation factor ". is proportional to the formation porosity and
m is a " cementation factor", that is a formation characteristic. The F value derived from the
345
resistivity measurement, Rt, is unaffected by the mineralogical constituents of the formation

matrix. Although the "cementation factor" value may vary between 1.3 and 3 according to
the formation lithology, an approximate value of 2 is generally adopted for a well-cemented
sedimentary log. Although applicability of Archie's law may be argued a priori for a karstic
reservoir, two reasons motivated its choice. Firstly, the reservoir remains essentially a
sedimentary carbonate formation at the seismic resolution scale. Actually, the size of the
seismic bin (2.5 m in the in-line direction, 5 m in the cross-line direction ), and the seismic
vertical resolution ranging between 1 and 2 m, lead to an elementary seismic cell volume of
12 m3 at least. Secondly, the volume of the karstic bodies represents only a small percentage
(2 to 3 %) of the reservoir volume. This volume was estimated by analyzing borehole images
(Audouin & Bodin, 2007).
Resistivity and porosity maps located at 87 m in depth (a, d). Velocity, resistivity and porosity logs at
well MP6 (b). Velocity and porosity sections located at a 180 m distance in the cross-line direction (c).
Fig. 12. From seismic velocities to porosity.
346
For the above two reasons, the previous seismic-derived 3D resistivity block (Rt-seis) was
converted into a 3D pseudo-porosity block, by using the Archie-law given by eq. 5 with
m= 2 and with the resistivity of the formation water, Rw, estimated at 20 ohm.m. Figure 12
shows the porosity log computed from the seismic-derived resistivity log, Rt-seis, at well
MP6.
Fig. 13. 3D seismic pseudo porosity blocks.

Figure 12 also shows the in-line pseudo velocity and pseudo porosity sections (extracted
from the 3D velocity model and from the 3D porosity block) situated at a cross-line
distance of 180 m and the porosity map at 87 m in depth. The porosity section of Figure 12
clearly shows high-porosity layers located in the intervals of 85 87 m and 110 115 m
depth. The production profiles measured in many wells revealed that these layers actually
correspond to the major water feeding levels of wellbores. In order to further analyze the
spatial distribution of porous bodies and of presumably-conductive flow paths, different
cut-off values were applied to the 3D seismic porosity block. Figure 13 shows several 3D
seismic pseudo-porosity blocks, associated with porosity cut-off values of 10 and 30%.The
blocks were extracted from the central part of the area. They have a length of 120 m in the
in-line direction and a length of 300 m in the cross-line direction. The extracted 3D
reservoir volume with a porosity smaller than 10% (Figure 13, top right) actually
represents the largest fraction of that aquifer, i.e. tight carbonates with a low permeability
(less than a millidarcy).
This is consistent with the observation of very sparse and channeled flow paths within that
aquifer. We may indeed assume that, within that extracted low-porosity volume, the density
of conductive (karstic) bodies is too low to ensure a hydraulic communication between
wells, because the velocity-to-porosity converted block is derived from a high-resolution 3D
347
seismic block, defined at a metric to pluri-metric scale that is significantly less than the well
spacing.
The bodies with porosity higher than 10 % (Figure 13, bottom left) are mostly distributed
within 3 layers, located at 30-35 m, 85-87 m and 110-115 m depth. Finally, a cut-off value of
30% was applied to the seismic porosity block to show up the most porous bodies of that
aquifer. These highly-porous bodies (Figure 13, bottom right), mainly located in the
intermediate porous layer situated in the 85 87 m depth interval, represent only 2 % of the
total volume of aquifer investigated in this study.
4.3.3 3D porosity and hydraulic conductivity
The hydraulic slug tests, performed at the HES, show a very rapid propagation of the
pressure wave over large distances, say 100 m on average. These observations allowed us to
map a diffusivity distribution and the importance of connections between wells (Figure 14).
Preferential connections are visible along the N90 direction (wells M13-M21-M22-M19 and
wells M04-M06-M11). Incidentally, logging data show three water producing layers (35, 87,
115 m depth, respectively). Their presence is not systematic however at each well of the site.
The 115 m-depth layer is located on the SW and NW borders of the site whereas the 87 mlayer is present everywhere. The variations of the seismic pseudo-porosity at different
depths can be compared directly with hydrogeological data. The porosity map (Figure 14)
drawn for the 87 m horizon confirms both hydrogeological data (flowmeters) and optical
imaging obtained from the majority of wells. Actually, there is a significant connection
between M13 and M21 which is also visible in the form of a high seismic porosity zone. It is
therefore very likely that high porosity zones of geophysical maps do correspond to water
productive areas. Interference testing gives information about hydrodynamic behaviour at
the site scale but does not image the local hydraulic connection between wells, even though
pressure transients may differ from one observed well to the other (Bernard et al., 2006;
Kaczmaryk & Delay, 2007a).
It can be now wondered on the interest of a 3D porosity block for modelling flow in the
aquifer. As stated above, the insurgence of karstic features is visible both onto the block and
on responses to hydraulic stresses showing very rapid propagation of pressure wave
depletions between distant wells. The question raised by these observations is how to model
the static geometry of the porosity distribution and the dynamic hydraulic responses within
a flow simulator that would keep inversion feasible. Stated otherwise, the point is to assign
hydraulic parameters to the block by matching up numerical simulations onto flow data
generally taken from hydraulic tests. In view of the spatial structure depicted by the
porosity block, a continuous approach to flow seems well suited to fit a block of hydraulic
conductivity (and specific storage capacity) that would satisfy the continuity of spatial
porosity distribution drawn from seismic data. This makes us overlook discrete fracture
networks and other object-based representations of fractured karstic aquifers, even though
these interpretative depictions could probably be applied to the present case study.
Most of the hydraulic tests performed at the HES were based on the notion of interference
between wells. It is recalled that interference testing monitors and interprets the systems
response in terms of hydraulic head (or drawdowns) variations in an observation well
located at some distance from another well where a pumping (injection) stress is applied.
Observations are usually representing a state of the system integrated over the whole
screened intervals of the wells. Several variations of this basic configuration are then
implemented.
348
Fig. 14. Diffusivity map from slug tests and seismic porosity map at a depth of 87 m.
349
These include, for instance, dipole-tests, where groundwater is circulated between a

pumping and an injection point, or cross-borehole flow logging, where the observation well
is monitored at several depths. In general, the collected information is therefore partly
integrated along the vertical direction but relevant to continuous approaches to flow. It can
be sometimes dwelled on the capability of interference data to really conceal all the elements
necessary for the assessment of 3D flow features (Delay et al., 2011), but this technical
discussion is beyond the scope of the present contribution.
A classical dual-continuum approach was recently modified by Kaczmaryk & Delay (2007b)
to account for the rapid propagation of pressure waves in a fractured karstic aquifer. This
approach separates two overlapping continua, the fracture medium and the matrix medium,
respectively, and adds hyperbolic wave propagation to the fracture medium. The local flow
equations are written as
Ss f ( x )
Ssm ( x )
h f ( x , t )
t
hm ( x , t )
t
= K f ( x ) .h f ( x , t ) uh f ( x , t ) + ( x ) hm ( x , t ) h f ( x , t )
= ( x ) h f ( x , t ) hm ( x , t )
(5)
Here, t [T] is time, x [L] is the vector of spatial coordinates, hf(x, t) and hm(x, t) are hydraulic
head in the fracture and in the matrix continua, respectively; Kf(x) [LT-1] represents the
hydraulic conductivity of the fracture medium, Ssf(x) and Ssm(x) [L-1] respectively represent
specific storage capacity in the fractures and in the matrix, (x) [L-1T-1] is the exchange rate
between fractures and matrix. From eq. 5, three basic types of models can be analyzed:
(1) a single medium approach, i.e., u = 0, Ssm = 0 and = 0; (2) a classical dual porosity
medium, i.e., u = 0 and Ssm 0, 0; and (3) a modified dual porosity medium, i.e., u 0
and Ssm 0, 0.
These three types of models can be either taken homogeneous or heterogeneous in space.
The first assumption is well suited to interpret drawdown curves one at a time (i.e., the
single relationship between the stress at the pumped well and the response at the observed
well).By repeating inversion runs of a homogeneous model for all pairs pumped observed
wells available at the HES, one obtains a set of hydraulic parameters that bound the
reasonable (or acceptable) values for the bulk hydraulic behavior of the system. The
geometric structure of the aquifer revealed by the porosity block is obviously overlooked
but this homogeneous approach may fix the ideas for further modeling tasks in the
heterogeneous context. For instance, it could be considered that i- high porosity bodies are
highly permeable with hydraulic conductivity values on the order of the upper bound of the
homogeneous approach, ii- low porosity areas are affected with the small values of
hydraulic conductivity from the lower bound of the homogeneous approach.
The exercise of inverting all drawdowns curves one at the time was carried out by Delay et
al. (2007), Kaczmaryk & Delay (2007a, b) for the three main homogeneous configurations of
eq. 5, i.e., a single continuum, a dual fracture-matrix continuum, a dual continuum with
wave propagation. In the end, it was shown by the authors that the relationships between
local stresses and local responses were sensitive to the three assumptions prevailing to flow
but always rendered quite homogeneous hydraulic conductivity values. Actually, the three
homogeneous configurations differ by their capacity parameters (specific storage and, to
some extent, the exchange rate between fractures and matrix) that may vary in any case over
wide ranges.
350
10
K
M3
P2
M4
M6
M11
M7
M1
M8
M18
M9
1748E+06
MP4
MP5
C1
M5
M12
MP6
M20
M15
M17
1.0E-04
5.0E-05
1.0E-05
5.0E-06
1.0E-06
5.0E-07
1.0E-07
5.0E-08
1.0E-08
1747E+06
s(m)
1749E+06
M02
M03
M05
M11
MP5
MP6
12
M16
M10
M21
MP7
M13
M2
4
M19
M22
M14
1746E+06
P1
0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Time (h)
1200
1400
1600
1745E+06
451800
P3
M24
451900
452000
452100
452200
Fig. 15. Example of the fitting of fictitious scenario adding sequentially drawdown
responses from different pumping tests (Left). Example of hydraulic conductivity field
sought by inversion of a fictitious pumping scenario (Right).
Another attempt of drawdown inversion was carried out by Ackerer & Delay (2010). The
authors considered flow in a single continuum model averaged over the vertical direction,
thus yielding a diffusive 2D model widely used in groundwater engineering. They also
inverted fictitious scenarios adding sequentially data obtained during various interference
tests with the aim of providing to the calibration procedure several stress-response pairs
evenly spread over the system. A result in terms of drawdown fitting and sought map of
hydraulic conductivity is reported in Fig. 15. Again, there is no prior conditioning onto the
structure given by the porosity block but the inverted hydraulic conductivity field is
structured in space, obeying an exponential covariance not far from that used to filter
seismic data. As shown in Fig. 15, inverting several drawdown curves results in variations
in space of the hydraulic conductivity over four orders of magnitude, 10-8 10-4 ms-1. This
range could be considered as a good forecast of values that could be assigned to a 3D
conductivity block inheriting from the structure provided by seismic data.
The exercise of inverting a 3D block of hydraulic conductivity conditioned onto the
geometry of the porosity block is under investigations. The targeted objective is giving to
the inverted fields of hydraulic parameters some consistency with the 3D spatial structure of
the main flowing bodies. Several options can be proposed to deal with a tractable problem.
The first option, which is quite inescapable, is that of thresholding the sought values of
hydraulic conductivity. To make it short, it can be proposed to separate the system in e.g., 3
types of conductivity values: high, mid and low values corresponding to similar cut-offs in
the porosity values of the block. Without this simplification, it is likely that inverting a
continuous distribution of hydraulic conductivity would become cumbersome or without
tractable solution because of the too large number of freedom degrees given to the
calibration procedure compared with available flow data. In the same vein, it can be
discussed on the interest of proposing models of the dual-continuum type, eventually
amended by adding wave propagations, in the case we dispose of a good image of the
structural heterogeneity of the medium. In other words, is the picture given by the porosity
block separating main flowing bodies from less permeable areas enough to represent the
complexity of flow in a karstified aquifer, or is it needed to include locally more physics in
351
the flow equations? Tackling the problem needs simply increasing the complexity of the
local flow equations solved in a 3D block respecting the structure and then proceed with a
sensitivity analysis of the models to parameters. The enhancement : single continuum
dual continuum dual-continuum + hyperbolic wave propagation (see above) would
inform on the relevance of adding or leaving out some mechanisms in the flow equations for
a better understanding of measured data. Conversely, the sensitivity analysis while
degrading the model would report on the capability of data to conceal information on the
different mechanisms ruling flow in the fractured karstic aquifer. Notably, this topic
remains a key question, unresolved for the moment, because very often the same set of data
can be inverted with the same accuracy for different conceptualization of flow in the system.
Incidentally another problem hampers for the moment the passage from a 3D block of
seismic velocities to its equivalent in terms of hydraulic conductivity distributions. As stated
above it is quite straightforward to build a prior estimate of the conductivity block by
copying it on the distribution of seismic velocities. But it is not sure at all that this block
would result in a reasonable fitting of interference data. A close look at interference tests
performed over the HES shows that they mix reciprocal and non reciprocal responses. It is
reminded that reciprocity, as defined by Lorenz with reference to electromagnetic fields,
states that for a given process in a heterogeneous medium (e.g., Darcian flow in a porous
medium) a stress at a location A yields a response at location B which coincides with the
response in A due to an equivalent stress in B. In the present case of the HES, pumping a
constant flow rate at well A may generate transient pressure drawdowns in well B that
differ from the pressure response in A due to pumping in B. In these conditions, a 3D flow
simulator for a single continuum based on the mass balance principle and Darcy's law
should be discarded since it can be proved that this physical configuration always yields
reciprocity irrespective the degree of heterogeneity in the medium and the boundary
conditions (Delay et al., 2011). For 2D applications as discussed above, reciprocity gaps are
damped by the integration of flow along the vertical direction making that hydraulic
conductivity is integrated over the wetted thickness of the aquifer. For 3D flow with the aim
of seeking accurately whether or not high-resolution seismic data coincide with hydraulic
conductivity distribution, using non-reciprocal data for inverting a model which renders
reciprocity would probably yield artifacts hardly graspable at this stage of our knowledge
on the problem. Current studies (Delay et al., 2011) are analyzing the possible source of non
reciprocity in the existence of inertial effects, non linear behavior as regard flow of the
karstic features riddling the aquifer, complex flow as that in dual media, etc. These peculiar
behaviors of the HES aquifer are incentive to first revisit the physics of a 3D flow model
before proposing a block of hydraulic conductivity conditioned on both high-resolution
seismic data and hydraulic tests.
5. Conclusion
We have shown with field examples how seismic and acoustic methods can be used to
estimate porosity and condition inversion of hydraulic conductivity fields of geological
formations for 3D models of reservoir.
The first field example concerns the study of the porous layers associated with the
Oxfordian formation. A high resolution 3D seismic survey covering an area of about 4 km
was recorded. The processing gave rise to a time migrated 3D block. After migration, a
model-based stratigraphic inversion provided a 3D cube of impedance after calibration at
352
several wells. A porosity vs. impedance relationship, obtained by using density, acoustic
velocity, and porosity ( NMR) logs recorded in the wells, was used to convert the 3D
impedance into porosity. The 3D cube makes it possible to provide 3D imaging of the
connectivity of the porous bodies. A porosity cut-off of 21% was applied to extract the
porous bodies with the best hydraulic conductivity within the porous layers. In order to
complement the hydrogeological knowledge of the Oxfordian formation and to evaluate the
power of the acoustic method to predict permeable zones, a full waveform acoustic log was
recorded in an experimental well. The permeable zones detected by the acoustic logging
were validated by hydraulic tests and conductivity measurements conducted later on . The
absence of active hydraulic fracture in this borehole was confirmed by hydrogeological tests
and acoustic logs.
The second field example concerns a near surface karstic reservoir. Both surface seismic
refraction and seismic reflection data were recorded on the experimental hydrogeological
site that has been developed for several years near Poitiers. Seismic reflection data enabled
us to derive a 3D seismic pseudo-velocity block. Refraction tomography applied to the field
data is conducive: (i) to obtain a complete velocity model in the first 35m; (ii) to map the top
of the karstic reservoir; (iii) to detect the main corridor of fractures; (iv) to be sure that no
cavities are present in the first 35 m. The velocity model obtained by refraction tomographic
inversion was used to extend the 3D velocity block obtained by reflection survey to the 035
m depth interval. The 3D seismic pseudo-velocity block reveals a large heterogeneity of the
aquifer reservoir in the horizontal and vertical planes. The low-velocity areas were found to
correspond to the conductive levels and regions, as identified from well logging and flow
interference tests. In order to quantify the porosity variations within that aquifer, the
seismic-interval velocities were first converted into resistivity values. For that purpose, the
empirical relationship between seismic velocity and true formation resistivity proposed by
Faust (1953) was used. Resistivity values were then converted into porosity values, by using
Archie's law (1942). The resulting 3D seismic pseudo-porosity block revealed three highporosity, presumably-water-productive, layers, at depths of 35-40, 85-87 and 110-115 m. The
85-87 m-depth layer is the most porous one, with bodies of a porosity higher than 30%, that
represent the karstic part of the reservoir. That seismic pseudo-porosity distribution appears
to be consistent with the available hydrogeological data recorded at the site. It is therefore
very likely that the high seismic-porosity zones (higher than 30 %) of the geophysical 3D
block correspond to water producing layers. However, the conversion of that pseudoporosity block into a dynamic-flow-property block is under investigations. In the case of the
HES showing evidences of karstic features yielding complex flow and sometimes nonreciprocal behavior, the passage from seismic velocities to hydraulic conductivity is less
straightforward as simply copying the block of conductivity on the block of velocities.
However, we point out that high resolution seismic profiles inform with precision on the
location of, e.g., conduit flow compared with matrix flow. To conclude, the very high
resolution seismic survey of that near-surface aquifer makes it possible the construction of a
3D seismic-porosity block providing a new insight to a deterministic high-resolution model
of reservoir.
6. Acknowledgment
We thank Andra for permission to use the data presented in the first field example. We
thank Daniel Guillemot and Beatrice Yven for their valuable help and advice.
353
We thank the University of Poitiers and IFP Energies nouvelles for permission to use the
data presented in the second field example. We thank Gilles Porel and Bernard Bourbiaux
for very useful discussions on various occasions, specifically for their advice and help in the
interpretation of hydro geological data.
7. References
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Bernard, S.; Delay, F. & Porel, G. (2006). A new method of data inversion for the
identification of fractal characteristics and homogenization scale from hydraulic
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Bourbiaux, B.; Callot, J.P.; Doligez, B.; Fleury, M.; Gaumet, F.; Guiton , M.; Lenormand, R.;
Mari, J.L. & Pourpak, H. (2007). Multi-Scale Characterization of a Heterogeneous
Aquifer Through the Integration of Geological, Geophysical and Flow Data: A Case
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tests in both homogeneous and fractal dual media. Adv Water Resour, 30(3):314-34.
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Delay, F.; Ackerer, P. & Guadagnini A. (2011). Theoretical analysis and field evidences of
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Ferry, S.; Pellenard, P.; Collin, P.-Y.; Thierry, J.; Marchand, D.; Deconinck, J.-F.; Robin, C.;
Carpentier, C.; Durlet, C. & Curial, A. (2007). Synthesis of recent stratigraphic data
on Bathonian to Oxfordian deposits of the eastern Paris Basin. Mmoire de la
Socit Gologique Franaise, special issue, 178, 37-57.
Glangeaud, F. & Mari, J.L. (2000). Signal Processing in Geosciences, CD, Editions Technip,
ISBN 2-7108-0768-8, Paris, France.
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Kaczmaryk, A. & Delay, F.(2007a). Interpretation of interference pumping tests in fractured

