Characterization of Preferential Flow in Spatially Variable Unsaturated Field Soils

Abstract

Preferential flow appears to be the rule rather than the exception in field soils and should be considered in the quantitative description of solute transport in the unsaturated zone of heterogeneous formations on the field scale. This study focused on both experimental monitoring and computer simulations to identify important features of preferential flow in the natural environment. The specific objectives of this research were: (1) To conduct dye tracing and multiple tracer experiments on undisturbed field plots to reveal information about the flow velocity, spatial prevalence, and time evolution of a preferential flow event; (2) To conduct numerical experiments to determine (i) whether preferential flow observations are consistent with the Richards flow equation; and (ii) whether volume averaging over a domain experiencing preferential flow is possible; (3) To develop a stochastic or a transfer function model that incorporates preferential flow. Regarding our field work, we succeeded to develop a new method for detecting flow patterns faithfully representing the movement of water flow paths in structured and non-structured soils. The method which is based on application of ammonium carbonate was tested in a laboratory study. Its use to detect preferential flow was also illustrated in a field experiment. It was shown that ammonium carbonate is a more conservative tracer of the water front than the popular Brilliant Blue. In our detailed field experiments we also succeeded to document the occurrence of preferential flow during soil water redistribution following the cessation of precipitation in several structureless field soils. Symptoms of the unstable flow observed included vertical fingers 20 - 60 cm wide, isolated patches, and highly concentrated areas of the tracers in the transmission zone. Soil moisture and tracer measurements revealed that the redistribution flow became fingered following a reversal of matric potential gradient within the wetted area. Regarding our simulation work, we succeeded to develop, implement and test a finite- difference, numerical scheme for solving the equations governing flow and transport in three-dimensional, heterogeneous, bimodal, flow domains with highly contrasting soil materials. Results of our simulations demonstrated that under steady-state flow conditions, the embedded clay lenses (with very low conductivity) in bimodal formations may induce preferential flow, and, consequently, may enhance considerably both the solute spreading and the skewing of the solute breakthrough curves. On the other hand, under transient flow conditions associated with substantial redistribution periods with diminishing water saturation, the effect of the embedded clay lenses on the flow and the transport might diminish substantially. Regarding our stochastic modeling effort, we succeeded to develop a theoretical framework for flow and transport in bimodal, heterogeneous, unsaturated formations, based on a stochastic continuum presentation of the flow and a general Lagrangian description of the transport. Results of our analysis show that, generally, a bimodal distribution of the formation properties, characterized by a relatively complex spatial correlation structure, contributes to the variability in water velocity and, consequently, may considerably enhance solute spreading. This applies especially in formations in which: (i) the correlation length scales and the variances of the soil properties associated with the embedded soil are much larger than those of the background soil; (ii) the contrast between mean properties of the two subdomains is large; (iii) mean water saturation is relatively small; and (iv) the volume fraction of the flow domain occupied by the embedded soil is relatively large.