Partitioning solute transport between infiltration and overland flow under rainfall

Abstract

Solute transport from soil to overland flow is an important source of nonpoint pollution and was investigated through tracer studies in the laboratory and at an outdoor laboratory catchment. The depth of surface water interaction with soil, defined as the mixing zone is a useful value for approximate estimation of potential solute transport into surface water under rainfall. It was measured in the laboratory for a noninfiltration case (0.90 to 1.0 cm) and estimated through mass balance modeling for an infiltration case (0.52 and 0.73 cm). At an outdoor laboratory catchment, mixing zones were calculated through calibration of a numerical model that describes unsteady, uniform, infiltration and chemical transport. Overland flow was simulated using kinematic wave theory. Mixing zone depths ranged from 0.47 to 1.02 cm and were a linear function of rainfall intensity. Also, the fraction of solute present in the mixing zone at the time of ponding which was extracted into overland flow was a linear function of the initial soil moisture content. A steady state analytical approximation of the solute transport model was also developed which overpredicted solute transport into overland flow by 1 to 60%.