limestone by means of dual-medium approaches. Journal of Hydrology 337, 133146.doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.01.004.
Kaczmaryk, A. & Delay, F.(2007b).Improving dual-porosity-medium approaches to account
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10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.09.037.
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Mari, J.L. & Porel, G. (2007). 3D seismic imaging of a near surface heterogeneous aquifer: a
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Mari, J.L.; Porel, G. & Bourbiaux, B. (2009). From 3D seismic to 3D reservoir deterministic
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Part 5
Modelling and Hydraulic Conductivity
18
Effects of Model Layer Simplification Using
Composite Hydraulic Properties
Nicasio Seplveda and Eve L. Kuniansky
U. S. Geological Survey
United States
1. Introduction
Groundwater provides much of the fresh drinking water to more than 1.5 billion people in
the world (Clarke et al., 1996) and in the United States more that 50 percent of citizens rely
on groundwater for drinking water (Solley et al., 1998). As aquifer systems are developed
for water supply, the hydrologic system is changed. Water pumped from the aquifer system
initially can come from some combination of inducing more recharge, water permanently
removed from storage, and decreased groundwater discharge. Once a new equilibrium is
achieved, all of the pumpage must come from induced recharge and decreased discharge
(Alley et al., 1999). Further development of groundwater resources may result in reductions
of surface water runoff and base flows. Competing demands for groundwater resources
require good management. Adequate data to characterize the aquifers and confining units of
the system, like hydrologic boundaries, groundwater levels, streamflow, and groundwater
pumping and climatic data for recharge estimation are to be collected in order to quantify
the effects of groundwater withdrawals on wetlands, streams, and lakes. Once collected,
three-dimensional (3D) groundwater flow models can be developed and calibrated and used
as a tool for groundwater management. The main hydraulic parameters that comprise a
regional or subregional model of an aquifer system are the hydraulic conductivity and
storage properties of the aquifers and confining units (hydrogeologic units) that confine the
system.
Many 3D groundwater flow models used to help assess groundwater/surface-water
interactions require calculating effective or composite hydraulic properties of multilayered lithologic units within a hydrogeologic unit. The calculation of composite hydraulic
properties stems from the need to characterize groundwater flow using coarse model
layering in order to reduce simulation times while still representing the flow through the
system accurately. The accuracy of flow models with simplified layering and hydraulic
properties will depend on the effectiveness of the methods used to determine composite
hydraulic properties from a number of lithologic units.
The computation of the composite transmissivity for heterogeneous aquifers was presented
for steady flow by Copty et al. (2006) by using a weighted average of the log transforms of
the locally measured transmissivity within the aquifers. This probabilistic approach leads to
a large-scale transmissivity that is approximately equal to the geometric mean of local
transmissivity. The large-scale transmissivity has been shown to be larger than the
geometric mean of local tests at site-specific studies (Snchez-Vila et al., 1996). Simplification
358
of model layers with composite hydraulic properties is not always feasible (Wen & GmezHernndez, 1996). Calculation of composite hydraulic properties has been mostly limited in
the literature to hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity. Feng et al. (2007) computed
composite hydraulic conductivity using the constant-flux assumption of Darcys law within
a finite-difference block by integrating, over the thickness of the block, the effective
pressure-head dependent hydraulic conductivity divided by the head difference within the
block. Parameter estimation of hydraulic properties through inverse modeling was used by
Ward et al. (2006) to derive the composite hydraulic conductivity in the unsaturated zone.
This chapter evaluates the effects of simplifying hydraulic property layering within an
unconfined aquifer and confining unit system that overlies a deeper confined aquifer, which
is the principal water supply. This goal is accomplished in three steps. First, reference values
of hydraulic properties are derived for all of the lithologic units identified in the unconfined
aquifer and confining unit at two well fields in central Florida (USA) through inverse
modeling of aquifer-test data. Second, simplified representations of the referenced lithologic
units at the well fields are constructed by computing composite hydraulic properties for
several aggregated units from the reanalysis of the aquifer-test data. Finally, the effects of
lithologic simplification and the performance of the methods used to compute composite
hydraulic properties are evaluated using fully 3D and quasi-3D flow models in which the
number of lithologic units is gradually reduced. The most effective composite flow model is
identified from flow residuals. A shallow and a deep well field in the surficial aquifer
system (SAS) were selected to conduct aquifer tests to define a hydraulic conductivity field
with the highest resolution possible.
Four multi-observation-well aquifer tests at two well fields were conducted and analyzed.
The head data and the hydraulic properties determined for the two well fields from the
analysis of the aquifer-test data were used to develop several conceptual 3D groundwater
flow models by gradually using fewer layers to determine acceptable levels of layer
simplification for simulation of water levels and leakage rates at the two well fields.
Additionally, quasi-3D flow models were compared to fully 3D models (McDonald &
Harbaugh, 1988) to assess the effects of assuming only a vertical flow component (quasi-3D)
versus allowing both vertical and horizontal flow components in the leaky confining unit
(fully 3D). The reader is referred to Harbaugh et al. (2000) for further details establishing the
difference between these two conceptual flows.
Results of simulated flows and heads with a simplified number of layers are compared to
those simulated with the most discretized set of hydraulic properties derived from the
aquifer-test data analyses to assess the feasibility of preserving the main flow features with a
simplified layering model. Multiple flow simulations generated from the methods of
calculating composite hydraulic properties are compared to identify potentially unrealistic
conceptual flows. This comparison allows a quantitative assessment of the simulated flow
residuals introduced by the simplification.
2. Derivation of preliminary hydraulic parameters through slug-test data

analyses
The SAS, composed mostly of sand, silt, clay, and gravel, is the uppermost water-bearing
unit in most of central Florida and overlays the Floridan aquifer system (FAS). Slug tests
were performed in two well fields in the SAS; one named Carrot Barn located in northwest
Lake County and another one named Lyonia Preserve located in southwest Volusia County,
Effects of Model Layer Simplification Using Composite Hydraulic Properties
359
Florida (Fig. 1). The analyses of the slug test data resulted in the derivation of horizontal
hydraulic conductivity from water-level displacement data recorded after introducing or
withdrawing a closed cylinder to or from the wellbore. The stress exerted on the aquifer by
the removal or injection of a closed cylinder is considered small as it involves no pumping
and thus, the hydraulic conductivity values obtained from the analysis of slug test data
apply to a maximum of 1 to 2 meters of open interval to the aquifer. The length of this open
interval is considered to be of limited spatial range when compared to an aquifer test where
the production well stresses a larger percentage of the aquifer thickness; a percentage that
depends on the design of the production well.
Fig. 1. Locations of the surficial aquifer system well fields in (a) Carrot Barn, Lake County
and Lyonia Preserve, Volusia County, Florida.
Aquifer responses to slug tests are classified depending on the shape of the graph of the
water levels as they return to equilibrium after the injection or removal of the closed
cylinder. Responses are classified as overdamped (Bouwer & Rice, 1976) when the water
levels return to equilibrium following the shape of a slowly decaying exponential, or as
underdamped (Van der Kamp, 1976) when the water levels vary sinusoidally while
returning to equilibrium. Hydraulic conductivity values resulting from the analyses of
underdamped aquifer responses are greater than those from overdamped responses.
While an overdamped aquifer response to a slug test is typical for a clay, silt, fine silty
sand, or low porosity limestone, an underdamped aquifer response can occur for gravel,
well-sorted sand, or karstified limestone (media with large diffusivity, defined as
transmissivity divided by storage). Underdamped water-level responses were recorded at
wells L-0892, L-0894, and L-0901 (Fig. 2a) and in wells V-0876, V-0877, V-0878, V-0881, V0882, and V-0883 (Fig. 2b). Overdamped responses were recorded at the remaining wells
shown in figure 2.
Results of the horizontal hydraulic conductivities from slug test data are shown in the cross
sections in figure 2. These hydraulic conductivity values derived from the slug tests analysis
correspond to the immediate vicinity of the well open to the aquifer. These values are
compared to those obtained from the drawdown analysis of aquifer test data, which
correspond to a much larger spatial scale than that reflected by slug tests. In turn, these
aquifer test results are then compared to regional hydraulic conductivity values derived
from groundwater flow simulation to provide a perspective of scale variability under
regional flow.
360
Fig. 2. Lithologic units identified in the fully penetrating well (FPW) and hydraulic
conductivity values derived from slug tests performed at open intervals of (a) Carrot Barn
SAS wells and (b) Lyonia Preserve SAS wells, in meters per day. [Altitudes refer to the
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (Snyder, 1987)]
The complexity of the intricate layering shown in figure 2 is exemplified by the relatively
wide range of hydraulic conductivity values derived from slug tests. Analysis of drawdown
data derived from larger scale aquifer tests can result in hydraulic conductivity values that
depict a more regional perspective than the highly discretized layering properties shown in
figure 2.
3. Derivation of reference hydraulic properties through aquifer-test data

analyses
Multi-observation well aquifer tests were conducted at the Carrot Barn and the Lyonia
Preserve well fields (Fig. 1). Wells open to the SAS, an unconfined aquifer, were pumped to
determine the hydraulic properties of all lithologic units identified above the generally
confined Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). These lithologic units were identified while drilling
fully (FPW) and partially penetrating production wells (PPW). Aquifer tests for both FPW
and PPW were conducted to generate the drawdown data that allow the computation of
most hydraulic properties. When the entire aquifer thickness is stressed by pumping from
the FPW, a predominantly radial flow is generated towards the well. Such flow generally
allows the calculation of the hydraulic properties of all the lithologic units identified in the
SAS, with the exception of the vertical hydraulic conductivity. The calculation of the vertical
to horizontal hydraulic conductivity ratio of the lithologic units in the SAS can be obtained
from the aquifer response to pumping from a PPW (Hantush, 1964) because such stress
generates a non-negligible vertical flow component towards the well.
The SAS overlies a leaky confining unit called the intermediate confining unit (ICU).
Observation wells tapping the SAS in a shallow water-table setting (Carrot Barn well field,
Fig. 1a) and in a deep water-table setting (Lyonia Preserve well field, Fig. 1b), were screened
to the upper, middle, and lower depths of the SAS and to the ICU to isolate the water-level
response at these depths. Flow in the SAS and ICU at each one of these well fields should be
regarded as independent flow subsystems of the larger SAS, ICU, and UFA flow system in
east-central Florida because of the different number of lithologic units within the SAS and
ICU identified at these two well fields.
361
Although the SAS is generally unconfined with discontinuous clay lenses that make this
aquifer semiconfined in some areas. The SAS consists predominantly of fine-to-coarse
grained quartz sand with varying amounts of silt and clay. The sediments in the SAS
generally grade into less permeable silty or clayey sands with increasing depth. The ICU is
composed primarily of phosphatic clays, silts, and sands. The ICU separates the SAS from
the UFA, which is composed of fractured carbonate rocks (Miller, 1986). The UFA is the
major aquifer used for water supply in Florida.
Four aquifer tests were conducted, two at each well field, by pumping the FPW and PPW
during separate tests. Each aquifer test began after water levels had reached static
equilibrium. At the Carrot Barn well field, both FPW and PPW were pumped at 5.8 x 10-3
m3/s for 70 hours. At the Lyonia Preserve well field, the FPW was pumped at 6.2 x 10-3 m3/s
for 67 hours and the PPW was pumped at 4.5 x 10-3 m3/s for 30 hours. Pumping rates for
each test were constant. Horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity, specific yield, and
specific storage at various depths in the SAS and ICU were determined at each well field.
Walton (2008) contends that multiple observation well aquifer tests should be analyzed with
more sophisticated techniques, such as the use of numerical models with regression-based
parameter estimation techniques. The four tests were analyzed by developing radial,
axisymmetric groundwater flow models. Radial axisymmetric models are typically used to
approximately simulate 3D flow to wells (Reilly & Harbaugh, 1993; Langevin, 2008). The
computer code MODOPTIM (Halford, 2006), based on MODFLOW-96 (Harbaugh &
McDonald, 1996), was used to derive the hydraulic properties for each lithologic unit using
regression-based parameter estimation techniques to minimize the sum of square residuals
(SSR) between measured and simulated drawdown (Figs. 3, 4). Analysis of the lithologic
data from drilling the FPW and PPW at the Carrot Barn well field identified five individual
lithologic units in the SAS and one lithologic unit in the ICU (Fig. 5a). A similar analysis of
data from the Lyonia Preserve well field indicated the presence of three lithologic units in
the SAS and one lithologic unit in the ICU (Fig. 5b).
The Carrot Barn well field has an average land surface altitude of about 20 m above the
NGVD of 1929 with the farthest well about 27 m away from the FPW. The Lyonia Preserve
well field has an average land surface altitude of 14 m above the NGVD of 1929 with the
farthest well about 15 m away from the FPW. The aquifer tests were designed to derive
hydraulic properties at the local scale of the well fields and the numerical grids used to
simulate flow in these well fields were spaced radially to consider the same local scale.
Fig. 3. Simulated (solid lines) and measured (dashed lines) water levels at observation wells
in the Carrot Barn well field after pumping from the (a) FPW and (b) PPW.
362
Fig. 4. Simulated (solid lines) and measured (dashed lines) water levels at observation wells
in the Lyonia Preserve well field after pumping from the (a) FPW and (b) PPW.
The model grid used for the analysis of the aquifer-test data consisted of rows of uniform
thickness of 0.305 m in the SAS, ICU, and UFA (vertical discretization) with a uniform
hydraulic property assigned to each model layer (row) representing the lithologic unit
identified in figure 5. The number of rows in each model grid can be calculated by dividing
the thicknesses of the lithologic units shown in figure 5 by 0.305 m. A high resolution
vertical grid was used to minimize truncation errors in the simulated heads in each layer.
The column spacing (radial distance from the well) consisted of 150 columns that gradually
increased in width from 0.12 to 2,593 m for a total distance of 40,234 m, extending beyond
the radius of influence for the pumping rates applied in each test. There was no rainfall
during any of the aquifer tests and thus, no-flow boundaries were imposed at the top of the
SAS and at the lateral boundary away from the well. Models were calibrated to measured
drawdown. The high transmissivity of the UFA and the fact that only the SAS was pumped
were the reasons for choosing a constant-head boundary at the bottom of the UFA layer.
The computation of the hydraulic properties for all lithologic units identified in the SAS
represents the highest vertical discretization of layers for the Carrot Barn (Fig. 5a) and
Lyonia Preserve (Fig. 5b) well fields. Specific yield, computed only for the uppermost layer
of the SAS, was 0.118 and 0.266 for the Carrot Barn and Lyonia Preserve well fields,
respectively. These specific yield values were applied to the uppermost layer of the SAS in
all subsequent simplified conceptual flow models. Specific yield values determined from the
aquifer-test data for the uppermost simulated layer were kept constant from one simplified
model to another as the specific yield used for the uppermost simulated layer.
Pumping from the SAS did not cause measurable drawdown in the UFA, thus, hydraulic
properties for the UFA could not be estimated from the aquifer-test drawdown data. The
simulated horizontal hydraulic conductivity for the UFA at the Carrot Barn (30.1 m/d) and
Lyonia Preserve (82.5 m/d) well fields were obtained from model-simulated values
reported by McGurk & Presley (2002). These hydraulic properties for the UFA are not used
in the simulated layer simplification process because composite hydraulic properties are
derived only for the lithologic units in the SAS and ICU. Vertical hydraulic conductivities
were obtained by assuming a vertical to horizontal hydraulic conductivity anisotropy ratio
of 0.01 because such a ratio is the most prevailing in the UFA flow simulations in eastcentral Florida (McGurk & Presley, 2002; Seplveda, 2002). Specific storage for the UFA (Fig.
5) was assigned based on water and limestone compressibility values (Domenico, 1972).
363
Fig. 5. Highest possible lithologic unit discretization within the SAS at (a) Carrot Barn well
field and at (b) Lyonia Preserve well field and hydraulic properties derived from the
analysis of aquifer-test data. The abbreviated vertical axis indicates relatively thick layers.
A comparison of the horizontal hydraulic conductivities derived from the analysis of slug
test data for the cross sections in figure 2 and those hydraulic conductivity values derived
from the analysis of aquifer test data for the appropriate lithologic units in figure 5 indicate
a trend in the relation between these two sets of values. At the Carrot Barn well field,
average hydraulic conductivity values from slug test data for wells with open intervals to
lithologic units 2 to 5 in the SAS were 9.15, 0.62, 1.85, and 5.7 meters per day, respectively.
The corresponding hydraulic conductivity values derived from the aquifer tests for the same
lithologic units were 18.7, 1.71, 3.23, and 13.7 meters per day (Fig. 5a). At the Lyonia
Preserve well field, average hydraulic conductivity values from slug test data for lithologic
units 1 to 3 in the SAS were 51.5, 26.4, and 18.4 meters per day, respectively. The
corresponding hydraulic conductivity values derived from the aquifer tests for the same
lithologic units were 65.7, 68.2, and 49.6 meters per day (Fig. 5b). The consistently higher
hydraulic conductivity values derived from the aquifer tests indicate a slightly larger scale
of flow is accounted for over a larger area to better represent flow more areally extensive.
The different magnitudes and scales of aquifer stresses generated by slug and aquifer tests
result in different hydraulic conductivity values. The identification of this variability in
hydraulic conductivity resulting from slug tests and aquifer tests is a result of the high
degree of discretization used to identify the vertical extent of uniform soil grains of each
lithologic unit as shown in figures 2 and 5.
4. Derivation of composite hydraulic properties for simplified model layering

Composite hydraulic properties for simplified model layering can be derived by computing
equivalent hydraulic properties for aggregated layers using several methods. The first
method presented in this chapter is to compute the thickness weighted average horizontal
364
hydraulic conductivity and specific storage and the thickness weighted harmonic mean
vertical hydraulic conductivity for a reduced number of layers in the unconfined aquifer
and the leaky confining unit. The second method is to compute hydraulic properties by
using the observed head from aquifer tests and applying the regression-based parameter
estimation (PE) techniques (Poeter et al., 2005; Halford, 2006; Hill & Tiedeman, 2007). As the
number of simulated layers in the unconfined aquifer is decreased, the performance of each
model is assessed by analyzing changes in simulated heads under aquifer test conditions
and by simulating flow exchanges between the hydrogeologic units under hypothetical but
realistic recharge rates to the unconfined aquifer and withdrawals from the confined
aquifer.
Composite horizontal hydraulic conductivity K hc , and vertical hydraulic conductivity K zc ,
and specific storage Ssc , from any set of L lithologic units (LUs) are calculated from the
equations:
K hc =
K h 1 b1 + K h 2 b2 + + K hN bL
,
b1 + b2 + + bL
K zc =
Ssc =
b1 + b2 + + bL
, and
b1
b
b
+ 2 ++ L
K z1 K z 2
Kz L
Ss 1 b1 + Ss 2 b2 + + SsL bL
,
b1 + b2 + + bL
(1)
(2)
(3)
where b1 , b2 , , and bL are the thicknesses; K h 1 , K h 2 , , and K h L are the horizontal

hydraulic conductivity; Ss 1 , Ss 2 , , and SsL are the specific storage; and K z1 , K z 2 , , and
K z L are the vertical hydraulic conductivity of each LU. Eqs. (1) and (2) are derived in
Bouwer (1978). Assuming that the porosity and water density remain nearly constant
among layers, Eq. (3) states that aquifer matrix compressibility can be averaged over layer
thickness, thus it mimics the form of Eq. (1). Note that Eq. (3) is not used to estimate the
specific yield of the uppermost layer of the unconfined aquifer because specific yield, being
several orders of magnitude greater than specific storage multiplied by layer thickness, was
used for the uppermost layer of the SAS in all conceptual flow models.
Composite hydraulic properties from an arbitrary number of layers using PE techniques are
derived in this chapter by minimizing the normalized residuals between the measured
drawdown during the aquifer tests and the simulated drawdown by models where several
LUs become a single composite layer. The head residuals in the unconfined aquifer are used
to determine if the main flow features in this aquifer are preserved by each simplified
conceptual flow model with the use of a radial, axisymmetric 2D flow model. The feasibility
of each simplified model to preserve the main flow features in both the unconfined and
confined aquifers requires a 3D groundwater flow model that simulates recharge to the
unconfined aquifer and withdrawals from the confined aquifer.
The heads in the SAS, in the ICU, in the UFA, and the leakage rates to the UFA are the
observations used to assess the accuracy of the simplified conceptual flow models by
comparing these flow characteristics with those simulated by the highly discretized model.
If Di and Si are subscripts used to denote flow parameters in the highly discretized model
365
and the simplified conceptual flow model with a decreased number of layers, respectively,
then dimensionless head and leakage rate residuals can be calculated from:
hSAS hSAS
Si
hDi
SASDi
i =1
N
N hICU hICU
Di
Si
,
i =1
hICUD
i
hUFA hUFA
Si
hDi
UFADi
i =1
N
N L L
Si
, and Di
L
Di
i =1
, (4)
where the heads in the SAS are hSAS D and hSAS S , the heads in the ICU are hICUD and hICUS ,
i
i
i
i
the heads in the UFA are hUFA D and hUFA S , the leakage rates to the UFA are L D and L S ,
i
i
i
i
and N is the number of simulated or measured head or leakage rate points. The leakage
rates to the UFA were computed from the application of Darcys law:
LDi =
K zD hICUD hUFAD
i
bICU ,UFA
and LSi =
K zS hICUS hUFAS
i
bICU ,UFA
),
(5)
where bICU ,UFA is the vertical distance between the center of the ICU and the UFA layers,
and K zD and K zS are the equivalent vertical hydraulic conductivity between the lower half
of the ICU and the upper half of the UFA layer, computed from Eq. (2) using the thicknesses
of these two units.
5. Composite hydraulic properties for model layer simplification of the

