Improvements to Estimating Unsaturated Soil Properties from Horizontal Infiltration
2004
Tyner, John S. | Brown, G. O.
Current methods to determine unsaturated soil properties are expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. A procedure is presented that quickly estimates the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, diffusivity, water retention, and sorptivity functions from a Bruce–Klute test in conjunction with a semi-analytic analysis. Data collection was performed using a computer controlled γ-ray attenuation system to measure moisture content. A computer controlled syringe pump maintained the inlet boundary conditions. Improvements to existing analytical procedures include the independent optimization of van Genuchten soil hydraulic parameters n and α, and a method to optimize the residual moisture content from a single measurement of water potential versus water content. The method was applied to a sandy loam and its strengths and weaknesses are discussed.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library