Water vapor adsorption and flow dynamics in dry desert soils

Abstract

Water vapor adsorption is the least studied form of non-rainfall water inputs but is likely the most common one in arid and hyper-arid areas. It is determined by the magnitude of the downward gradient in water vapor pressure between the atmosphere and the soil; the surface area of the adsorbing soil; and the penetration depth of water vapor adsorption. Water vapor adsorption was measured using micro-lysimeters and profiles of relative humidity (RH) sensors in both loess and sand in the Negev desert, Israel, over the summers of 2021 and 2022. The RH sensor array allowed measurement of detailed changes in water content in the soil profile and provided an unprecedented insight into processes governing water vapor adsorption dynamics under arid conditions in-situ. The RH sensors significantly underestimated total water vapor adsorption, indicating that a finer array is needed to capture the full process. However, even with the current array, extremely small changes in water content were captured. With these measurements we explored the three main factors contributing to water vapor adsorption. The onset of a downward vapor pressure gradient coincided with the arrival of the sea breeze, indicating that the sea breeze is the primary source for water vapor adsorption in the uppermost soil layer. Water vapor adsorption was higher in loess than in sand, due to its finer texture and larger surface area. The most important finding of this research is that the dominant mechanism for water vapor flow under natural arid conditions (relative humidity in the soil (RHs) <100%) is different than under the generally assumed RHs = 100% conditions. Under natural arid conditions, temperature affects water vapor flow through advection rather than through diffusion. This means water vapor moves from lower to higher, rather than from higher to lower, temperatures. The fact that advection is a much faster process compared to diffusion potentially explains the rather deep penetration of water vapor adsorption observed in deserts.