unconfined aquifer and confining unit
Eqs. (1)-(3) use lithologic thicknesses to calculate composite hydraulic properties to simplify
model layering. However, the use of regression-based PE techniques (Halford, 2006)
requires using the radial axisymmetric 2D flow models similar to the ones used to analyze
the aquifer-test data, but with simplified model layers and calibrated to the same aquifertest data. The models that simulated the combined flow in the SAS and ICU as one lithologic
unit (quasi-2D flow model) were developed assuming an ICU layer with zero specific
storage and zero horizontal hydraulic conductivity in Eqs. (1) and (3), such that only vertical
flow can occur in the ICU.
The most simplified flow model used a quasi-2D approach to represent the effect of only
vertical flow in the ICU. In this approach, the head and storage changes in the ICU are not
simulated. The performance of the two methods of computing composite hydraulic
properties for the various simplified models was assessed by examining the aquifer test
residuals between measured water levels in the SAS and the simulated water levels by the
2D radial axisymmetric flow models. The computed root-mean square residuals (RMSRs)
for each well field were used to characterize the accuracy of each simplified model to
simulate flow.
A comparison of all root-mean square residuals (RMSRs) between measured and simulated
aquifer-test drawdown in the SAS at the Carrot Barn well field shows that the highest
increase in RMSRs occurred from the highest layering discretization available, or the 8 LU
radial axisymmetric flow model, to the 3 LU or quasi-2D flow model (Table 1), whether
using average hydraulic properties from Eqs. (1)-(3), or from a regression-based PE
technique. Similarly, the highest increase in RMSRs at the Lyonia Preserve well field
occurred from the highest lithologic unit discretization available, or the 6 LU radial
366
axisymmetric flow model, to the 3 LU or quasi-2D flow model (Table 2). The largest changes
in flow characteristics occurred from fully 2D to quasi-2D models. In both cases, the
regression-based PE technique resulted in lower RMSR values when compared to the
methods that used Eqs. (1)-(3) to calculate composite hydraulic properties for the simplified
layers in each model.
RMSRs, in meters
Conceptual
Flow Model
Using Eqs. (1)-(3)
Using regression-based PE technique
8 LU (FPW)
Not applicable
1.60 x 10-2
6 LU (FPW)
1.00 x 10-1
3.65 x 10-2
4 LU (FPW)
3.18 x 10-1
1.08 x 10-1
3 LU (FPW)
3.95 x 10-1
1.98 x 10-1
8 LU (PPW)
Not applicable
7.00 x 10-3
6 LU (PPW)
1.72 x 10-1
3.72 x 10-2
4 LU (PPW)
3.48 x 10-1
1.98 x 10-1
3 LU (PPW)
3.96 x 10-1
2.12 x 10-1
Table 1. Root-mean-square residuals (RMSRs) between measured and simulated drawdown

at observation wells in the surficial aquifer system (SAS) of the Carrot Barn well field due to
pumping from the fully (FPW) or partially penetrating well (PPW) tapping the SAS. [RMSRs
were computed from the radial axisymmetric 2D flow models based on 3,335 and 3,367
measured drawdown points for the FPW and PPW tests, respectively, for the original
8 lithologic unit (LU) model and the simplified 6 LU, 4 LU, and 3 LU models; PE, parameter
estimation. Not applicable indicates, for the 8 LU (FPW) and 8 LU (PPW) conceptual flow
models, that these two are the highest layering discretization models available from aquifer
tests, or not simplified models. For these, Eqs. (1)-(3) did not have to be used to generate
parameters for simplified models]
Composite hydraulic properties for the simplified models derived from Eqs. (1)-(3) or from
regression-based PE techniques at each well field showed that the largest variations
occurred in the vertical hydraulic conductivity (Tables 3 and 4). The main difference
between composite hydraulic properties for the simplified conceptual flow models derived
from Eqs. (1)-(3) and from the regression-based PE technique was the composite vertical
hydraulic conductivity derived for the 3 LU models for Lyonia Preserve, where the
difference was one order of magnitude (Table 4). This difference could be explained by the
contrasts in derived vertical hydraulic conductivity between the ICU and its overlying
lithologic unit. Such a large contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity between the ICU and
its overlying unit was not observed in the Carrot Barn well field (Table 3). The largest
increases in RMSRs from one conceptual model to another coincided with the largest
contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity between two contacting LUs. In particular, a large
contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity between the lowermost LU of the SAS and the
ICU for the Lyonia Preserve models caused large increases in RMSRs. These large increases
367
did not occur for the Carrot Barn models due to a smaller contrast in vertical hydraulic
conductivity between the lowermost LU of the SAS and the ICU.
Conceptual
Flow Model
RMSRs, in meters
Using Eqs. (1)-(3)
Using regression-based PE technique
6 LU (FPW)
Not applicable
4.09 x 10-3
5 LU (FPW)
6.78 x 10-3
4.18 x 10-3
4 LU (FPW)
5.11 x 10-3
4.19 x 10-3
3 LU (FPW)
2.58 x 10-1
1.86 x 10-1
6 LU (PPW)
Not applicable
8.74 x 10-3
5 LU (PPW)
9.18 x 10-3
8.76 x 10-3
4 LU (PPW)
8.85 x 10-3
8.77 x 10-3
3 LU (PPW)
1.69 x 10-1
1.33 x 10-1
Table 2. Root-mean-square residuals (RMSRs) between measured and simulated drawdown

at observation wells in the surficial aquifer system (SAS) of the Lyonia Preserve well field
due to pumping from the fully (FPW) or partially penetrating well (PPW) tapping the SAS.
[RMSRs were computed from the radial axisymmetric 2D flow models based on 3,205 and
1,416 measured drawdown points for the FPW and PPW tests, respectively, for the original
6 lithologic unit (LU) model and the simplified 5 LU, 4 LU, and 3 LU models; PE, parameter
estimation. Not applicable indicates, for the 6 LU (FPW) and 6 LU (PPW) conceptual flow
models, that these two are the highest layering discretization models available from aquifer
tests, or not simplified models. For these, Eqs. (1)-(3) did not have to be used to generate
parameters for simplified models]
A substantially thicker UFA than the SAS or the ICU results in a larger transmissivity of the
UFA than the SAS or ICU. This applies to both the Carrot Barn and the Lyonia Preserve
sites. Hydraulic properties of the UFA for layer numbers 7 and 8 remained unchanged
throughout the calculation of composite hydraulic properties because the hydraulic
conductivity and thickness of the UFA is much greater than those of the ICU. Thus,
pumping from the SAS does not generate a large enough stress to cause drawdown in the
UFA.
368
LU
number
SAS - 1
SAS - 2
SAS - 3
SAS - 4
SAS - 5
ICU - 6
UFA - 7
UFA - 8
6 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
1.59 x 10-1
1.53 x 10-4
1.71 x 10-3
4 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
4 LU
model PE
1.59 x 10-1
1.53 x 10-4
1.71 x 10-3
1.87 x 101
9.93 x 10-5
2.65 x 100
1.87 x 101
9.93 x 10-5
2.65 x 100
6.93 x 100
1.64 x 10-4
1.13 x 10-2
7.94 x 100
1.54 x 10-4
8.08 x 10-2
1.11 x 100
2.03 x 10-4
1.50 x 10-2
1.36 x 10-2
6.11 x 10-4
1.57 x 10-3
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
6.60 x 10-1
3.20 x 10-4
8.05 x 10-2
1.36 x 10-2
6.11 x 10-4
1.57 x 10-3
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
1.36 x 10-2
6.11 x 10-4
1.57 x 10-3
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
1.36 x 10-2
6.11 x 10-4
1.57 x 10-3
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
6 LU
model PE
3 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
3 LU
model PE
6.93 x 100
1.64 x 10-4
5.22 x 10-3
5.67 x 100
7.19 x 10-5
4.71 x 10-3
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
3.01 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
3.01 x 10-1
Table 3. Hydraulic properties of the SAS, ICU, and UFA, for the simplified 6 LU, 4 LU, and
3 LU conceptual 2D radial axisymmetric flow models in the Carrot Barn well field, derived
from the 8 LU model properties either using Eqs. (1)-(3) or regression-based parameter
estimation (PE) with MODOPTIM. [Listed properties are: horizontal hydraulic conductivity
(m/d), specific storage (1/m), and vertical hydraulic conductivity (m/d)]
LU
number
SAS - 1
5 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
6.57 x 101
4.91 x 10-5
3.29 x 100
SAS - 2
SAS - 3
ICU - 4
UFA - 5
UFA - 6
6.15 x 101
5.71 x 10-5
6.07 x 100
4.38 x 10-2
9.08 x 10-4
4.38 x 10-4
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
5 LU
model PE
6.57 x 101
4.91 x 10-5
3.29 x 100
6.28 x 101
6.13 x 10-5
5.65 x 100
4.38 x 10-2
9.08 x 10-4
4.38 x 10-4
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
4 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
4 LU
model PE
6.22 x 101
5.57 x 10-5
5.32 x 100
6.29 x 101
6.24 x 10-5
5.66 x 100
4.38 x 10-2
9.08 x 10-4
4.38 x 10-4
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
4.38 x 10-2
9.08 x 10-4
4.38 x 10-4
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
3 LU
model
Eqs. (1)-(3)
3 LU
model PE
6.22 x 101
5.57 x 10-5
1.26 x 10-3
1.44 x 101
1.19 x 10-4
4.39 x 10-4
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
8.25 x 101
1.64 x 10-6
8.25 x 10-1
Table 4. Hydraulic properties of the SAS, ICU, and UFA, for the simplified 5 LU, 4 LU, and
3 LU conceptual 2D radial axisymmetric flow models in the Lyonia Preserve well field,
derived from the 6 LU model properties either using Eqs. (1)-(3) or regression-based
parameter estimation (PE) with MODOPTIM. [Listed properties are: horizontal hydraulic
conductivity (m/d), specific storage (1/m), and vertical hydraulic conductivity (m/d)].
369
6. Evaluation of 3D models with simplified layers and hypothetical pumping

of the confined aquifer
Although water was pumped out of the SAS during the aquifer tests, transient 3D
groundwater flow models simulating pumping from the UFA were needed to assess the
effects of model layer simplification in the SAS and ICU on heads and flows in this twoaquifer system, because the UFA is the principal water supply. These 3D groundwater flow
models, regional in nature, were developed to simulate temporal variations in recharge to
the SAS and pumping from the UFA, and to evaluate how simulated flow changes in the
SAS and UFA might be affected by model layering simplification through the computation
of composite hydraulic properties for the SAS and ICU.
The maximum number of model layers simulated for each well field varied according to site
lithology (Fig. 5). Each model had 400 rows and 400 columns, with no-flow conditions
imposed along the lateral boundaries, either a constant-head or no-flow boundary at the
bottom of the UFA, and a specified recharge rate imposed at the top of the SAS. Square cells
80.5 m long were used to span an area of about 1,037 km2 in models for each well field. Flow
models used uniform hydraulic properties as shown in figure 5 for each simulated layer.
Composite hydraulic properties for several lithologic units were calculated for the Carrot
Barn and Lyonia Preserve models, as shown by the hydraulic properties applied to more
than one unit in Tables 3 and 4. The composite hydraulic properties for the full thicknesses
of the SAS and ICU units were calculated only for the 3 LU models, leaving the hydraulic
properties of the UFA unchanged for all models.
Changes in SAS heads, ICU heads, UFA heads, and leakage rates to the UFA were analyzed
with the transient 3D models using MODFLOW-2000 (Harbaugh et al. 2000). The combined
flow of the SAS and the ICU was simulated by using a quasi-3D flow approximation
(McDonald and Harbaugh 1988) where the composite hydraulic properties for these two
units were calculated assuming zero horizontal hydraulic conductivity and zero specific
storage in the ICU. The vertical hydraulic conductivity of the SAS and of the ICU are used in
Eq. (2) in the quasi-3D flow approximation to compute the composite vertical hydraulic
conductivity of the two, which results in a value closer to the less permeable lithologic unit.
The assumption of no horizontal flow in the ICU in a quasi-3D flow approximation causes
the SAS and ICU to be represented with a lower composite horizontal hydraulic
conductivity from Eq. (1) than in a fully 3D flow simulation. The flow residuals simulated
with a quasi-3D flow approximation are quantified and compared in this section with those
of a fully 3D flow.
Flow in the UFA for all models was simulated with two layers with equal hydraulic
properties. Hypothetical pumping wells tapped only the upper UFA lithologic unit (Fig. 5)
to isolate the effects of pumping from the UFA on the induced flow from the SAS in each
well field, to simulate a partial penetration of many pumping UFA wells in the area, and to
better assess the effect of the boundary condition applied at the bottom of the lower UFA
lithologic unit. The number of each LU in figure 5 refers to the vertical zones within the SAS,
ICU, and UFA that have distinctive hydraulic properties. Each vertical zone or LU within
the SAS, ICU, and UFA was further divided into two model layers with half the thickness
and the same hydraulic properties for each LU in Tables 3 and 4 to increase the resolution of
the simulated vertical hydraulic gradients.
Variable monthly recharge rates (Fig. 6a) were simulated, during a one-year period, in the
top 3D flow model layer of the SAS. Total simulated recharge to the SAS was 50.8 cm/year,
370
a reasonable average estimate for the area. This reasonable average recharge rate to the SAS
was used to discard recharge as a variable that could contribute to water level residuals at
observations wells in the SAS. The top 3D flow model simulates the effects of recharge,
hydraulic conductivity, pumping rates, and initial heads on simulated heads in the SAS,
ICU, and UFA. Variable monthly pumping rates were applied to six hypothetical UFA wells
distributed near the center of the grid (Fig. 6b). Measured heads in the SAS, ICU, and UFA
from nearby observation wells were used to specify initial heads for the 3D flow models.
The main hydraulic parameter that causes variations in head residuals and changes in
leakage rates to the ICU is the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity.
Fig. 6. (a) Simulated monthly recharge and pumping rates and (b) locations of simulated
pumping wells from the Upper Floridan aquifer in each model.
The simulated heads in the SAS, ICU, and UFA, and the simulated leakage rates to the UFA
with the 8 LU model for the Carrot Barn well field or with the 6 LU model for the Lyonia
Preserve well field were used as the observed heads and flows to calculate residuals
resulting from model layer simplification. The accuracy of the methods used to compute
composite hydraulic properties (Eqs. (1)-(3) and PE) for the simplified 3D flow models was
assessed by examining the RMSRs between observed and simulated SAS heads, ICU heads,
UFA heads, and leakage rates to the UFA from the overlying ICU unit. The largest RMSRs
were calculated when the composite hydraulic properties for the combined SAS and ICU
lithologic units were used to simulate a single layer (Tables 5, 6). The increase in SAS, ICU,
and UFA head RMSRs from a fully 3D to a quasi-3D model was the largest for both Lyonia
Preserve and Carrot Barn simulations than any other single-step transition in conceptual
flow models. The difference in vertical hydraulic conductivity between the lowermost LU of
the SAS and the ICU was the main reason for the increases in residuals.
Leakage rates from the SAS to the UFA, in these areas characterized as recharging the UFA,
were simulated using Eq. (5), the assigned hydraulic conductivity to the UFA by McGurk
371
and Presley (2002), and a vertical to horizontal hydraulic conductivity anisotropy of 0.01 in
the vicinity of the Carrot Barn and Lyonia Preserve well fields. RMSRs for the leakage rates
to the UFA and heads in the ICU simulated by the quasi-3D models were among the largest
from all conceptual flow models (Tables 5, 6). Head and leakage RMSR rates were calculated
relative to the highest vertically discretized models (6 LU model for Carrot Barn and 5 LU
model for Lyonia Preserve). The largest RMSR percentages were simulated for the heads in
the UFA by the quasi-3D model for the Lyonia Preserve well field when the no-flow
boundary was imposed at the bottom of the UFA lower layer (Table 6B). The largest
contrasts in vertical hydraulic conductivity between the ICU and the LUs lying above or
below occurred at the Lyonia Preserve well field (Table 4, Fig. 5b).
(A) Root-mean-square residuals, constant-head boundary
applied at the bottom of the UFA
Model
SAS heads
(m)
ICU heads
(m)
UFA heads
(m)
Leakage rates to
UFA (cm/year)
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
6 LU
0.05
(0.26)
0.26
(1.40)
0.02
(0.11)
0.07
(0.45)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.41
(2.84)
1.48
(11.61)
4 LU
0.05
(0.24)
0.35
(1.87)
0.02
(0.13)
0.11
(0.68)
0.00
(0.00)
0.01
(0.05)
0.43
(3.23)
2.15
(16.06)
3 LU
0.15
(0.83)
0.24
(1.30)
1.43
(8.71)
1.43
(8.71)
0.04
(0.27)
0.03
(0.22)
13.36
(100.2)
10.97
(82.19)
(B) Root-mean-square residuals, no-flow boundary

Model
SAS heads
(m)
ICU heads
(m)
UFA heads
(m)
Leakage rates to
UFA (cm/year)
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
6 LU
0.02
(0.13)
0.09
(0.57)
0.06
(0.65)
0.34
(3.78)
0.04
(0.48)
0.17
(2.30)
0.57
(1.75)
4.09
(16.13)
4 LU
0.08
(0.52)
0.30
(1.97)
0.03
(0.28)
0.44
(4.82)
0.01
(0.19)
0.22
(2.82)
0.65
(2.30)
4.74
(16.79)
3 LU
0.30
(1.92)
1.63
(10.72)
2.81
(29.90)
3.81
(38.57)
0.63
(7.29)
2.29
(24.95)
20.21
(78.22)
13.37
(57.81)
Table 5. Root-mean-square residuals (percentages between parenthesis) between simulated

SAS heads, ICU heads, UFA heads, and leakage rates to the UFA by the three-dimensional 8
LU flow model and those simulated by the 6 LU, 4 LU, and 3 LU simplified flow models for
the aquifer stresses shown in figure 6a applied to the Carrot Barn well field. [Hydraulic
properties were derived from either Eqs. (1)-(3) or from regression-based parameter
estimation (PE) in Table 3]
372
(A) Root-mean-square residuals, constant-head boundary

Model
SAS heads
(m)
ICU heads
(m)
UFA heads
(m)
Leakage rates to
UFA (cm/year)
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
5 LU
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.01
(0.22)
4 LU
0.00
(0.00)
0.01
(0.11)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.02
(0.41)
3 LU
0.35
(5.49)
1.71
(25.86)
0.44
(9.24)
1.02
(22.13)
0.01
(0.19)
0.00
(0.00)
5.70
(103.5)
0.22
(2.21)
(B) Root-mean-square residuals, no-flow boundary

Model
SAS heads
(m)
ICU heads
(m)
UFA heads
(m)
Leakage rates to
UFA (cm/year)
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
Eqs.
(1)-(3)
PE
5 LU
0.00
(0.00)
0.02
(0.24)
0.00
(0.00)
0.02
(0.32)
0.00
(0.00)
0.02
(0.41)
0.01
(0.07)
0.03
(0.32)
4 LU
0.00
(0.00)
0.04
(0.49)
0.00
(0.00)
0.04
(0.66)
0.00
(0.00)
0.04
(0.80)
0.01
(0.06)
0.02
(0.25)
3 LU
12.91
(157.8)
5.28
(64.80)
13.73
(247.3)
5.39
(95.09)
13.14
(269.0)
4.75
(91.70)
10.57
(129.1)
1.34
(14.88)
Table 6. Root-mean-square residuals (percentages between parenthesis) between simulated

