Abstract
As an alternative to the use of tracers, easy-to-measure soil moisture dynamic parameters (e.g., water content) provide in situ estimates of the infiltration rate reduction state of a soil medium. For instance, managed aquifer recharge operations control the hydraulic state of their infiltration basins by measuring the infiltrated volume under constant head conditions. Instantaneous profile measurement systems can be used to manage the basins by determining the reduction of the infiltration rate over time. This study combines the empirical methods of Libardi, the self-developed water content and root mean square difference-based procedures and the trigger time method, to get a similar reproduction of tracer results from river water spreading basins. The methods based on water content showed a good fitting in comparison to the results obtained with the tracer experiment and represent a promising source for detecting changes in the flow impedance during infiltration events.
Highlights
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has recieved increased attention in recent decades as a potential measure to alleviate and mitigate problems of water allocation, saltwater intrusion, and replenishment of over-exploited aquifers; both to reduce evaporative losses and to improve water quality [1]
One of the main methods of MAR is the use of surface spreading basins, which has an added benefit of using the vadose zone as a filter to trap and break down organic and inorganic compounds before water reaches the aquifer [2], as well as being a cost-effective measure compared to alternatives [3,4]
The set of t50 of each infiltration cycle against the infiltration time is shown in Figure 3, which provides an of indication of the infiltration rate reduction
Summary
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has recieved increased attention in recent decades as a potential measure to alleviate and mitigate problems of water allocation, saltwater intrusion, and replenishment of over-exploited aquifers; both to reduce evaporative losses and to improve water quality [1]. One of the main methods of MAR is the use of surface spreading basins, which has an added benefit of using the vadose zone as a filter to trap and break down organic and inorganic compounds before water reaches the aquifer [2], as well as being a cost-effective measure compared to alternatives [3,4]. Given that this concept is gaining more relevance as a mitigation approach against climate change, further investigation of the processes involving MAR has to be performed in order to maximise its efficiency [5]. This type of infiltration is refered to in this study as ‘continuous infiltration’
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