SAS heads, ICU heads, UFA heads, and leakage rates to the UFA by the three-dimensional 6
LU flow model and those simulated by the 5 LU, 4 LU, and 3 LU simplified flow models for
the aquifer stresses shown in figure 6a applied to the Lyonia Preserve well field. [Hydraulic
properties were derived from either Eqs. (1)-(3) or from regression-based parameter
estimation (PE) in Table 4]
373
Results from the calculated composite hydraulic properties suggest that the net effect on
flow accuracy of transitioning from a fully 3D to a quasi-3D model lies somewhere between
the residuals in Tables 5A and 5B and in Tables 6A and 6B. The flow differences between the
fully 3D and quasi-3D models increase when the no-flow boundary is simulated at the
bottom of the UFA lower layer instead of the constant-head boundary case because
downward flow to the UFA is induced from the overlying SAS with a more contrasting
vertical hydraulic conductivity than the value used for the fully 3D flow model. A constanthead boundary at the bottom of the UFA lower layer induces increased flows through the
constant-head boundary because the hydraulic conductivity of the UFA is higher than that
of the ICU.
Leaky confining unit thicknesses at Carrot Barn and Lyonia Preserve of 10.7 and 4.9 m,
respectively (Fig. 5), were not thick enough to constitute a significant source of water from
storage to cause a change in UFA heads. Flow simulations, assuming a hypothetical increase
in the thickness of the ICU unit at the Carrot Barn and Lyonia Preserve well fields by one
order of magnitude, were conducted to assess the effects of these thicknesses on changes in
heads in the UFA. Simulation results showed the RMSRs in heads in the SAS, ICU, and
UFA, and leakage rates to the UFA were reduced from 1.63, 3.81, and 2.29 m, and 13.37
cm/year (Table 5B) for the Carrot Barn well field to 0.93, 2.01, and 1.40 m, and 5.29 cm/year,
respectively, when using the composite hydraulic properties derived from the regressionbased PE technique for the quasi-3D models after hypothetically increasing the thickness of
the ICU by one order of magnitude. Corresponding flow simulations for the Lyonia
Preserve well field resulted in RMSR changes from 5.28, 5.39, and 4.75 m, and 1.34 cm/year
to 4.22, 2.19, 1.46 m, and 1.04 cm/year. These head and leakage rate residuals suggest that
for a thick confining unit where storage effects may be important, application of the quasi3D approach may mask conceptual error because residual error may be reduced through the
adjustment of composite hydraulic properties.
7. Conclusions
Conceptual flow models with decreasing numbers of model layers in an unconfined aquifer
were developed to determine the effects on flow of calculating composite hydraulic
properties from two or more lithologic units at a time. The thickness-weighted arithmetic
mean was used to compute the horizontal hydraulic conductivity and the specific storage,
and the thickness-weighted harmonic mean was used to compute the vertical hydraulic
conductivity. A regression-based parameter estimation technique was also used to compute
composite hydraulic properties. Flow in the unconfined aquifer can be simulated with
reasonable accuracy if all lithologic units within the aquifer are combined into a single
model layer, composite hydraulic properties are calculated from thickness-weighted
averages, and the contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity among the lithologic units is
not large. The same level of accuracy cannot be achieved with composite properties when
only vertical flow is simulated within the confining unit because of the increases in head
residuals in the unconfined aquifer, confining unit, and confined aquifer, and increases in
leakage rate residuals to the confined aquifer that occurred with the quasi-3D approach.
These residuals, which illustrate the main difference between the quasi-3D and fully 3D
conceptual flow models, become larger as the contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity
between the lower lithologic units of the unconfined aquifer and the confining unit
increases.
374
The derivation of composite hydraulic properties for several lithologic units through
regression-based parameter estimation techniques resulted in lower drawdown residuals in
the 2D flow simulations when compared to the residuals derived from composite hydraulic
properties derived from thickness-weighted averages. The same composite hydraulic
properties derived from the parameter-estimation techniques resulted in higher simulated
head and leakage rate residuals than those from thickness-weighted averages in the 3D flow
simulations, which considered recharge to the unconfined aquifer and pumping from the
confined aquifer. The lack of accuracy in heads and leakage rates can be explained by the
contrasts in vertical hydraulic conductivity between the unconfined aquifer and the
confining unit. Differences in specific storage were a small factor in the head and leakage
rate residuals because the confining units of both well fields analyzed in this study were
thin. As the thickness of the confining unit increases, larger water volumes from storage
would be neglected by the quasi-3D flow simulations and differences in simulated heads in
the confined aquifer could be larger than those presented in this chapter.
The derivation of composite hydraulic properties using regression-based parameter
estimation techniques for the combined flow properties of the unconfined aquifer and the
leaky confining unit showed that residuals for the water levels in the unconfined aquifer,
heads in the confined aquifer, and leakage rates to the confined aquifer could be reasonably
reduced when all lithologic units in the unconfined aquifer were simulated as one. These
residuals increase when the composite hydraulic properties of the unconfined aquifer and
the leaky confining unit are calculated, namely when the quasi-2D or quasi-3D flow
assumptions are made. Given the flow residuals presented in this chapter, inaccuracies in
simulated flow increase when a transition in conceptual flow models is made from a fully
3D to a quasi-3D flow simulation. When composite hydraulic properties are calculated for
the simplified conceptual flow models, the head and leakage rate residuals increase as the
contrast in hydraulic properties between the unconfined aquifer and the leaky confining
unit increase, in particular, as the contrast in vertical hydraulic conductivity increases
between these two lithologic units.
8. References
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Geological Survey Circular 1186, Washington, DC.
Bouwer, H. (1978). Groundwater hydrology. McGraw Hill, ISBN 0070067155, New York.
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Clarke, R.; Lawrence, A.; & Foster, S. (1996). Groundwater: A Threatened Resource (United
Nations Environment Programme Environment Library No. 15, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Halford, K.J. (2006). MODOPTIM: A general optimization program for ground water flow
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Harbaugh, A.W. & McDonald, M.G. (1996). User's documentation for MODFLOW-96, an
update to the U.S. Geological Survey modular finite-difference ground-water flow
model. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-485.
Harbaugh, A.W.; Banta, E.R.; Hill, M.C.; & McDonald, M.G. (2000). MODFLOW-2000, the
U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model User guide to
modularization concepts and the ground-water flow process. US Geological Survey
Open-File Report 02-92.
Hill, M.C. & Tiedeman C.R. (2007). Effective groundwater model calibration - with analysis of
data, sensitivities, predictions, and uncertainty. Wiley, ISBN: 978-0-471-77636-9, New
Jersey.
Langevin, C.D. (2008). Modeling axisymmetric flow and transport. Ground Water, Vol. 46,
No. 4, pp. 579-590.
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flow model. US Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigation Book 6,
Chap. A1.
McGurk, B. & Presley, P. (2002). Simulation of the effects of groundwater withdrawals on
the Floridan aquifer system in east-central Florida: model expansion and revision.
St. Johns River Water Management District Technical Paper 2002-3.
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in parts of Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. US Geological Survey Professional
Paper 1403-B.
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Other Computer Codes for Universal Sensitivity Analysis, Calibration, and
Uncertainty Evaluation. US Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A11, Reston,
Virginia.
Reilly, T.E. & Harbaugh, A.W. (1993). Computer note: Simulation of cylindrical flow to a
well using the U.S. Geological Survey modular finite-difference ground-water flow
model. Ground Water, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 489-494.
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aquifer systems in peninsular Florida: US Geological Survey Scientific Investigations
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States in 1995. US Geological Survey Circular 1200, Washington, DC.
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Professional Paper 1395, Washington, DC.
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tests: the underdamped case: Water Resources Research, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 71-77.
Walton, W.C. (2008). Upgrading aquifer test analysis. Ground Water, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 660662.
376
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for flow through heterogeneous anisotropic sediments. Advances in Water Resources,
Vo. 29, No. 2, pp. 268-280.
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heterogeneous media: An overview. J Hydrology, Vol. 183, pp. ix-xxxii.
19
The Role of Hydraulic Conductivity in Modeling
the Movement of Water and Solutes in Soil
Under Drip Irrigation
Ren Chipana Rivera
University Mayor de San Andrs

La Paz
Bolivia
1. Introduction
Due of de need to manage more rational irrigation water in the world drip irrigation is one
of the technologies that are expanding more rapidly in modern irrigated agriculture in view
of its great potential to improve the economics of water use. In this method the water is
provided in soil in a timely high frequency, and thus the dimension parameters such as
percentage of the root zone moist, spacing and location of emitters, application rates,
frequency and irrigation, are governed by standard distribution of moisture in the soil
profile, which in turn depends on soil hydraulic conductivity. There is difficulty in
pinpointing the relationships between factors that affect the movement of soil water in
response to surface point sources, this fact is due to the complex nature of the surface
boundary conditions, which can result in problems of irrigation management. Due to these
facts, mathematical models were developed to analyze three-dimensional movement of
water in soil under drip irrigation, using methods of numerical analysis, finite elements,
flow in two and three dimensions under dynamic equilibrium, volume control, theory of
capillary tubes, among others.
Moreover, in recent years, the technique of application of chemicals through irrigation water
(chemigation) is gaining acceptance, particularly in drip irrigation systems, due to the
advantages it provides the possibility of manipulating and controlling plant nutrition
irrigated. However, this technique requires that the irrigation is carried out under high
efficiencies, otherwise it may cause economic problems and environmental damage. The
chemicals applied through irrigation water processes suffer from spatial and temporal
changes in soil, varying the distribution of solutes in the profile, resulting in different
distribution patterns. Some solutes react with the soil matrix, others move through it, may
result in dissolution and precipitation, within or outside the soil solution. The
understanding of the simultaneous transport of water and solutes in two or three
dimensions, from a point source, allows to develop efficient strategies in the implementation
of water and mineral fertilizers (fertigation). Although fertigation has widespread use, little
information related to the simultaneous movement of water and chemicals from point
sources is available.
378
The high costs involved in field research are making mathematical models a very viable
tool, enabling a prediction and assessment of the fate and behavior of water and solutes in
drip irrigation. However, the development of mathematical models to accurately describe
the transport of water and solutes under real field conditions presents great complexity due
to the large number of intervening factors, as well as the variability of hydraulic
conductivity.
The hydraulic conductivity expressed the "ease" with which certain fluid flows in a way,
dependent on the medium and fluid. The main characteristics of the soil matrix that
interfere with the hydraulic conductivity are the distribution of the diameters of the pores,
the tortuosity, specific surface area and porosity. In the fluid, the main features are the
density and dynamic viscosity. The methods for determining the hydraulic conductivity can
be classified into permanent, variable and computing. The direct measurement of hydraulic
conductivity is theoretically simple, but experimentally difficult, because of their high
variability in the field.
2. Model water and solute movement

The modeling was based on the numerical solution of two partial differential equations of
second order applied to point sources under transient flow, ie the equation of motion of
water in the soil also known as the Richards equation (equation 1) and the transport
equation solutes (equation 2, considering the existence of linear equilibrium sorption),
allowing to determine the distribution of water and solutes in soil as a function of both
space and time

H
H
H
=
Kx( )
+
Kz( )
Ky( )
+
t x
x y
y z
z
(1)
where is the soil moisture (L3L-3), t time (T), K () is the hydraulic conductivity of
unsaturated soil (L T-1), H is the total hydraulic potential of water in the soil (L), x, y and z
position coordinates
Fr
( qC ) C (qC ) C (qC )
C
C
=
+ D
+ D
+
D
t
z
z
z
x
x
x
y
y
y
(2)
Where C is the mass of solute per unit volume of solution (M L-3), q the volume of liquid
(solution) through unit area of soil in unit time, also known as flux density (LT-1), D is the
diffusion coefficient of dispersion, also known as hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, Fr is
the retardation factor, dimensionless, defined by:
Fr = 1 +
Kd
(3)
where is the density of the soil (M L-3), Kd distribution coefficient or partition (L3 M-1).
The retardation factor can be defined as the ability to retain or effect "buffer" of a particular
element, or as the velocity of the solute in the speed of solution in the pore (Matos et al.,
1999). If there are no interactions between the solute and soil, the Kd value is zero and the
retardation factor becomes unity. If Fr is less than one means that only a fraction of the
liquid phase participates in the transport process, as occurs for example in dense clusters
The Role of Hydraulic Conductivity in

Modeling the Movement of Water and Solutes in Soil Under Drip Irrigation
379
containing very small pore diameter (Van Genuchten & Wierenga, 1986). According Toride
et al. (1999) there is a negative correlation between speed of solution in the pore (, with
dimensions LT-1) and distribution coefficient or partition (Kd), implying that Fr and are
also inversely correlated.
Thus, the parameters of the soil dispersivity (, with dimensions L) and Fr, determine the
way forward or a solute is retained in the soil (Alvarez et al., 1995). The most direct way to
determine the parameters and Fr is from experiments using soil columns, in which a
solution is applied on top of the column and the values of solute concentration are collected
in the output. Nielsen & Biggar (1962) indicate that the standard form of presentation of the
concentration data collected at the exit is called the breakthrough curve, and one should be
careful about using the correct boundary conditions, otherwise its use can lead to serious
errors when experimental data are extrapolated to the field.
These equations were solved considering a system of control volumes, two-dimensionally
characterized by radial and vertical dimensions (r and z, respectively) and performing
successive increments of time (t). In developing the model, we took into account the basic
assumptions described by Botrel (1988) and Cruz (2000), under which the study region (wet
bulb) can be described in a cylindrical space and imaginatively composed of rings
concentric, each with a width (r) and depth (z). The rings have a center vertical line as
part of that point source at the soil surface and vary in size according to their position (i)
and (j), where (i) represents the radial axis and (j) axis vertical, as shown in figure 1.
Fig. 1. Diagram of concentric rings considered for the numerical solution of the problem.
2.1 Determination of hydraulic conductivity and matric potential
The determination of hydraulic conductivity for unsaturated soils K () is initially carried
out considering values of relative hydraulic conductivity (Kr, with dimensions L T-1) for
conditions of no saturation calculated as a function of time and space.
Mualem (1976) and van Genuchten (1980) developed equations and methodologies for
determining the hydraulic conductivity for unsaturated soils, from the relative hydraulic
conductivity (Kr), using parameters of water retention of soil water, as shown in equations 4
to 7.
380
r
s r
(4)
Where is the effective saturation, so reflecting on the water content in soil (dimensionless),
is the volumetric soil water content in the current condition (L3 L-3), r is the residual soil
water content (L3 L-3), s is the volumetric soil water content at saturation point (L3 L-3).
can also be expressed by the equation 5:
1
=
n
1 + ( )
(5)
where m and n are regression parameters of equation (dimensionless), is the parameter

with dimension equal to the reversal potential (L-1), is the matrix water potential in soil
(L). Equation 6 expresses the value of relative hydraulic conductivity:
1
dx
(x)
Kr = 1/2 01
dx
(x)
0
(6)
known value of Kr can be determined the value of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated

soil (K ()) as the product of relative hydraulic conductivity on the conductivity of saturated
soil (Ko, with dimensions L T-1):
K ( ) = Kr Ko
(7)
Kr can also be calculated using equation (8), which is a consequence of equations (4, 5 and
6):
Kr = 0,5 1 (1 1/m )m
(8)
On the other hand the matrix potential of soil water () was determined by transforming
the equation (5), as presented in equation (9):
1
1/m 1
=
(9)
2.2 Transport of water in the soil profile

2.2.1 Calculating the volume of soil
When considering the soil divided into concentric rings, the axis of symmetry is formed by
the vertical line passing through the wmitter. In this case, the first ring has a radius equal to
half the increase in the horizontal axis (r/2).
The calculation of the volume of soil was done by considering the volumes of the rings in
the radial and vertical axes. For example, the volume of the ring (i, j) is the volume of the
cylinder defined by the larger radius of the ring (Rij), less the volume of the cylinder defined
by the smaller radius of the ring (Ri,j-1), considering a high z, as shown in equation (10).

Vs( i , j ) = ( Ri , j 2 Ri , j 12 )z
381
(10)
where Vs is the volume of soil in each ring, L3, R is the radius of the ring, L and z is the
depth of the ring, L. In vertical direction the volumes of the rings vary in function of their
distance from the axis, but are constant for each position (j), whatever the depth. The
volume of water stored in each ring (Va) is determined by multiplying the volume of soil by
the value of volumetric soil water content ():
Va = Vs
(11)
this calculation was performed for each time increment (T) either in the radial direction
and vertical
2.2.2 Determination of flux density (q)
The calculation of flux density (q) from one cell to another was made following
considerations advocated by van der Ploeg and Benecke (1974) and van Genuchten (1980),
whereby it is assumed that the flow inside the rings or cells occurs in two directions, both
for entry and exit for water and solutes (figure 2).
Fig. 2. Coordinates of adjacent cells required to determine the movement of water and
solutes by convection (m) and hydrodynamic dispersion (dh) in the radial and vertical
direction
a)Radial flux density
The movement of water from one ring to another in the radial axis is calculated according to
equation (12).
q = K ( )
dH
ds
(12)
Considering that the flow occurs between two adjacent rings, it was assumed that the
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the region where the flow takes place, can be
represented by the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the medium adjacent rings.
382
K(i,j 1; i,j) =
K (i,j 1) + K(i,j)
2
(13)
where K(i,j-1; i,j) is the average unsaturated hydraulic conductivity cell (i, j-1) and (i, j); K(i,j-1) is
the unsaturated conductivity cell (i, j-1) and K(i,j) is the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of
the cell (i,j). Therefore the equation (12) for determining the water flow rewritten as can be
follows:
q(i,j1; i,j) = K(i,j1; i,j)
H(i,j) H(i,j1)
r
(14)
where q(i,j-1; i,j) is the flux density between the cell (i, j-1) and cell (i, j); Hi,j is the total
hydraulic potential of water in cell (i, j); Hi,j-1 is the total hydraulic potential of water in cell
(i, j-1), and r is the increment in radius, ie the difference between the average radius of two
cells.
Likewise, the radial flux density between the cell (i, j) and cell (i, j +1) is calculated on the
basis of equations (15) and (16):
K(i,j; i,j + 1) =
K(i,j) + K (i,j + 1)
2
q(i,j; i,j + 1) = K(i,j; i,j + 1)
H(i,j + 1) H(i,j)
r
(15)
(16)
b) Vertical flux density

Similarly to the case of radial transport, the vertical flux density of cells (i-1, j) (i, j) and (i, j) (i
+1, j), was determined by the following equations:
K(i 1,j; i,j) =
K (i 1,j) + K (i,j)
2
q(i 1,j; i,j) = K(i 1,j; i,j)
K(i,j; i + 1,j) =
H(i,j) H(i 1,j)

z
K(i,j) + K (i + 1,j)
q(i,j; i + 1,j) = K(i,j; i + 1,j)
2
H(i + 1,j) H(i,j)
z
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
2.2.3 Moisture balance in each ring

Before and after application of water by a point source estimated the moisture at depth (i)
and radial position (j) for each increment of time (t). The volume of water flowing
horizontally from cell (i, j-1) (i, j) is determined from the lateral area of each ring and the flux
density:

Va( i , j 1; i , j ) = q( i , j 1; i , j ) 2 ( R( i , j 1) ) z t
383
(21)
however the volume passing through the cell (i, j) (i, j +1) is represented by:
Va( i , j ; i , j + 1) = q( i , j ; i , j + 1) 2 ( R( i , j ) ) z t
(22)
Similarly, the amount the volume of water flowing vertically between the rings (i-1, j) to (i, j)
and (i, j) to (i +1, j) is calculated by:
Va( i 1, j ; i , j ) = q( i 1, j ; i , j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 )t
(23)
Va( i , j ; i + 1, j ) = q( i , j ; i + 1, j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 )t
(24)
The amount of water that remained in a particular ring after the increment t is represented
by the change in volume of water in the ring (Va(i,j)) due to water gain (Va(i,j-1 a i,j) and Va(i-1,j
a i,j) ) and loss (Va(i,j a i,j+1) e Va(i,j a i+1,j) ), so:
Va(i,j) = Va(i,j 1; i,j) + Va(i 1,j; i,j) Va(i,j; i,j + 1) Va(i,j; i + 1,j)
(25)
Thus, the new moisture ring at the end of t is calculated by equation (26):
( i , j ) = ( i , j , ini ) +
Va( i , j )
Vs( i , j )
(26)
where (i,j, ini) is the soil moisture at the beginning of the interval t, L3L-3.
Therefore, when considering the control volume discretization, equation (1) to two
dimensions is transformed into:
qx qz
=
+
t
x
z
(27)
Hx
Hz
= Kx( )
Kz( )
t
x
z
(28)
or
One important hypothesis was considered for resolving cases in which the humidity inside
the ring became greater than the moisture content under saturation ((i,j) > s(i,j)). In this case
the rings are the volume of surface water did not infiltrate transfer the water at outer rings
(forming a circle saturated surface) and in the rings of the surface, the volume of water that
can not be transported is held in the upper rings.
2.3 Solute transport in the bulb
After calculating the values of the volume of water flow and changes in moisture rings,
starts determining the concentration of solute in each ring. Again the technique is employed
to control volumes to calculate the mass flow, the flow by hydrodynamic dispersion and the
variation of solute concentration in soil (C).
384
2.3.1 Mass flow of solute

The mass flow of solute is determined for both the radial direction and for the vertical
direction.
Radial mass flow

Jc(i,j 1; i,j) = q(i,j 1; i,j) C(i,j 1)
(29)
where Jc(i,j-1; i,j) is the mass flow of the solute in cell (i,j-1) to cell (i,j) , ML-2T-1 .
Jc(i,j; i,j + 1) = q(i,j; i,j + 1) C(i,j)
(30)
where Jc(i,j-1; i,j) is the mass flow of the solute in cell (i,j) to cell (i,j+1).
Vertical mass flow
The mass flow of the solute in cell (i-1, j) to cell (ij) and cell (i, j) to cell (i +1, j) is determined
by:
Jc(i 1,j; i,j) = q(i 1,j; i,j) C(i 1,j)
(31)
Jc(i,j; i + 1,j) = q(i,j; i + 1,j) C(i,j)
(32)
Mass transport of solute between adjacent rings

The mass (M) of solute that passes from one ring to another (E) in both the horizontal and
vertical direction, is calculated by the following mathematical relationships:
Radial direction
Ec( i , j 1; i , j ) = Jc( i , j 1; i , j ) 2 R( i , j 1) z t
(33)
where Ec(i,j-1; i,j) is the mass of solute passing through the cell (i, j-1) to cell (i,j), M.
Ec( i , j ; i , j + 1) = Jc( i , j ; i , j + 1) 2 R( i , j ) z t
(34)
where Ec(i,j; i,j+1) is the mass of solute passing through the cell (i,j) to cell (i,j+1), M.
Vertical direction
Ec( i 1, j ; i , j ) = Jc( i 1, j ; i , j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 ) t
(35)
Ec( i , j ; i + 1, j ) = Jc( i , j ; i + 1, j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 ) t
(36)
2.3.2 Flow by hydrodynamic dispersion

Before the calculation of flow by hydrodynamic dispersion, we determined the parameters
of the diffusion coefficient or molecular ion (Dm, with dimensions L2T-1) and hydrodynamic
dispersion coefficient (D, with dimensions L2T-1) for each increment t between consecutive
cells:
q
D = Dm +

(37)

385
where is the the average humidity between rings or consecutive cells.

Then the flow equation of hydrodynamic dispersion of solutes in soil can be written as:
C
(38)
s
where Jdh is the hydrodynamic dispersion flow (ML-2T-1).
From equation (38) calculates the flow by hydrodynamic dispersion, both horizontally and
vertically, with the number of equations 39 to 42:
Jdh = D
Radial flow by hydrodynamic dispersion

( i , j 1) + ( i , j )
C( i , j ) C( i , j 1)
Jdh( i , j 1; i , j ) =
D( i , j 1; i , j )
2
r
(39)
( i , j ) + ( i , j + 1)
C( i , j + 1) C( i , j )
Jdh( i , j ; i , j + 1) =
D( i , j ; i , j + 1)
2
r
(40)
Vertical flow by hydrodynamic dispersion
( i 1, j ) + ( i , j )
C( i , j ) C( i 1, j )
Jdh( i 1, j ; i , j ) =
D( i 1, j ; i , j )
z
2
(41)
( i , j ) + ( i + 1, j )
C( i + 1, j ) C( i , j )
Jdh( i , j ; i + 1, j ) =
D( i , j ; i + 1, j )
2
z
(42)
Solute transport by dispersion hydrodynamics between rings

Analogous to the convective motion of solutes was calculated solute mass (E) which passes
from one ring to another in the radial and vertical directions.
Radial direction
Edh( i , j 1; i , j ) = Jh( i , j 1; i , j ) 2 R( i , j 1) z t
(43)
Edh( i , j ; i , j + 1) = Jh( i , j ; i , j + 1) 2 R( i , j ) z t
(44)
Edh( i 1, j ; i , j ) = Jh( i 1, j ; i , j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 ) t
(45)
Edh( i , j ; i + 1, j ) = Jh( i , j ; i + 1, j ) ( R( i , j )2 R( i , j 1)2 ) t
(46)
Vertical direction
2.3.3 Solute balance in each ring

Similarly to the case of transport of water after applying the solution by a point source, we
calculated the concentration of solute in the ring located at the depth (i) and horizontal (j) for
each increment of time (t) . The amount of solute that was remaining in a ring after the
386
increment t is represented by the change in solute mass in the ring (E(i,j)) due to mass gain
by:
Convection (Ecg):
Ecg (i,j) = Ec(i,j 1; i,j) + Ec(i 1,j; i,j)
(47)
Hydrodynamic dispersion (Ehg)

Ehg (i,j) = Eh(i,j 1; i,j) + Eh(i 1,j; i,j)
(48)
Ecp(i,j) = Ecp(i,j; i,j + 1) + Ecp(i,j; i + 1,j)
(49)
and mass loss by:

Convection (Ecp):
Hydrodynamic dispersion (Ehp)

Ehp (i,j) = Ehp (i,j; i,j + 1) + Ehp (i,j; i + 1,j)
(50)
obtaining finally:
E( i , j ) =
Ecg( i , j ) + Ehg( i , j ) Ecp( i , j ) Ehp( i , j )

Fr
(51)
Consequently, the new concentration of solute in the ring at the end of t is determined by
the following equation:
C (i,j)
C (i,jini)
+ E (i,j)
1
(i,jini) Vs(i,j)
Vs
(i,j)
(i,j)
(52)
where C (i,jini) is the solute concentration at the beginning of the interval t, ML-3.
When applying the technique to control volume discretization, equation (2) to two
dimensions can be rewritten as:
Fr
( qC )
C
C ( qC )
C
=
+
+
D
D
t
z
z
z
x
x
x
(53)
3. Model validation
The soil used in the validation of the model was derived from a profile classified as Oxisol,
sandy phase, called Series Sertaozinho. Soil moisture was determined by gravimetric
method to a depth of 100 cm. For sampling in layers of 10 cm was used cup hole coupled to
a jacketed system using a PVC tube to prevent contamination of the lower layers.
3.1 Breakthrough curve and the solute transport parameters
In the validation of the model was used potassium ion. With the aim of obtaining the
transport parameters of potassium in the wet bulb from the breakthrough curve, was

r
(cm3cm-3)
0,113
Parameters of water retention curve

s
n
(cm3cm-3)
(cm-1)
0,482
0,029428
1,828069
387
m
0,452975
Table 1. Parameters of water retention, according to the model (van Genuchten 1980)
mounted an experiment which was used as solute potassium chloride, with a potassium
concentration of 500 mgL-1.
The values of potassium concentration, pore volume and cumulative time were used as
input data CXTFIT program developed by U.S. Salinity Laboratory, USDA, Riverside, CA,
version 2.1, written in FORTRAN. The CXTFIT determines the values of the parameters of
solute transport in soil that is the dispersion coefficient (D), the pore water velocity (V), the
dispersivity () and retardation factor (Fr), through attempts to maximize the coefficient of
determination of regression between the averaged concentration on the solution (C/Co) and
pore volume. Thus, we obtained the values of transport parameters that are shown in Figure
3 (breakthrough curve) and Table 2
Fig. 3. Breakthrough curve of potassium solution in the soil column.

Transport parameters of potassium
V
D
Fr
(cm2 min-1)
(adimensional)
(cm)
(cm min-1)
1,489
2,705
4,730
1,816655
Table 2. Transport parameters of potassium in the soil obtained from the model CXTFIT:
pore water velocity (V), dispersion-diffusion coefficient (D), retardation factor (Fr) and
dispersivity ()
3.2 Soil moisture after irrigation
Data of soil moisture after 24 hours after irrigation generated by the model and the observed
are presented through moisture isolines in Figure 4. Inside the bulb, ie a radius of 26 cm and
depth of 30 cm from the emitter soil moisture varies in a range from 0.17 to 0.20 cm3 cm-3,
388
decreasing both in the radial or vertical direction, as it away from the emitter, the bulb
acquiring a hemispherical shape. Observe that the radius of the bulb was slightly greater
than its depth. In this respect Hachum et al. (1976) indicate that the force of gravity has a
limited effect on clay and loam soils and, where capillary forces dominate the effects on
water flow.
Outside the region of the bulb, there was practically no change in moisture content, which
allowed the sampling was done only up to a radius of 50 cm and 70 cm deep, including
therefore a safety margin.
The water content in the center of concentric rings (where it was located the point source)
was approximately 0.20 cm3 cm-3 in both cases (observed and simulated). This represents a
little less than half the moisture saturation (0.43 cm3 cm-3), indicating that the time interval
elapsed since the completion of irrigation until the moment of sampling (24 hours) there
was a marked redistribution of the solution .
The soil moisture obtained (simulated an observed) were similar, being a value for the
standard error of 0.011 cm3 cm-3. The central axis, the wet bulb has reached 35 cm with a
moisture content of 0.176 and 0.172 cm3 cm-3 for the model and test, respectively. As for the
periphery (at 35 cm radius) the bulb has reached 20 cm depth for the model and about 15 cm
depth for the test with moisture content of 0.170 and 0.163 cm3 cm-3, respectivily.
Fig. 4. Volumetric soil water content (cm3 cm-3) simulated by the model and observed 24
hours after the end of irrigation.
For a time of redistribution of 48 hours after irrigation, the dimensions of the bulb remained
constant when compared with the time of 24 hours of redistribution, but there was a
decrease in humidity, especially in cells near the point source. On the ground surface, a
radial distance of 10 cm, volumetric soil water content was approximately 0.18 cm3 cm-3 for
the two cases (simulated and observed), suffering a decrease of approximately 7.5%
moisture when compared with a time of 24 hours. The simulated moisture values were
slightly higher than those observed, but the trend of the data in different cells was the same,
determining a value for the standard error of 0.015 cm3 cm-3.
Elapsed time of 72 hours after irrigation, in both conditions (simulated and observed) cells
close to the point source continued losing water to the adjacent cells, leaving a soil moisture

389
around the 0.178 cm3 cm-3, which represents a decrease of 5% over the 48 hours time, but
still, this did not contribute significantly to changes in the dimensions of the bulb. Both
humidity (simulated and observed) had an approximate behavior with regard to the
distribution of moisture, resulting in a value for the standard error of 0.008 cm3 cm-3. In this
type of soil, one can say that 24 hours after the redistribution of water within the wetted
practically ends with the largest changes observed in cells near the sender, ie the water flow
that occurred after this time was small, so that the bulb dimensions have to remain virtually
unchanged.
In general, the experimental values were similar to the model simulated. Small differences
should possibly be due to limitations of the model and accuracy of measurements. It is
important to emphasize that the assumptions made in developing the model were that the
soil is homogeneous, there is no evaporation, the initial water content in soil is uniform,
there is no occurrence of hysteresis, and the water applied by the issuer is distributed
uniformly in all directions. Moreover, the model assumed average values for hydraulic
conductivity between two adjacent cells, whereas in reality the change from one point to
another is gradual. Already Nogueira et al. (2000) used the harmonic mean of three layers in
the determination of hydraulic conductivity. In relation to homogeneous and isotropic soil,
there was possibly a variation of physical and hydraulic properties in soil, thus filling the
box with soil was done in layers of 10 cm, a fact that probably involves a change in soil
density. With respect to evaporation during the test there was a slight condensation of water
at the bottom of the plastic covering the box. Regarding the hysteresis, according to Levin et
al. (1979), during the redistribution due to the low levels of soil moisture on the periphery of
the bulb, the hysteresis has a pronounced influence, which may have occurred in the test.
Another fact during testing is the formation of a thin crust under the emitter, possibly by the
dispersion of particles during application of the solution, which probably led to a reduction
in porosity and hydraulic conductivity in this region, which was also observed by Lafolie et
al. (1989). Also do not rule out a possible contamination of soil layers has been made when
sampling with the auger, but has since been made the hole when the jacketing of sampling,
there may have been the contact of small amounts of soil.
3.3 Concentration of potassium in the soil after irrigation
Potassium is adsorbed by clay particles, this fact can be seen in Table 2, reveals that to obtain
a value for the retardation factor (Fr) equal to 4.73 (similar to that found by Miranda (2001)
for the same soil type) indicating that one part of potassium applied to the solution is
retained by the soil.
The results obtained in the concentration of potassium in the soil solution in different cells
24 hours after irrigation for both simulated and observed, are shown in Figure 5. This cation
was retained in the surface layers. For both simulated and observed highest concentrations
were around the emitter in a radius of 10 cm and 20 cm depth, where concentrations of
potassium ranged from 62 to 817 mg L-1.
The volume of soil containing considerable amounts of potassium (potash bulb) was lower
than the wet bulb. The displacement of this cation is not fully followed the displacement of
water (mass or convective flow). This can be explained by potassium in the soil solution
interact with the cationic exchange complex of soil (expressed by the retardation factor), and
therefore this element retained in the soil in the region closer to the emitter, so that the
solution that went into the outer regions of the bulb possibly possessed a lower
concentration of potassium. The values of potassium concentration simulated by the model
390
were similar to those observed in the test (with a value for the standard error of 30.07 mg Lfollowing the same pattern of distribution. However, in general, the experimental values
were slightly lower than those generated by the model.
1),
Fig. 5. Potassium concentration in soil solution (mg L-1x100) simulated and observed 24
hours after irrigation.
For a time of redistribution of 48 hours after irrigation the content of potassium in the bulb
cells remained in an almost unchanged, although the concentration of this element in
general have risen as a result of decreased water content in the cells. The potassium present
in soil solution in the rings located between 10 and 20 cm shaft showed concentrations
ranging from 46 to 250 mg L-1 for both cases, showed similar trend and, with a standard
error equal to 12.67 mg L-1 (in this case for less than 24 hours), the difference between
simulated and observed values was in the range of 10%.
The content of potassium into cells in the soil 72 hours after irrigation has remained
virtually unchanged with respect to that shown for 48 hours, and the concentration of this
element on the soil surface within a radius of 10 to 20 cm from the emitter, ranged between
48 and 258 mg L-1, with differences between predicted and observed roughly 12% with a
value for the standard error of 11.30 mg L-1, slightly lower than the value obtained for 48
hours.
Overall, the three times of redistribution considered, the concentration of potassium in the
soil solution simulated by the model was similar to that seen in experimental conditions,
and the displacement of this element partially followed the displacement of water, focusing
primarily on cells more internal bulb. As explained in the case of moisture, the differences
found between the concentrations of potassium possibly simulated and observed were
mainly due to limitations of the model, because during development were not considered
the process of hysteresis, considering only movement and adsorption process. Also soil
physical-hydric variation, the errors in sampling and errors in determining the averaged
concentration of potassium in solution in the laboratory.
It was also observed for the three times of redistribution, the values of potassium
concentration obtained experimentally were lower than those generated by the model,

391
which may be due to variations in bulk density in filling the box soil, the interaction of
potassium soil solution with the other cations in the exchange complex of soil, as Ca, Na, Mg
and Al. In addition the fact that the determination of the retardation factor was made in a
soil washed with distilled water under conditions saturation practically free of cations in
solution, which might not exactly represent the delay of potassium that occurs under real
conditions, when cells of the bulb are under different levels of moisture (unsaturated
condition) and when there are other cations in soil solution.
Moreover, the concentration of potassium observed in the three study time showed very
low rates of redistribution and concentrated on the soil surface in the vicinity of emitter,
which shows that besides being trapped in the inner layers to interact with the soil matrix,
potassium is transported mainly by convective flow with the water (also called mass flow)
in proportion to its flow and concentration. Therefore, the general pattern of distribution of
potassium in the soil considered by the model, is dependent on the initial concentration of
soil solution, the concentration in irrigation water, the emitter flow and physical-chemical
properties of soil.
3.4 Sensitivity analysis of the moisture distribution in the bulb
As seen in Figure 6 respect to the saturated hydraulic conductivity, it appears that this has a
important effect on the moisture of the bulb, especially when varied negatively, however for
positive increments of the a standard error curve had lower slopes, and the model therefore
less sensitive to increases in hydraulic conductivity than the reductions in this parameter.
The moisture content of the bulb is very sensitive to moisture changes of soil saturation,
however, when this parameter begins to decrease (due to a reduction in porosity), the cells
become saturated near the emitter, and begins to form a water depth at the soil surface, an
aspect that is no longer considered by the model.
Fig. 6. Representation of the sensitivity analysis of the model with the profile of soil
moisture on the bulb, applying from -90% to + 90% variation in soil moisture saturation (o)
and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ko).
392
3.5 Sensitivity analysis of the potassium distribution in the bulb

As can be seen in Figure 7 referred to the saturated hydraulic conductivity, the model is
sensitive to this parameter decreases, especially for very low values. For positive changes,
the model is little sensitive, and be almost insensitive to high values of Ko.
With regard to soil moisture at saturation, the model is sensitivity to small increments of o.
For decreases of o behavior is similar, but to a limited extent, as the soil begins to soak
causing the impossibilities already discussed. The sensitivity of the model on this parameter
was lower than that in the case of distribution of moisture in the bulb, because the
potassium does not follow exactly the same dynamics of soil water.
Fig. 7. Representation of the sensitivity analysis of the model relative to the concentration of
potassium in the bulb, applying from -90% to + 90% variation in soil moisture saturation
(o) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ko).
4. Conclusions
The movement and distribution of water and potassium applied through drip irrigation can
be modeled mathematically by the solution of the equations of transient flow by using the
method of control volumes. There was a good fit in the values of the distribution of water
and potassium in the bulb when compared to data simulated by the model with
experimental data, yielding average values for the standard error equal to 0.0114 cm3 cm-3
and 18.013 mg L-1 to moisture and potassium, respectively. The potassium distribution was
limited to the inner layers of the bulb, which delayed the shift of this cation to interact with
the soil matrix. The model, with respect to the distribution of soil water, is very sensitive to
moisture saturation variations and moderately sensitive to hydraulic conductivity for

393
saturated soil, on the other hand potassium distribution is affected mainly by the physicalchemical soil properties, therefore the model is very sensitive to negative variations of
hydraulic conductivity for saturated soil.
5. References
Alvarez, J.; Herguedas, A; Atienza, J. (1995). Modelizacin numerica y estimacin de parmetros
para la descripcin del transporte de solutos en columnas de suelo en laboratorio. Madrid:
INIA. 69p.
Botrel, T. A. (1988). Simulao da distribuio espacial da gua em solo irrigado com gotejador.
Piracicaba. 61p. Tese (Doutorado) - Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de
Queiroz", Universidade de So Paulo.
Cruz, R. L. (2000). Modelizao do balano hdrico de uma cultura irrigada por um sistema
de irrigao localizada. Botucatu. 80 p. Tese (Livre Docente) - Faculdade de
Cincias Agronmicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Jlio de Mesquita Filho.
Hachum, A. Y.; Alfaro, J. F.; Willardson, L. S. (1976). Water movement in soil from trickle
source. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, v.102, n.2, p.179-192.
Lafolie, F.; Guennelon, R.; van Genuchten, M. Th. (1989). Analysis of water flow under
trickle irrigation: I Theory and numerical solution. Soil Science Society American
Journal, n. 53, p. 1310-1318.
Levin, I.; van Rooyen, P. C.; van Rooyen, F. C. (1979). The effect of discharge rate and
intermitent water application by point-source irrigation on the soil moisture
distribution pattern. Soil Science Society American Journal, n. 43, p. 8-16.
Matos, A. T.; Costa, L. M.; Fontes, M. P.; Martinez, M. A. (1999). Retardation factors and the
dispersion-diffusion coeficients of Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb in soils from Viiosa-MG,
Brazil. Transactions of the ASAE, v. 42, n.4, p.903-910.
Miranda, J. H. (2001). Modelo para simulao da dinmica de nitrato em colunas verticais de
solo no saturado. Piracicaba. 79 p. Tese (Doutorado) Escola Superior de
Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Universidade de So Paulo.
Mualem, Y. A. (1976). A new model for predicting the hidraulic conductivity of unsaturated
porous media. Water Resources Research, v. 12, n.3, p.513-522.
Nielsen, D. R.; Biggar, J. W. (1962). Miscible displacement: III. Theorical considerations. Soil
Science Society of American Proceedings, v. 26, n. 2, p.216-221.
Nogueira, C. P.; Coelho, E. F.; Leo M. C. S. (2000). Caracteristicas e dimenses do volume
de um solo molhado sob gotejamento superficial e subsuperficial. Revista Brasileira
de Engenharia Agrcola e Ambiental, v. 4, n. 3, p.315-320.
Toride, N.; Leij, F. van Genuchten, M. Th. (1999). The CXTFIT code for estimating parameters
from laboratory or field tracer experiments, verion 2.1. Califrnia: Research Report U. S.;
Salinity Laboratory Agricultural Research Service; U. S. Departament of
Agriculture. 85p.
van Der Ploeg, R. R.; Benecke, P. (1974). Unsteady unsatured, n-dimensional moisture flow
in soil: a computer simulation program. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings,
v.38, p. 881-885.
394
van Genuchten, M. Th. (1980). A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic
conductivity of unsatured Soils. Soil Science Society American Journal, v. 44, p. 892898.
van Genuchten, M. Th.; Wierenga, P. J. (1986). Solute dispersion coefficients and retardation
factors. In: KLUTE, A. Methods of Soil Analysis. I-Physical and Mineralogical Methods.
Madison: Soil Science Society of America. p.1025-1054.
20
Simulation of Water and Contaminant Transport
Through Vadose Zone - Redistribution System
Thidarat Bunsri1, Muttucumaru Sivakumar2 and Dharmappa Hagare3
1Department
of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkuts

University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok,
2School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Wollongong, NSW,
3School of Engineering, University of Western Sydney, NSW,
1Thailand
2,3Australia
1. Introduction
Movement of water in vadose zone, mainly focusing on infiltration and percolation that
involves percolation of water under gravity from soil surface and redistribution which is the
capillary rise of water movement upwards, is presented. In the global hydrologic cycle, 76%
of the precipitating water enters the soil via percolation-infiltration, which leads to the
downward movement of water (Lvovich 1974). The water used by natural processes, can
move downwards due to infiltration and lift from groundwater table during natural
redistribution process. The forecasting of water movement in unsaturated infiltrationredistribution system is linked between soil hydraulic properties and hydrologic condition
of natural surface water system. The understanding of water movement processes
associated with infiltration and redistribution has a number of practical applications. One
such application is to predict the fate and transport of materials through soil including
nutrients, organic carbon and microbes under natural processes, which in turn will help in
developing appropriate management plans for irrigation, fertiliser application and waste
disposal on land.
2. Infiltration and redistribution system

The prevailing weather condition can potentially affect the amount of water input to soil.
The infiltration rate consists of (1) water input rate, which is the rate of water that arrives at
soil surface due to rain, natural and artificial applications and (2) infiltration capacity, which
is the maximum rate at which percolating water migrates through the soil pore. In general,
water input rate responds to seasonal climatic variations and to any recharge from natural
or artificial conditions. The infiltration capacity rate depends on the soil texture and soil
hydraulic properties. The infiltration process can be separated into three categories (1) no
ponding (2) saturation from above and (3) saturation from below. The no ponding refers
to the condition, when water input rate is less than or equals to the infiltration capacity. The
saturation from above presents the condition, when water input rate exceeds the
396
infiltration capacity rate. The saturated from below reveals the condition, when
groundwater table has risen above the original saturation layer resulting in saturated soil,
hence the infiltration rate becomes zero (Iwata et al. 1995, Dingman 2002).
The redistribution rate can be determined by the upward flow rate of water, which involves
both the exfiltration and capillary rise. The exfiltration deals with evaporation or
evaportranspiration. The exfiltration can reduce the soil pore water at the upper layer. The
exfiltration rate of soil also depends on relative humidity of air and solar radiation.
Furthermore, soil is a porous material and can behave as a series of capillary tubes. The
surface tension force can abstract the water from aquifer into pore space above the water
table. The capillary rise refers to the water movement from saturated zone to unsaturated
zone owing to surface tension. The capillary rise acts opposite to the direction of
gravitational force. The height of capillary rise relates to pore size and soil moisture content.
Consequently, the height of capillary rise in fine grained soil is higher than in the case of
coarse grained soil and the height of capillary rise into dry soil is lower than that of
relatively wet soil. The water movement in unsaturated zone near the region of saturated
zone or capillary fringe is mentioned because the water in the saturated and unsaturated
zones is connected together and oscillates with fluctuations of groundwater table. The
flucutation of groundwater level during wet-to-dry season, causes the movement of
capillary fringe region that causes of smearing of contaminants to soil above groundwater
table. The critical point of predicting the water movement in the capillary fringe is the nonuniform capillary flow. In order to simplify this infiltration-redistribution system that
occurrs in the capillary fringe, it can be assumed that the redistribution rate is associated
with the capillary height, which is normally considered under the equilibrium of capillary
force (Fredlund & Rahardjo 1993, Dingman 2002).
The vadose zone is the entire zone of negative water pressure above the water table, so the
pressure head at the deepest level of this zone is saturated or nearly saturated as a result of
capillary rise. Almost all water in the vadose zone is available for plants and exfiltration
(drainage). The plant available water is observed at pressure head ranged from -150 to -3.4
m H2O and the drainable water will be at pressure head ranged from -3.4 m H2O to
saturation (Dingman 2002). The water infiltrating into vadose zone is influenced by both
capillary and gravitational forces, and these are associated with upward and downwarddirected pressure gradients, respectively. The movement of water due to infiltration
capacity is described by the Richards equation and the movement of drainage is
satisfactorily modeled with Darcys law. The capillary gradient is determined by static
capillarity equilibrium height using the capillary models (Bunsri et al. 2009).
3. Governing equation for unsaturated flow

Movement of water due to infiltration is assumed that water percolates under gravitational
force. The vertical flow through interconnected intergrain pores, which are randomly
distributed in a mix grained soil. The movement of water through the effective soil pores
can be simplified so that water moves only in the liquid state (excluding, soil-water freezing
or thawing) and there is no impact of airflow in soil pores. The 1D-vertical unsaturated flow
in porous media can be described using Richards equation (Richards 1931).
The pressure head based equation is expressed as:
Simulation of Water and Contaminant Transport Through Vadose Zone - Redistribution System
397
1 S
K k
z z rw z
t
(1)
The volumetric moisture content based equation (Warrick, Islas & Lomen 1991) is:
K z krw
Dz
z
z
z
t
(2)
where krw is the relative hydraulic conductivity [unitless], K z is the fully saturated hydraulic
conductivity [L T-1], S is the specific moisture capacity / , is the volumetric
moisture content [unitless], is the pressure head [L] and Dz is the soil water
diffusivity K z krw / S . Equations (1) and (2) contains Darcys velocity, qz, which is given
by (the negative sign means downward flow) (Huyakorn et al. 1984):
z
q
q z K z krw
z
or
z
(3)
where q z is Darcys velocity in vertical direction [LT-1].

By inserting a series of tensiometers in different parts of a drainage field, the profiles of
pressure head can be observed as shown in Figure 1. The negative pressure head
determined in the unsaturated soil layer is due to suction head, zero pressure head occurred
at the interface of groundwater table and the positive pressure head in the saturated soil
layer is due to hydraulic head (gravitational head plus pore-water pressure head) (Fredlund
and Rahardjo 1993).
Fig. 1. Profiles of pore pressure under a steady state condition (Adapted from Fredlund &
Rahardjo 1993)
398
Figure 2 presents possible pressure head profiles at varying Darcys velocities q z . If the
velocity is constant / z 0 , the simplest pressure head profiles (case 1) are obtained.
When / z is negative with K z k rw q z 0 , this will lead to vertical downward flow
(case 2). If / z is positive with q z K z k rw , water moves downward with suction head
(case 3). The upward flow is yielded (case 4), if Darcys velocity is greater than zero.
However, in most unsaturated zone cases, the water will experience a downward flow,
these are either case 2 for evaporation or case 3 for irrigation (Warrick et al. 1991).
Fig. 2. Pressure head profiles at varying Darcys velocities (Adapted from Warrick et al.
1991)
The relationship between relative hydraulic conductivity ( k rw K z ), pressure head and
volumetric moisture content is defined as the hydraulic properties function, which is
highly nonlinear. Typically used hydraulic properties equations in this research include
those of Brooks and Corey (1964), Haverkamp et al. (1977), van Genuchten (1980) and
Saxton et al. (1986). Brooks & Corey (1964) hydraulic properties function was firstly derived
by modifying the statistical porewater interaction models of Childs and Collis-George (1950)
(cited in Fredlund & Rahadjo 1993). The Brooks & Corey (1964) model is:
N
a
S r r

K z krw K z a

(4a)
r
K z krw K z
S r
(4b)
/N
M
(4c)
where a is the air entry suction pressure head [L], S and r are the saturated and
~
and N
are empirical constants.
residual volumetric water content, respectively [unitless]. M
399
Haverkamp et al. (1977) fitted the properties of homogeneous soil in unsaturated conditions
by the least square method and proposed the following empirical equations (HV equations):
S r
A
K z krw K z
A
(5a)
(5b)
where A, , and are the curve fitting coefficients [unitless].

van Genuchten (1980) derived the hydraulic properties equations based on the equation of
Brooks & Coley (1964) and proposed the following empirical equations for hydraulic
properties (VG equations):
K z krw
S r
1 a p
(6a)
p 1
1 a
1 a
Kz
q /2
1 a p
q 2
(6b)
where a is the soil water retention function [L-1], q and p are the empirical parameters,
q 1 1 / p [unitless].
The possible values for the coefficients presented in VG equations are given in Table 1. The
coefficients are sorted by soil textures in accordance with USDA textural classes (Carsel et al.
1988).
Soil Type
Clay*
Clay loam
Loam
Loam sand
Silt
Silt loam
Silty clay
Silty clay loam
Sand
Sandy clay
Sandy clay loam
Sandy loam
S
0.38
0.41
0.43
0.41
0.46
0.45
0.36
0.43
0.43
0.38
0.39
0.41
r
0.068
0.095
0.078
0.057
0.034
0.067
0.070
0.089
0.045
0.100
0.100
0.065
a (cm-1)
0.008
0.019
0.036
0.124
0.106
0.020
0.005
0.010
0.145
0.027
0.059
0.075
Note: *Agricultural soil, less than 60% clay.
Table 1. Recommended empirical coefficients for VG equations (Carsel et al. 1988).
p
1.09
1.31
1.56
2.28
1.37
1.41
1.09
1.23
2.68
1.23
1.48
1.89
400
The hydraulic properties are estimated from the soil texture using a method generalised by
Saxton et al. (1986). The textural class is assessed according to the USDA system. The water
retention curve is fitted with linear regression and the formulations are in S.I. unit as
follows:
1) When the hydraulic pressure is between 10 and 1500 kPa (or 1.02 to 15.3 m H2O), then the
expression for is given by:
r
a
S r
(7a)
By assuming r 0 ; will give
J H
with J
(7b)
aS H
where and a are the hydraulic pressure and the air entry pressure, respectively [kPa]. H
and J are obtained by the statistical curve fitting of 44 soil samples with an R2 =0.99.
H 3.140 0.00222 % clay 3.484 10 5 % sand % clay
(8a)
4.396 0.0715 % clay 4.880 10 4 % sand 2

100
J exp
4.285 10 5 % sand 2 % clay
(8b)
2) When the hydraulic pressure is between a and 10 kPa (or 1.02 H2O), then:
10 10.0 a
S 10
10.0
(9)
where 10 is the volumetric moisture content at 10 kPa, exp 2.303 LnJ / H

[cm3/cm3]. a 100.0 0.108 0.341s and S 0.332 7.251 104 % sand 0.1276 Log% clay
3) when the hydraulic pressure is between 0.0 kPa and a (or 0.0 cm H2O to a ), then:
(10a)
Variable K z krw is estimated as follows:
K z krw
12.012 0.0755 % sand
2.778 10 exp 1 / ( 3.8950 0.0364 % sand
0.113 % clay 8.7546 10 4 % clay )
(10b)
where K z k rw is the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity [m s-1].

Kunze et al. (1968) established a relative permeability function based on Poiseuilles equation. An
example of estimating relative permeability using Kunzes equation is illustrated in Figure 3.
401
Fig. 3. Graphical estimation of relative permeability (Adapted from Fredlund & Rahardjo
1993)
The coefficient of relative permeability was obtained from the relationship between the
matrix suction and volumetric moisture content. The equation was given as follows:
krw i
K z mea S2 w gSP m
2 j 1 2i j 2
2
K z cal 2 w N j 1
i 1,2,....m
(11)
where krw i is the calculated coefficient of permeability for a specified volumetric
moisture content; i , corresponding to the ith interval [unitless]. i is the interval on the
water retention curve [unitless] and j is the counter number from i to m [unitless].
K z mea and K z cal are the measured saturated coefficient of permeability and the
calculated coefficient of permeability, respectively [L T-1]. S is the surface tension of
water [M T-2], w is the water density [M L-3] and w is the absolute viscosity of water [M
T-1]. P is a constant which accounts for the interaction of pores of various sizes, usually
assumed to be 2.0 (Green & Corey 1971 cited in Fredlund & Rahardjo 1993) [unitless]. m is
the total number of intervals between the saturation volumetric water content and the
residual volumetric water content [unitless] and N is the total number of intervals
N mS / S r [unitless].
4. Numerical solution for the unsaturated flow equation

The finite discretionary scheme is given in Figure 4. The number of nodes in the system is
assigned sequentially to the flow direction.
402
Fig. 4. Scheme of finite discretisation.

As the hydraulic properties model can be applied to modify Richards equation between the
based to based formulations. Generally, based Richards equation is preferred over
based equation as it is possible to accurately measure the pressure head using
tensiometers. Several previous works (Wang & Anderson 1982, Coley 1983, Segerlind 1984,
Paniconi et al.1991) have assumed the approximate solution to Richards equation as:
m
z , t N j z j t
(12)
j 1
where Nj(z) is the shape function [unitless], j t is the unknown coefficient with
corresponding to the value of nodal pressure head [L] and the subscript j is defined to
denote a nodal sequence.
Richards equation (Eq. 1) is now written in the form of L 0 as follows.
L S
K z krw
1
t z
z
(13)
The weighting function, Ni was assigned the same value as N j . Applying Galerkins finite
element method yields (Bunsri et al. 2009):
z L
L N i dz 0
(14)
z0
Substituting Eq. 13 into Eq. 14, yields:

zL
z 0
zL
N iS

dz N i K z krw
t
z
z0

1 dz 0

The numerical solution of Richards equation is (Bunsri et al. 2009):
(15)
zL
z 0
N iS
403
z1
zL
zL
N i N j
N i
1
K z krw j
dz N i K z krw
dz 0 (16)
dz K z krw
t
z
z
z0 z0
z z
z0
The algebraic matrix systems were defined as follows (Bunsri et al. 2009):
j
Aij j Bij

t Eij
where
Aij

e
(17)
z L
zL
N i N j
K
k
dz
,
B
z rw z z ij e N iSdz , and
z0
z0
z L
zL
N i
1
K z krw
dz
z
z
z 0 e z0
Ei N i K z krw
Using Eq. 3, the vector matrix Ei could be written in the form of Darcys flux boundary
condition as:
zL
Ei N i qz zz 0L
e z0
K z krw
N i
dz
z
(18)
The time derivative approximation at a particular node j can be explained by (Wang &
Anderson 1982, Paniconi et al. 1991, Sgol 1993):
j
t
tj t tj
(19)
where / t is a column matrix, which refers to time-dependent hydraulic pressure

head j t . The term / t can be simplified with the vector symbol . The
iterative scheme obtained using a single Picards method is given by (Wang & Anderson
1982, Paniconi et al. 1991, Sgol 1993):
t
t t
t
t
1 t 1 t
Ei Aij
Aij Bij
t
2
(20)
Celie et al. (1990) estimated the pressure head profiles using Richards equation. The
numerical model is developed using both finite difference model (FDM) and finite element
method (FEM). The model developed using FEM has given an oscillation of pressure head
that is near to infiltration front. This oscillation pressure head could be reduced by applying
a diagonal time matrix (mass lumping technique). The net water balance between inflow
and outflow of soil pore water at any node and time step t (MB) is defined based on a
diagonal time matrix. This aspect is investigated to evaluate the existence of any errors
within the calculation process if existed. The water balance equation for the finite element
technique is presented as follows (Celie et al. 1992, Sgol 1993):
404

E1
MBt 1
it 1 i0 z 0t 1 00
i 1
z
z
Et 1 E0
2
2
t 1
q0t qEt t
(21)
t 1
where q0 and qE are the boundary fluxes associated with z0 and zL , respectively [L T-1].
Symbols i and t count for the sequence of nodes and time steps, respectively. Subscripts
0, E refer to the upper boundary of downward flow and the number of elements,
respectively. Superscripts 0, t and t+1 refer to the initial, previous and current
iteration time step, respectively.
5. Boundary condition for infiltration system

The initial condition was defined as the starting condition of the system at t=0. The
boundary conditions were classified into upper and lower boundaries that were located on
the top and bottom of the considered system (Huyakorn & Pinder 1983). The upper
boundary was the condition at the discharge point and the lower boundary was the
condition at the water table or the column base. The boundary and initial conditions for the
solute transport model and Richards equation included the known concentration of
contaminant and pressure head, respectively (Bear 1979, Huyakorn & Pinder 1983). The
change of infiltration is mainly controlled by intensity of infiltration and surface soil
properties. The infiltration rates are determined by: (1) Rate of water approaching above soil
surface via rainfall, snowmelt, irrigation, natural or artificial recharge and depth of ponding
on the surface; (2) Fully saturated hydraulic conductivity at soil surface; (3) Degree of
saturation at soil surface when the infiltration begins; (4) Inclination and roughness of
topsoil; and (5) Chemical characteristics of top soil and physical and chemical properties of
water.
The infiltration rate; f t is computed as (Nassif & Wilson 1975):
f t i q t
(22)
where i is natural precipitation or application rate and q t is the rate of surface runoff. The
natural infiltration recharge can be technically determined using Green-Ampt approach
(Green & Ampt 1911). In the case of infiltration coming from runoff or rainfall recharge, the
percolation rate is based on top soil properties. It can be classified into 2 categories as:
1) Water input rate is less than saturated hydraulic conductivity (i<Kz). At initial stage (t=0),
the hydraulic conductivity is defined as K z0 and it increases to Kz at the specified time; tw. At
this stage, water will percolate and it is stored until the soil pore is fully filled.
f t i
0 t t w and f t 0
t t
(23)
2) Water input rate is greater than saturated hydraulic conductivity (i>Kz). This process is
observed at an early stage of infiltration in which the excess water cannot be transmitted
downwards. The maximum water content and the hydraulic conductivity are limited at S
and K z , respectively. Therefore, when the soil surface reaches saturation, ponding will
occur or in the case of a hilly area, overland flow will take place. However, the
405
corresponding equation for this case cannot give a valid value of f(t) as there is no well
developed relationship for ponding.
The percolation of water during infiltration process with no ponding can be expressed as:
fp
K z w
Kz
zS
(24a)
I S 0 zS
t
(24b)
S 0
Kz
zS
zS wLn 1
(24c)
where 0 is the initial soil moisture content [unitless], f p is the percolation rate, w is the
pressure head at the wetting front, I is the cumulative infiltration and zS is the wetting front
distance for Green-Ampt model.
Schmid (1990) has modified Green-Ampt approach with a Taylor series expansion, and
obtained the explicit approximation for a function of the infiltration rate.
w K z 2
f t w 1 2
t
K z f 0
0.5
(25)
where f is the effective tension at the wetting front 0.76 S (Brakensiek 1977, Freyberg et
al. 1980), S is the pressure head at saturation and term 0 is the initial soil water deficit.
The soil moisture content under infiltration process can be estimated using Wang et al.
(2003) equation as follows.
z
S 0 0 ,
1

z f
0 z z f
(26a)
S 0 z f
fP
z zf
(26b)
1
Kz
z f
S 0 z
1 K z f
Kz
(26c)
Ln z f 1
(26d)
where z f is the wetting front distance that is located between soil surface and the bottom
of the wetted soil layer. Variable is the shape coefficient of Brook and Corey (1964)
/ N . is the soil suction allocation coefficient M
/
hydraulic properties model, M
and is a constant.
406
6. Boundary condition for redistribution system

The boundary conditions for a redistribution system can be evaluated according to the
physical model of capillary rise. The zone of negative pressure is observed within the depth
of capillary height. The capillary height is the height of the water level inside the capillary
tube. The capillary height could be estimated using (Freudlune & Rahardjo):
U w w hC g
(27)
where U w is the hydraulic pressure at the capillary height [M L-1 T-2], w is water density
[M L-3], hC is the capillary height [L] and g is the gravitational acceleration [L T-2].
The physical model of capillary pressure force in unsaturated soil is presented in Figure 5. If
matric suction (Ua-Uw) or capillary height (hC) is plotted against pore radius (r) on a LogLog plot, a linear relationship is expected. Further details can be found in Fredlune &
Rahardjo (1993). The variables S, rS and refer to the surface tension, the radius of
capillary tube and the contact angle, respectively. The variable U a is the atmospheric
pressure (guage) that is normally taken as 0 cm H2O.
Fig. 5. Physical model of capillarity (Adapted from Fredlund & Rahardjo 1993)
7. Governing equation for solute transport

In practice, the objective is not only to predict the movement of water in the vadose zone,
but also to determine the movement of reactive and non-reactive contaminants through the
soil pores. The developed model can predict the fate and transport of reactive constituents
such as phosphate, nitrate, organic carbon compounds and microbes.
The governing equation for multi-component transportation of contaminants in porous
media under variable saturation conditions could be expressed in a general form as follows
(Schnoor 1996).
C
C
Dz
z
z
t
accumulate dispersion
qzC
z
advection
B C *
t
sorption
407
rx
x 1
reaction
(28)
where C * is the concentration of a considered constituent in sorbed phase [M L-3]; Dz is the

dispersion coefficient; Dm D * [L2 T-1]; Dm and D * are the mechanical and the
molecular dispersion [L2T-1], respectively; and rx is the rates of reaction x with x=1,2,, n
[M L-3 T-1].
The dispersion can be obtained from Ficks Law (Fetter 1992) as follows.
Dz vi D *
(29)
where D * is an effective molecular diffusion coefficient [L2 T-1], is a coefficient relating

to tortuosity [unitless] and vi is the average linear velocity in the vertical direction;
qz / [L T-1].
7.1 Nitrogen and organic carbon compounds
The total rate of organic carbon compounds (substrate) utilisation, rS was a combination of
the substrate utilisation rate due to aerobic and nitrate respiration (Widdowson et al. 1988).
rS rSO rSN
(30)
where rS , rSO and rSN are the total substrate utilisation, substrate utilisation under aerobic
respiration and substrate utilisation under nitrate respiration, respectively [T 1].
Using a modified Monods equation, the substrate utilisation rates could be derived as
follows (Widdowson et al. 1988):
rSO
rSN
CO C A
CS
Yo KSO CS KO CO KSA C A
CO
CS
CA
I CO
YN KSN CS K N C N K AN C A
(31a)
(31b)
where O and N are the maximum specific growth rate for aerobic and denitrifying
bacteria, respectively [T-1]. YO and YN are a heterotrophic yield coefficient for aerobic and
denitrifying bacteria, respectively [unitless]. CS , CO and C A are the concentration in aqueous
of organic carbon, oxygen and ammonia, respectively [M L-3]. K SO , K O and K AO are half
concentration of substrate, oxygen and ammonia nitrogen under aerobic respiration,
respectively [M L-3]. K SN , K N and K AN are half concentration of substrate, nitrate and
ammonia nitrogen under nitrate respiration, respectively [M L-3]. I CO is the inhibition
1
factor I C 0 1 C o / K c [unitless] and K C is the coefficient of inhibition [M L-3].
By referring to the rate of kinetic reaction (Eq. 31a and 31b) for organic carbon compounds
biodegradation, the equation for transport of organic carbon compounds is written as
(Schnoor 1996):
408
CS
C
q zCS Dz S rSOCS
t
z
z
z
(32)
The nitrate transport equation can be formulated as follows (Schnoor 1996):
C N
C
q zC N Dz N
t
z
z
z
rSN CSC N
(33)
Harvey et al. (1984) determined the kinetic coefficients for nitrifying and denitrifying
bacteria. These coefficients are given in Table 2.
Parameter
M b (mg/cm3)
O (1/day)
N (1/day)
YO
YN
k o (1/day)
k N (1/day)
Value
5.64x10-4
3.1
2.9
0.45
0.5
0.02
0.02
Parameter
K SO (mg/cm3)
K SN (mg/cm3)
K O (mg/cm3)
K N (mg/cm3)
K AO (mg/cm3)
K AN (mg/cm3)
Value
0.040
0.040
0.00077
0.00260
0.0010
0.0010
Table 2. Kinetic parameters for organic carbon and nitrate retardation (Harvey et al. 1984
cited in Widdowson et al. 1988).
7.2 Phosphate phosphorus compounds
Phosphorus adsorption on soil was formulated as follows (Shah et al. 1975):
C Ps
Kt C Pw C Pw *
t
(34)
where C PS is the concentration of adsorbed phosphorus [M M-1] and Kt is the overall

volumetric mass transfer coefficient [L T-1]. C Pw * is the concentration of phosphorus in liquid
phase that is in equilibrium with the concentration of phosphorus in the solid phase [M M-1]
and C Pw C Pw * is a driving force for transferring phosphorus from liquid to solid phase
[M L-3].
The Langmuir isotherm equation is the best fit for phosphorus adsorption (Shah et al. 1975).
Variable C Pw * is modified into Langmuir isotherm equation, yielding (Schnoor 1996, Watts
1997):
C Pw *
kL k MC Pw
1 k MC Pw
(35)
where k L and k M are the coefficients (Langmuir rate constant) [unitless] and the maximum
phosphate adsorption capacity on soil [L3 M-1], respectively.
The soluble phosphate, C P can be assumed as soil pore water, which can be presented as
volumetric portion of moisture (Fetter 1992). The transport of soluble phosphate is obtained
by:
C P
t
where is a retardation factor

2
k L k M / 1 K M CPw .
C
qzC P Dz P
z
z
z
1 B K d /
409
(36)
and K d is the distribution coefficient,
7.3 E. coli
The overall reaction rates of microbial kinetics were the summation of production,
maintenance, decay, adsorption and desorption. The retardation equation was given as
(Zysset et al. 1994):
d(C bf )
n y k CSC bf nkdC bf kcC bw nksC bf
dt
(37)
where n is the fraction of aqueous volume and biofilm in total volume (equals to porosity)
[unitless]. C bf and C bw are the concentration of adhering microbes and free swimming
microbes [M L-3], respectively. CS is the concentration of limiting substrate in aqueous
compartment [N L-3], v y is the stoichiometric coefficient [M N-1], is an effectiveness of
biofilm [unitless]. k and k d are Monods constant for substrate utilisation in biomass [L3
M-1 T-1] and the constant of decay rate [T-1], respectively. k S and k C are the constant
desorption (detachment) and adsorption (attachment) rate [T-1], respectively. The unit N is
the quantity of microbes involved (cfu or MPN).
The concentration of E. coli relates to the substrates consumed. Substrate utilisation during
metabolisation processes is defined using the first order Monods kinetics equation as
follows (Zysset et al. 1994).
CS
k CSC bt kmC bt
t
(38)
where k b / Yb KSb CS , but CS KSb , so k b / Yb KSb . CS and Cbt are the

carbonaceous substrate concentration [M L-3] and the total microbial concentration [M L-3],
respectively. b and Yb are the microbial maximum specific growth rate [T-1] and a
heterotrophic microbial yield coefficient [unitless], respectively. K Sb and k m are the
substrate concentration when the rate of utilisation of half of the maximum rate under
aerobic condition [M L-3] and a biomass maintenance rate [T-1], respectively.
The E. coli transport equation was governed as follows (Zyset et al. 1994):
C b
t
C b
Dz
q zC b b C b
z
z z
(39)
where b k km C bt , which involves assimilation and dissimilation of microbes

and C bt C b .
A general form of the mathematical model for contaminant transport coupling retardations
could be written as follows (Huyakorn et al. 1985):
410

C
Dz
z
z
q zC
z
dispersion
advection
C
t
accumulation
st
order decay
(40)
The retardation factor, equals 1.0 for organic carbon and nitrate compound transport
equations. The biodecay factor (involving growth of microbes), equals 0.0 for phosphate
compounds transport equation. Only microbial transport contains all of these factors.
8. Numerical solution for solute transport equation

The approximate solution of contaminant concentration at any nodes and time t is defined
as (Segerlind 1984, Huyakorn et al. 1985, Clement et al. 1998):
m
C( z, t ) N j z C j t
j 1
(41)
where N j z is the shape function [unitless], C j t is the concentration of contaminant at

time t [M L-3].
The mathematical model presented in Eq. 40 can be modified as follows:
L C
C
C
C

C
Dz
qz
t
z
z
z
(42)
The integral form of Eq. 42 is given as follows:

zL
N i L C dz 0
(43)
z 0
where 0, L is the extent of the vertical direction (one dimension) domain. The subscripts i
and j denoted the sequence of elements in the domain as presented in Figure 4.
Substituting Eq. 42 into 43, gives:
zL
Ni
z 0
z L
z L
C
C
C
C dz 0
dz N i
Dz
dz N i q z
z
z
z
t
z0
z0
(44)
The numerical solution of Eq. 44 is governed as:

zL
zL
N j
C j
N i N j
C
Ni
C j dz N i Dz
0
q z C j dz N i N j
Dz
z z
z
z z 0
z 0
z0
zL
(45)
The algebraic matrix systems are defined as follows:
P R C
ij
where
ij
Qij
C j
t
Si
(46)
411
zL
z L N N
N j
j

Pij D i
e z 0 z z N i z q z dz , Qij e z 0 N i N j dz
zL
C
Rij N i N j dz and Si N i Dz
e z0
z
zL
z0
The initial concentration in the entire domain 0,L at time t = 0 is defined as follows (Bear
1979, Huyakorn & Pinder 1983, Huyakorn, et al. 1985, Sgol 1993, Clement et al. 1998):
C j z ,0 C 0 z
(47)
where C 0 z is the known distribution of solute concentration at time t = 0
[ML-3].
The boundary concentration on the edge of domain 0,L at time t is defined using the
Dirichlet boundary condition (Bear 1979, Huyakorn & Pinder 1983, Huyakorn, et al. 1985,
Sgol 1993, Clement et al. 1998).
C j z , t C z , t on z1 z z2
(48)
The specific dispersive flux on the edge of domain 0, L at time t is employed using
Neumann boundary condition. The dispersive flux was defined as C / z , (Bear 1979,
Huyakorn & Pinder 1983, Huyakorn, et al. 1985, Sgol 1993, Clement et al. 1998).
C
qCD
z
on
0zL
(49a)
C
q zC qCT
z
on
0zL
(49b)
For rainfall infiltration Dz

For seepage flow
Dz
where qCD and qCT are the portion of the boundary flux attributable to concentration due to
dispersion [M L-1 T-2] and the portion attributable to total concentration [M L-1T-2],
respectively.
9. Model applications
The simulation results of solute transport in unsaturated infiltration-redistribution system is
an active research area where a variety of attempts are being made to determine the
dynamics of vadose zone in relation to water and contaminant movement and quality of
soil. The model presented above is used to simulate the experimental data obtained by
Paniconi et al. (1991). The input parameters for this case study are given in Table 3.
The Neumann and the Dirichlet conditions were applied to the upper and lower boundary,
respectively. Both the experimentally observed and simulated pressure head and moisture
content profiles are presented in Figures 6 and 7, respectively. The developed models
predicted the experimental observations of Paniconi et al. (1991) very well. This implied that
the developed model is robust, and that it could effectively predicte the water movement in
the infiltration-redistribution sytems. On the other hand, the simulation results from the
solute transport model could not be compared with experimental observations due to lack
412
of appropriate data. However, a series of simulations are carried out as shown in Figures 8
through 11. The kinetic rate constants of each contaminant are assumed based on the case
study of contaminants movement in sandy soil near Perth (McArthur & Bettenay 1964, cited
in Whelan & Barrow 1984). The input parameters used in model are presented in Table 4.
Parameters
Values
Column with depth of 10 m (saturation maintained at the base of
the column).
Domain
Hydraulic properties model
van Genutchten model with saturated hydraulic conductivity; Kz
a is -3.0 mH2O. Saturated

S is 0.45 and residual moisture content; r is
is 5 m/h, Air entry pressure;

moisture content;
0.08. q and p are 0.667 and 3.0, respectively.

At the top, Darcy flux (qz) is applied as a function of time,
Boundary and initial conditions
equalled to t/64 m/h. Constant head at the column base,

0 m. Constant head at the initial,
i of 0 m.
Number of element; nelem
100.
Increment time interval; dt
Time step varies between 0.1 to 0.5 hour.
bot of
10
10
6
4
2
6
4
2
0
4
2
dt=1 hour
R2 = 1. 00
-10
-5
P ressure head; m H 2O
10
10
6
4
2
0
dt=4 hour
R2 = 0. 99
Elevation; m
10
Elevation; m
Elevation; m
dt=0 hour
R2 =1. 00
0
-10
-5
Elevation; m
10
Elevation; m
Elevation; m
Table 3. Input parameters for water movement model (Paniconi et al. 1991).
6
4
2
-10
-5
6
4
2
dt=10 hour
R2 = 1. 00
0
-10
-5
0
-10
-5
sim ulation
reference data
dt=2 hour
R2 =1. 00
Fig. 6. Pressure head profiles (datum was at the groundwater table).
dt=32 hour
R2 = 0. 98
-10
-5
0
P ressure head; m H2O
10
6
4
2
6
4
2
d t= 0 h o u r
R 2 = 1.00
0
0.2
0.4
M o is t u r e c o n t e n t
10
10
10
6
4
2
0
6
4
2
d t= 4 h o u r
d t= 1 0 h o u r
R 2 = 1.00
R 2 = 1.00
0
0
0.2
0.4
0
0.2
0.4
s im u la t io n
refere n c e d ata
413
d t= 1 h o u r
R 2 = 1.00
0
0.2
0.4
Elevation; m
Elevation; m
Elevation; m
10
8
Elevation; m
10
Elevation; m
Elevation; m
d t= 2 h o u r
R 2 = 1.00
0.2
0.4
6
4
2 d t= 3 2 h o u r
R 2 = 0.96
0
0
0.2
0.4
Fig. 7. Moisture content profiles (datum was at the groundwater table)

Parameters
Values
Contaminant transport Organic carbon compounds: Constant concentration at the surface, Ctop of 1250
mg/L and at the datum, Cbot of 39 mg/L. Initial concentration, Cint of 39 mg/L.
Nitrate nitrogen compounds: Constant concentration at the surface, Ctop of 2
mg/L and at the datum, Cbot of 83 mg/L. Initial concentration, Cint of 2 mg/L.
Phosphate phosphorus compounds: Constant concentration at the surface, Ctop of
15 mg/L and at the datum, Cbot of 0.72mg/L. Initial concentration, Cint of 0.72
mg/L.
E. coli: The initial microbial concentration 1.03x109 cfu/L. The microbial
concentration at the column surface and base were 2.14x1010 and 1.318x103cfu/g
(weight of E.Coli is 7x10-10 mg/cfu).
Dispersivity; T (cm) 3.25 (organic carbon), 7.54 (nitrate), 1.57 (phosphate) and 7.59 (E.Coli)
Molecular diffusion; D* 0.03924 (Organic C), 0.06840 (Nitrate), 0.07055 (Ammonia), 0.02304 (Phosphate)
(cm2/h)
and 0.0479 (E.coli) (Kemper 1986, Stevik 1999).
Kinetic rate constant
Organic C and Nitrate: o =74.4 h-1, YO =0.45, K SO =0.040 mg/cm3, K O = 0.00077

mg/cm3, K AO = 0.001 mg/cm3, C A =50 mg/L, CO = 2 mg/L, N = 69.6 h-1,
YN =0.5, K SN =0.040 mg/cm3, K N =0.0026mg/cm3, K AN =0.001 mg/cm3 and
I CO =0.0802 (Widdowson 1998).
Phosphate: K d =1.22x10-9 cm3/g and B =1.7 kg/L. (McArthur & Bettenay 1964,
cited in Whelan & Barrow 1984).
E.coli: Adsorption rate= 0.015 h-1 , Growth-decay rate 56.8 h-1, (Stevik et al 1999,
Schnoor 1996).
Increment time interval; Varies between 0.1-0.5.

dt (hour)
Maximum simulation
time; t (hour)
32
Table 4. Input parameters for solute transport model (adopted from McArthur & Bettenay
1964, cited in Whelan & Barrow 1984).
414
Elevation-above datum (m)
Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 present the simulations of nitrate, organic carbon, phosphate and
E.coli transport in infiltration-redistribution system. The simulation results reveal that the
contaminants could reach the groundwater table over a longer period. Also, it appeares that
the top soil can remove substantial amount of contaminants. Particularly, the organic carbon
and E.coli, are removed within the few centimetres of the top soil layer. On the other hand,
phosphate can move downwards to a depth of 2 metres. This might relate to phosphate
adsorption capacity, which is relatively low in the sandy soil. However, to make proper
assessment of contaminant transport and its potential contamination of groundwater longer
periods of simulation are required. At this stage it can be concluded that the contaminant
transport model presented earlier could be used to predict the contaminant transport within
the unsaturated (vadose) zone.
10
10
1 hour
10
2 hour
0
0
500
1000
Concentration (mg/L)
1500
10
0
0
10
8
0
0
500
1000
1500
1500
0
0
500
1000
1500
32 hour
10 hour
8
500
1000
4 hour
0
0
500
1000
1500
Fig. 8. Organic carbon concentration profile (datum was at the groundwater table).
10
10
1 hour
10
2 hour
5
10
15
20
10
10
8
5
10
15
20
20
5
10
15
32 hour
10 hour
8
5
10
15
4 hour
5
10
15
20
Fig. 9. Nitrate concentration profile (datum was at the groundwater table).
20
415
10
10
10
1 hour
2 hour
0
0
5
10
15
10
0
0
5
10
4 hour
0
0
15
5
10
15
10
10 hour
8
6
0
0
5
10
32 hour
15
0
0
5
10
15
Fig. 10. Phosphate concentration profile (datum was at the groundwater table).
10
10
10
2 hour
1 hour
10
10
10
Number of E.Coli (cfu/L)
12
10
12
10
10
10
12
10
10 hour
10
10
Number of E.Coli
10
32 hour
10
10
10
4 hour
12
10
10
10
12
Fig. 11. E.coli distribution profile (datum was at the groundwater table).
10. Conclusion
A comprehensive model for predicting the movement of water and contaminants through
unsaturated soil is presented. The models were developed based on Richards equation and
mass balance relationships. Also, Finite Element Method (FEM) based solution techniques
416
were developed for obtaining numerical solution to the models developed. The water
movement simulation model predicted fairly well the water movement observed through
column studies. Thus, the water movement model can be used for predicting the water
movement through unsaturated zone with confidence. However, it is important to use site
specific input parameters for reliable results. In the case of contaminant transport model, it
could not be tested with experimental observations due to lack of appropriate data.
However, some of the simulation results for organic carbon, nitrate, phosphate and E.coli
appear to indicate that the model is able to predict the contaminant transport through soil. It
is recommended that the model is further tested with experimental and/or field data. The
water can carry contaminants during percolation, however there are some chemical and
biological mechanisms, which can retard the migration of contaminants. The capillary force
can extract water from aquifer, which is important for redistribution system. With the
infiltration-redistribution system, the pore velocity of water may be reduced. This can lead
to self protection of groundwater from contamination. Further, it is apparent that the
relative hydraulic conductivity Kzkrw is one of the critical parameters that influence the
water and contaminant transport through vadose zone. In this study the influence of relative
hydraulic conductivity on the water and contaminant transport was not fully investigated.
Evidently, further studies are required to fully understand the influence of relative
hydraulic conductivity and hence identify critical soil types that may be readily affected by
the on-site waste disposal systems.
11. Acknowledgement
The model was originally developed as part of the first authors PhD project at the
University of Wollongong, Australia. Grant was provided by the National Centre of
Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management-KMUTT satellite centre.
Funding was partially provided by the Higher Education Research Promotion and National
Research University Project of Thailand, Office of the Higher Education Commission.
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Coastal Plain, Western Australia, CSIRO, ISBN 064-3001-085, Melbourne, Australia.
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infiltration. Hydrological Science Bulletin, Vol. 20, pp. 539-553, ISSN 0020-6025.
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21
Measurement and Modeling of
Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Kim S. Perkins
United States Geological Survey

United States of America
1. Introduction
The unsaturated zone plays an extremely important hydrologic role that influences water
quality and quantity, ecosystem function and health, the connection between atmospheric
and terrestrial processes, nutrient cycling, soil development, and natural hazards such as
flooding and landslides. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is one of the main properties
considered to govern flow; however it is very difficult to measure accurately. Knowledge of
the highly nonlinear relationship between unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) and
volumetric water content () is required for widely-used models of water flow and solute
transport processes in the unsaturated zone. Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity of sediments is costly and time consuming, therefore use of models that
estimate this property from more easily measured bulk-physical properties is common. In
hydrologic studies, calculations based on property-transfer models informed by hydraulic
property databases are often used in lieu of measured data from the site of interest. Reliance
on database-informed predicted values with the use of neural networks has become
increasingly common. Hydraulic properties predicted using databases may be adequate in
some applications, but not others.
This chapter will discuss, by way of examples, various techniques used to measure and
model hydraulic conductivity as a function of water content, K(). The parameters that
describe the K() curve obtained by different methods are used directly in Richards
equation-based numerical models, which have some degree of sensitivity to those
parameters. This chapter will explore the complications of using laboratory measured or
estimated properties for field scale investigations to shed light on how adequately the
processes are represented. Additionally, some more recent concepts for representing
unsaturated-zone flow processes will be discussed.
2. Hydraulic conductivity measurement

The most direct and most generally reliable measurements of unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity are from steady-state flow methods. These methods are seldom applied,
however. In the simple gravity-driven implementations they have serious drawbacks:
limitation to the wettest soil conditions, and slowness, sometimes requiring months for a
single K measurement. The Steady-State Centrifuge (SSC) method, used to measure K() for
the samples presented here, extends the range to lower steady-state K measurements by at
420
least three orders of magnitude, and allows at least six points of the unsaturated K relation
with to be characterized for a pair of samples in about five days (Nimmo and others, 2002).
The steady state centrifuge (SSC) method used to measure K() on 40 samples from the
Idaho National Laboratory is the Unsaturated Flow Apparatus1 (UFA) version (Conca and
Wright, 1998; Nimmo et al., 2002) of the method originally developed by Nimmo et al.
(1987). The core samples were sub-cored in the laboratory using a mechanical coring device
into a 4.9-cm-long, 3.3-cm-diameter retainer designed specifically to fit into the buckets of
the UFA centrifugal rotor.
The SSC method requires that steady-state conditions be established within a sample under
centrifugal force. Steady-state conditions require application of a constant flow rate and a
constant centrifugal force for sufficient time that both the water distribution and the water
flux within the sample become constant. When these conditions are satisfied, Darcys law
relates K to and matric pressure () for the established conditions as follows:
d
q K
C 2 r
dr
(1)
where q is the flux density (cm/s), C is a unit conversion factor of 1 cm-water/980.7

dyne/cm2 (1 cm of water is equal to a pressure of 980.7 dyne/cm2 and 1 dyne is equal to 1 g
cm/s2), is the density of the applied fluid (g/cm3), is the angular velocity (rad/s), and r
is the radius of centrifugal rotation (cm). If the driving force is applied with the centrifuge
rotation speed large enough to ensure that d/dr <<r, i.e., matric-pressure gradients that
develop in the sample during centrifugation are insignificant, the flow is essentially driven
by centrifugal force alone. The flow equation then simplifies to
q K ( )C 2 r .
(2)
The threshold for which the d/dr gradient can become negligible depends on the
hydraulic properties of the medium of interest. Nimmo et al. (1987) presented model
calculations showing that the d/dr gradient becomes negligible at relatively low speeds for
a sandy medium and at higher speeds for a fine-textured medium. Speeds high enough for
this purpose also normally result in fairly uniform water content throughout the sample,
permitting the association of the sample-averageand values with the measured K.
After achieving steady flow at a given q, is measured by weight and is measured by nonintrusive tensiometer (Young and Sisson, 2002) or the filter paper method (Fawcett and
Collis-George, 1967) in cases where suctions exceed 800 cm. These measurements along with
the computation of K, yields a triplet of data (K,) for the average water content within
the sample. Repeat measurements with different q and in some cases different rotational
speed give additional points needed to define the K(), and characteristics. There are
five samples for which ) was not measured. Three of the samples had gravel at the top
surface which prohibited sufficient contact with the tensiometer and the other two simply
lack that measurement.
Ksat was measured using either the standard benchtop falling head method (Reynolds and
others, 2002) or the falling head centrifuge method (Nimmo et al., 2002) in cases where
samples had very low (less than about 10-6 cm/s) Ksat values. The increased driving force
1
Use of brand names does not constitute endorsement by the US Geological Survey
421
Measurement and Modeling of Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity
allows for rapid measurement at low Ksat values using the equation from Nimmo et al.
(2002)
K sat
gz f 2 rb2
ln
gz 2 r 2
A g t f t i
i
b
2 aL
(3)
where a is the cross sectional area of the inflow reservoir (cm2), L is the sample length (cm),
A is the cross sectional area of the sample (cm2), t is time (initial and final), z is the height of
water above the plane in which the sample rotates (initial and final height, cm), and rb is the
position of the bottom of the sample (cm).
3. Hydraulic conductivity estimation

When direct measurements of K() are not obtainable it is possible to estimate using more
easily measured properties such as particle size distributions. To estimate K), and Ksat
parameters (measured and modeled) were combined with Mualems (1976) capillary-bundle
model, one of the most widely used K) models available. Mualems model infers a poresize distribution for a soil from its curve based on capillary theory, which assumes that
a pore radius is proportional to the value at which that pore drains. Mualems model
conceptualizes pores as pairs of capillary tubes whose lengths are proportional to their radii;
the conductance of each capillary-tube pair is determined according to Poiseuilles law2. In
this formulation, K() is defined as
K Kr Ksat
(4)
where Kr () is relative hydraulic conductivity. To compute K() for the whole medium, the
conductance of all capillary-tube pairs is integrated as
1
0 ( ) d
L
K r Se
sat 1 d
0 ( )
(5)
Where L is a dimensionless parameter interpreted as representing the tortuosity and

r
(degree
connectivity of pores with different sizes, usually given the value 0.5, Se
sat r
of saturation), r is residual water content andsat is saturated water content and is the
retention curve with matric pressure expressed as a function of water content.
The parameters used in Mualems model as described above were obtained in several ways
for the data presented here (fig 1) measured water retention data were fit with the RossiNimmo (1994) model, 2) measured water retention data were fit with the van Genuchten
(1980) model, and 3) water retention data were estimated based on particle size distributions
and bulk density using the Rosetta model (Schaap et al., 1998).
2
By Poiseuilles law the flow rate per unit cross-sectional area of a capillary tube is proportional to the
square of the radius.
422
Fig. 1. Steps used in the estimation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.
4. Water retention models and hydraulic conductivity estimation

The choice of the water-retention model used to produce the parameters required for
hydraulic conductivity estimation also has an effect on the resulting parameters. The RossiNimmo junction (RNJ) model is one that was chosen here to fit the measurements
because this model is more physically realistic over the entire range of from saturation to
oven dryness (d) than other parametric models (for example Brooks and Corey, 1964 and
van Genuchten, 1980) that include the empirical, optimized residual water content (r)
parameter, which is not well defined. According to capillary theory the largest pores are
associated with values near zero and drain first, followed by drainage of successively
smaller pores as approaches r. With the Brooks and Corey and van Genuchten models
there is an asymptotic approach to r meaning that if it is taken to be >0, the number of small
pores approaches infinity at a water content above zero, which is physically unrealistic. The
curve represented by the RNJ model does not have a parameter analogous to r; the
curve goes to zeroat a fixed value of calculated for the conditions of d. The RNJ model,
like many other parametric water retention models, can be analytically combined with the
capillary-bundle model of Mualem (1976) to estimate K() (Fayer and others, 1992; Rossi and
Nimmo, 1994; Andraski, 1996; Andraski and Jacobson, 2000).
The RNJ model consists of three functions joined at two points (defined asi and j, fig. 2): a
parabolic function for the wet range of i 0), a power law function (Brooks and
Corey, 1964) for the middle range of j i), and a logarithmic function for the dry
range of d j). This model has two independent parameters: (1) the scaling factor
for (o), and (2) the curve-shape parameter (Sometimes,o is associated with at
which air first enters a porous material during desaturation (referred to as air-entry
pressure), but, actually, air begins displacing water in the largest pores at a higher (less
negative) than o as evidenced by the departure of from saturation to the right of o on
the curve (fig. 2). Unlike the model of Brooks and Corey, which holds fixed between
= 0 and the air-entry pressure, the RNJ model produces a smooth curve near saturation,
represented by a parabolic function, that allows the pore-size distribution (the first
derivative of the curve) to be represented more realistically. The curve-shape parameter
423
indicates the relative steepness of the middle portion of the curve, described by the
power-law function. Larger values cause the drainage portion of the curve to appear
steeper.
Fig. 2. Example of water-retention curve showing the components of the curve-fit

model developed by Rossi and Nimmo (1994).
The parabolic function applies for i 0, and is represented by:
2
1 c ,
sat
o
(6)
where sat is saturated water content expressed volumetrically and c is a dimensionless

constant calculated from an analytical function involving the parameter (described
below)which also is dimensionless.
The power law function applies for j i, and is represented by:
o .
sat
(7)
The logarithmic function applies for d j, and is represented by:

ln d ,
sat

(8)
424
The dependent parameters are calculated as follows:
o
,
d
2
i o
,
2
(9)
j de ,
and
2
c 0.5
For convenience, a d value of -1 107 cm-water (the pressure at which the curve goes to
zero ) was used in the model fits for all core samples. This is a reasonable value for a soil
dried in an oven at 105o-110oC under typical laboratory conditions (Ross and others, 1991;
Rossi and Nimmo, 1994).
The RNJ model is integrable in closed form for use in the Mualem (1976) hydraulicconductivity model as described below (Rossi and Nimmo, 1994). Relative hydraulic
conductivity, the ratio between the unsaturated and saturated conductivity can be expressed
as:
I 2
,
sat I 2 sat
K r
(10)
where
I I III
for 0 j ,
I I II
for j i ,
I I I
for i sat ,
(11)
and
I III
I II I III j
1
1
exp
sat ,
o 1 sat
j

sat
(12)
425
I I I II i
2 c1 / 2
1 i
o sat
i i
1/ 2
sat
1/ 2
j j .
The measured water-retention data also were fit with the empirical formula of van
Genuchten (1980) which has the form:
n
r sat r / 1 ,
(13)
where , n, and m are empirical, dimensionless fitting parameters. Using measured and
values, and n parameters are optimized to achieve the best fit to the data. The parameter
m is set equal to 1-1/n in order to reduce the number of independent parameters allowing
for better model convergence and to permit convenient mathematical combination with
Mualems model (van Genuchten, 1980) as follows
K K satSe L {1 [1 Se n /(n 1) ]1(1/n ) } 2 ,
(14)
Where Ksat is saturated hydraulic conductivity and L is a dimensionless curve-fitting

parameter.
Most widely-used unsaturated flow and transport models use the van Genuchten model
rather than the Rossi-Nimmo junction model to represent . The van Genuchten equation
is parameterized by sat, r, , and n, where the scaling parameter for is (analogous to
o) and the curve-shape parameter is n (analogous to ).
5. Hydraulic property databases

Property transfer models (PTMs) are another way to estimate unsaturated zone hydraulic
property data such as and K(). PTMs, which can be based on simple or complex
relationships among variables of interest, serve the purpose of estimating hydraulic
properties from more easily measured bulk properties such as particle size distribution and
bulk density. Published databases of hydraulic properties, such as those of Holtan et al.
(1968), Mualem (1976), Nemes et al. (1999), Wsten (1999), are often used in studies when
direct measurements are not possible or when data for a large number of samples are
required, such as in development and testing of new models and theories or in comparative
or regionally extensive analyses. Some PTM development and testing studies use these
published databases (Vereecken et al., 1989 and 1990; Schaap et al., 1998; Hwang and
Powers, 2003), while others use unpublished data or data presented only in parameterized
or graphical form (Gupta and Larson, 1979; Arya and Paris, 1981; Wagner et al., 2001).
Schaap and Leij (1998) evaluated the effect of data accuracy on the uncertainty of PTMs and
concluded that the performance of a PTM depends strongly on the data being used for
calibration and testing, however, estimated properties may be sufficient depending on the
application for which they are used.
Desirable features of a database include (1) high reliability and precision of measurements,
(2) high quality, minimally disturbed samples, (3) a large and diverse sample population, (4)
426
consistency in measurement techniques across the data set, (5) a full suite of hydraulic and
bulk property data for each sample, and (6) ease of use. The database of Perkins and Nimmo
(2009) used for the examples in this chapter presents a data set that, though smaller in
sample number than many published databases, is ideal in several ways. Sample collection
and preparation techniques were selected to ensure minimal sample disturbance,
measurements were performed by the same laboratory techniques under highly controlled
conditions, and measurements were done by a limited number of researchers. Samples are
from diverse geographic, climatic, and geomorphic environments, and the data were
originally generated for various research purposes including recharge estimation,
simulation of variably saturated flow and solute transport, theoretical studies of porous
media, and property transfer model development. Samples were from various soil depths,
including many from below the root zone. Other published data sets commonly include
samples from shallow depths; about 80% of the samples in the data set of Nemes et al. (1999)
come from depths less than 1 m. Additionally, published databases often contain
measurements done on disturbed agricultural soils. The data used here for illustrative
purposes include bulk density (b), particle density (p), particle-size distribution, saturated
hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), hydraulic conductivity as a function of water content (K()),
and water content as a function of matric potential ()).
6. Data analysis
The data used to illustrate the effect of parameterization on K() estimation and numerical
flow simulations is from the database of Perkins and Nimmo (2009) described above.
Specifically they are from a core sample from the unsaturated zone at the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL) in eastern portion of the Snake River Plain. The medium is sandy in
texture with a Ksat of 3.90 x 10-3 cm/s and a porosity of 0.42. Additionally, measurements
from 40 INL samples were used to evaluate the error in K() produced by each estimation
technique.
6.1 Error calculations
The root-mean-square error (RMSE), also referred to as the standard error of the estimate, is
used here as a goodness-of-fit indicator between measured and predicted values of K(). The
parameters for predicting K() were obtained using water retention data fit with the RNJ
model, the van Genuchten model, and retention parameters predicted by the Rosetta model.
The RMSE is calculated as:
n
( y j y j )2
RMSE
j 1
(15)
where yj is the measured value, j is the predicted value of the dependent variable, and n is
the number of observations. Smaller values of RMSE indicate that the predicted value is
closer to the measured value of the variable. K() values span several orders of magnitude
which, in effect, unequally weights points in the RMSE calculation, therefore the values
were logarithmically transformed prior to calculation. The number of K() points measured
for each sample was between three and ten.
427
6.2 Parameter testing with numerical simulation

Parameterized and K() curves, representative of the modeled media, are required
input for numerical flow and solute transport simulations, therefore numerical simulations
were run in order to assess the influence of the input parameters on modeled results.
Utilizing parameterized unsaturated-hydraulic properties (K() and ) flow was
simulated using the U.S. Geological Survey variably-saturated two-dimensional transport
model (VS2DT) (Lappala and others, 1983; Healy, 1990; Hsieh and others, 1999) in order to
assess the effect of the chosen input parameters. The model was modified to allow for the
use of the Rossi-Nimmo water-retention parameters (Healy, personal communication 2006)
in additional to the van Genuchten model parameters. VS2DT solves the finite difference
approximation to Richards equation (Richards, 1931) for flow and the advection-dispersion
equation for transport. The flow equation is written with total hydraulic potential as the
dependent variable to allow straightforward treatment of both saturated and unsaturated
conditions. Several boundary conditions specific to unsaturated flow may be utilized
including ponded infiltration, specified fluxes in or out, seepage faces, evaporation, and
plant transpiration. As input, the model requires saturated hydraulic conductivity, porosity,
parameterized unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and water-retention functions, grid
delineation, and initial hydraulic conditions.
Three simulations based on soil core properties are presented here. Relations between
pressure head and water content were represented by functions developed by Rossi and
Nimmo and van Genuchten, in all cases using Mualems model to calculate relative
hydraulic conductivity. Parameters were also obtained with the Rosetta model, as described
earlier. The 2- by 2-m domain was discretized into 1- by 1-centimeter (cm) grid blocks with a
boundary condition chosen to simulate 60 minutes of infiltration at a constant rate of 0.01
cm/s over a 25 cm section at the top left of the domain. Initial hydraulic conditions were
specified as uniform water content (10% volumetrically).
7. Discussion
Errors were calculated for K() for the 40 samples and ranged from 0.21 to 9.45 with the best
overall performance achieved using the RNJ model for fitting the measured water retention
data where 47.5% of the samples has the lowest RMSE values. The maximum RMSE value
for the RNJ model is at least a factor of 4 lower than the other parameterizations. On
average, the Rosetta estimations were slightly better than those achieved by fitting the
measured water retention data using the van Genuchten model (27.5% vs. 25.0% of the
samples having the lowest RMSE values respectively). Table 1 shows the values for all 3
parameterizations for each sample.
For several of the van Genuchten K() estimates, the RMSE values were unusually large (fig.
3). This occurred in cases where few data points were available and the data clustered
within a small range in . The van Genuchten model is not physically realistic for the entire
range of from saturation to d because the model uses r as an optimized parameter. For
the particular cases where nodata are available in the dry range and the measured
points slope steeply within a small range in , the curve asymptotically approaches r
starting from near sat. On the resulting K() curve, K decreases sharply with little change in
. The) curve represented by the RNJ model goes to zero at a fixed value of
calculated for the conditions of d; therefore, even when few data points are available, the
relation remains somewhat realistic and, in turn, allows for a better estimate of K(. The
428
RNJ model has a much narrower range in values than the other models and also produces
no extreme outliers.
Sample
INEEL UZ98-2 42.98 m
ICPP-SCI-V-215 45.85 m
Average
Maximum value
Minimum value
Number of best fit values
van Genuchten
model
0.633
0.763
0.884
1.760
0.504
0.445
0.367
1.051
0.427
0.596
1.671
0.949
2.055
1.503
0.608
0.711
0.443
0.345
2.011
3.142
2.101
2.310
8.337
9.451
3.461
2.598
0.571
0.743
5.859
0.841
0.671
0.776
0.943
0.610
1.362
0.787
0.641
0.650
0.804
0.575
1.624
9.451
0.345
10
RMSE Values for predicted K()

Rossi-Nimmo
Rosetta model
junction model
0.659
0.583
0.796
0.427
0.629
0.655
0.979
8.062
0.785
0.564
0.314
1.571
0.342
1.043
0.358
0.439
0.292
1.273
0.266
1.160
0.795
0.392
0.359
0.878
1.205
1.176
0.779
0.977
0.368
0.408
0.214
0.315
0.554
0.610
0.622
0.649
0.643
0.472
0.598
0.530
0.813
1.328
0.823
1.599
0.739
1.891
0.564
2.103
2.190
1.211
1.293
0.863
0.668
1.572
0.596
1.365
1.662
0.333
0.568
1.959
0.895
2.158
1.068
0.415
1.652
3.398
1.085
3.802
1.699
0.276
1.620
7.624
1.346
0.510
1.057
0.753
0.689
0.806
1.354
0.619
0.848
1.419
2.190
8.062
0.214
0.276
19
11
Table 1. RMSE vales for 40 samples from the INL with water retention parameters obtained
from curve fitting with the van Genuchten and Rossi-Nimmo models, and estimated with
the Rosetta model.
429
Fig. 3. Comparison of the RMSE values predicted hydraulic conductivity (log K) based on
parameters from curves fits to water retention data with the van Genuchten and RossiNimmo models, and the Rosetta model. The box indicates the interquartile range (25th to 75th
percentile), the red line is the median value, the whiskers indicate the values that lie within
1.5 of the interquartile range, and the points indicate outliers.
Simulation results from the VS2DT model illustrate the effect of parameterization on model
results. Figure 4 shows the hydraulic conductivity curves used in the model plotted with
measured values.
Fig. 4. Measured and estimated hydraulic conductivity curves used in the VS2DT numerical
simulations.
The model domain, which was 2 m wide and 2 m deep, had uniform hydraulic properties
(sandy textured material) and constant infiltration over a 50 cm section at the top left corner
for 60 minutes at a rate of 0.01 cm/s. Changes in water content were output at the end of the
infiltration period at 11 observation points (fig. 5) to assess lateral and vertical water
movement.
430
Fig. 5. Observation points for water content output at the end of the infiltration period.
The Rosetta parameterization, one of the most commonly used methods, had a K() RMSE
of 8.06, the highest of the 3 cases. The wetting front was very diffuse compared to the other
models and reached the 100 m vertically and laterally to 30 cm beyond the infiltration
boundary within the infiltration period (fig. 6). With the water retention curve fitting as the
basis for obtaining parameters, the maximum water content is known from the curve. The
Rosetta model only has textural information therefore the porosity is estimated and the
water contents never reach the true known saturation value, which is slightly higher than
the model predicts. The van Genuchten parameterization had a K() RMSE of 1.76. The
wetting front was very sharp and progressed vertically to 60 cm with some wetting laterally
to 10 cm beyond the edge of the infiltration boundary (fig. 6). Saturation was reached more
quickly than the other 2 cases. The Rossi-Nimmo parameterization had the lowest K()
RMSE of the 3 cases at 0.98. The wetting front progressed vertically about 60 cm and
laterally to 10 cm beyond the edge of the infiltration boundary (fig. 4). The results using
known retention curves with the Rossi-Nimmo and van Genuchten models to predict K()
are very similar and presumably closest to reality. This analysis shows variable simulation
results due to parameterization even though the conceptual model is highly simplified and
homogeneous. The effects of soil structure, layering, preferential flow, variable water inputs,
nonuniform initial moisture conditions, and other mechanisms that are often found to
dominate field situations are not considered here. These effects would further complicate
the model uncertainty as influenced by the chosen parameter estimation method in ways
that may be difficult to anticipate.
The extremely simplified type of analysis presented here assumes that flow through the
unsaturated zone proceeds as described by the Richards equation. Many studies show that
there are processes, such as preferential flow, that are not adequately described by Richards
equation (Perkins et al., 2011; Tyner et al., 2006; Khne and Gerke, 2005; Jaynes et al., 2001;
Yoder, 2001; Iragavarapu et al., 1998, Flury et al., 1994). There are recent studies suggesting
that hydraulic conductivity and water retention may be important for modeling diffuse
matrix flow; however, they may not capture some of the dominant field-scale processes such
as preferential flow. These processes may be better represented by the addition of
431
parameters related to the nature of the water input source and preferential flow path density
which will improve the capability of unsaturated zone flow models (Nimmo, 2007; Nimmo
2010). The examples given here show that model results are highly sensitive to the estimated
parameters. It is also certain that the use of field-measured (small or large scale), laboratorymeasured, and empirically-estimated data in numerical models will yield significantly
different results. Another important aspect to consider in evaluating unsaturated zone flow
is whether or not the numerical model can accurately represent all of the processes in the
conceptual model which should be based on field observations to the extent possible (e.g.
information about soil structure, macropores, anthropogenic modifications, etc.).
0.45
0.45
0.40
0.40
0.35
0.35
0.30
0.30
0.25
0.25
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
0.10
0.05
Water Content (vol/vol)
0.00
0
Rosetta parameters
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0.05
0.00
0
0.45
0.45
0.40
0.40
0.35
0.35
0.30
0.30
0.25
0.25
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
500
van Genuchten parameters
0.05
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0.00
0
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0.45
0.40
0.40
0.35
0.35
0.30
0.30
0.25
0.25
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
Rossi-Nimmo parameters
0.05
0.00
0
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0.10
0.05
0.00
0
0.45
500
500
0.10
0.05
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 0.00

0
Time (s)
Lateral water
content changes
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Time (s)
X=20, Z=10
X=40, Z=10
X=60, Z=10
X=80, Z=10
X=100, Z=10
Vertical water
content changes
X=20, Z=10
X=40, Z=10
X=60, Z=10
X=80, Z=10
X=100, Z=10
X=120, Z=10
Fig. 6. Water contents siimulated for the simple infiltration model using the VS2DT model.
432
8. Summary and conclusions

Understanding the highly nonlinear relationship between water content and hydraulic
conductivity is one element in predicting water flow and solute transport processes in the
unsaturated zone. Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of sediments is
costly and time consuming, therefore use of models that estimate this property from more
easily measured bulk-physical properties is common. In hydrologic studies, especially those
using dynamic unsaturated zone moisture modeling, calculations based on property
transfer models informed by hydraulic property databases are often used in lieu of
measured data from the site of interest. The degree to which the unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity curves estimated from property-transfer-modeled water-retention parameters
and saturated hydraulic conductivity approximate the laboratory-measured data were
evaluated. Results indicate that using the physically realistic water retention model of Rossi
and Nimmo (1994) yields results that are closer to measured values especially where
measured data are sparse. Using the Rosetta pedotransfer model or the van Genuchten
water retention model produced about the same goodness of fit between the measured and
modeled hydraulic conductivity data. Because numerical models of variably-saturated
solute transport require parameterized hydraulic properties as input, simulation results
were shown to illustrate the effect of the various parameters on model performance. It is
clear that the model results vary widely for a highly simple conceptual model and it is likely
that the addition of more physically realistic characteristics would further affect the model
performance in complex ways.
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