Table Of ContentM 0 n t e Proceedings of the Centro Stefano Franscini
Verita Ascona
Edited by K. Osterwalder, ETH Zurich
Field-Scale Water and
Solute Flux in Soils
Edited by
K. Roth
H. Fluhler
W.A. Jury
J.C. Parker
1990 Birkhauser Verlag
Basel· Boston· Berlin
Editors' addresses:
Dr, K, Roth Prof, H, Fluhler
Department of Soil Bodenphysik ETHZ
and Environmental SCiences ETH-Zentrum
University of California NOH46
2208 Geology 8092 Zurich
Riverside, California 92521 Switzerland
USA
Prof, W,A, Jury Prof, Dr, Jack C, Parker
Department of Soil Center for Environmental
and Environmental Sciences and Hazardous Material Studies
University of California Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Riverside, California 92521 241 Smyth Hall
USA Blacksburg, VA 24061
USA
Deutsche Bibliothek Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Field scale water and solute flux in soils / ed, by K, Roth, ,-Basel; Boston; Berlin: Birkhauser, 1990
(Monte Verita)
ISBN-13: 978-3-0348-9969-7 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-0348-9264-3
001: 10.1007/978-3-0348-9264-3
NE: Roth, Kurt [Hrsg.]
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned,
specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying
machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 ofthe German Copyright Law, where copies
are made for other than private use a fee is payable to "Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort», Munich.
© 1990 Birkhauser Verlag Basel
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
Printed on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
Part 1 THINK TANK REPORTS
Flow and Transport Modeling Approaches: Philosophy, Complexity and Relationship to
Measurements ................................................................................................................................. 4
Effective Large Scale Unsaturated Flow and Transport Properties ............................................. 13
Evaluation of Field Properties from Point Measurements. ........................................................... 17
Evaluating the Role of Preferential Flow on Solute Transport through Unsaturated Field
Soils .............................................................................................................................................. 23
Part 2 PAPERS
Spatial Variability of Water and Solute Flux in a Layered Soil
R.G. Kachanoski, C. Hamlin, and l.J. van Wesenbeeck ..................................................... 31
One and three Dimensional Evaluation of Solute Macrodispersion in an Unsaturated Sandy
Soil
G. L. Butters, T. R. Ellsworth, W. A. Jury ........................................................................... 41
Assessment of Field-Scale Leaching Patterns for Management of Nitrogen Fertilizer
Application
D. J. Mulla andJ. G. Annandale ........................................................................................ 55
The Effect ofField Soil Variability in Water Flow and Indigenous Solute Concentrations
on Transfer Function Modelling of Solute Leaching
R.E. White and L.K. Heng ................................................................................................... 65
Analysis of Caisson Transport Experiment by Travel Time Approach
V. Nguyen, G. Dagan and E.P. Springer ............................................................................ 79
Field Estimates of Hydraulic Conductivity from Unconfined Infiltration Measurements
M.D.Ankeny, R. Horton, andT. C. Kaspar ...................................................................... 95
Sprinkler Irrigation, Roots and the Uptake of Water
B. E. Clothier, K. R. J. Smettem, and P. Rahardjo ........................................................... 101
The Infiltration-Outflow Experiment U sed to Detect Flow Deviations
M. Cfslerowi, T. Vogel and J. Simunek ............................................................................. 109
Spatial Variability of Unsaturated Flow Parameters in Fluvial Gravel Deposits
F. Stauffer and P. Jussel ................................................................................................... 119
Quantification of Detenninistic and Stochastic Variability Components of Solute
Concentrations at the Groundwater Table in Sandy Soils
J. Bottcher and O. Strebel ................................................................................................. 129
Use of Scaling Techniques to Quantify Variability in Hydraulic Functions of Soils in the
Netherlands
JH.M. Wosten ................................................................................................................... 141
Kriging Versus Alternative Interpolators: Errors and Sensitivity to Model Inputs
A.W. Warrick, R. Zhang, M.M. Moody, D.E. Myers ......................................................... 157
Spatial Averaging of Solute and Water Flows in Soil
R. Webster and T M. Addiscott ......................................................................................... 165
Criteria for Evaluating Pesticide Leaching Models
K. Loague and R.E. Green ................................................................................................ 175
Relating the Parameters of a Leaching Model to the Percentages of Clay and other Soil
Components
T.M. Addiscott and N J. Bailey ......................................................................................... 209
Prediction of Cation Transport in Soils Using Cation Exchange Reactions
H. M. Selim, R. S. Mansell, LA. Gaston, H. FlUhler, and R. Schulin .............................. 223
Transport of a Conservative Tracer under Field Conditions: Qualitative Modelling with
Random Walk in a Double Porous Medium
K. Roth, H. Flahler, and W. Attinger ................................................................................ 239
Mass Flux of Sorptive Solute in Heterogeneous Soils
G. Destouni and V. Cvetkovic ........................................................................................... 251
Effective Properties for Modeling Unsaturated Flow in Large-Scale Heterogeneous Porous
Media
J. L. Zhu, S. Mishra and J. C. Parker ............................................................................... 261
Transport of Reactive Solutes in Spatially Variable Unsaturated Soils
S.EA.TM . van der Zee ..................................................................................................... 269
A Perturbation Solution for Transport and Diffusion of a Single Reactive Chemical with
Nonlinear Rate Loss
D.O. Lomen, A.Islas, A.W. Warrick ............................................................................... 281
Areal Solute Flux Estimation: Legal Aspects
G. Karlaganis and J. Dettwiler ......................................................................................... 289
Field-Scale Water and
Solute Flux in Soils
Monte Verita
© Birkhliuser Verlag Basel
INTRODUCTION
The soil profile forms the interface between the atmosphere and the geosphere. Material and
energy fluxes through the soil profile therefore are of interest to a variety of scientific
disciplines, as well as to individuals concerned with land and water resource management.
Because water and nutrients vital to plant growth and crop yield flow through the surface soil
profile, the study of material and energy fluxes through soil is important to the agriculture and
food production industries. However, because the soil profile overlies the ground water resource,
flow of chemical contaminants through the soil is of importance to a variety of scientists,
agencies, industries, and private citizens concerned with water pollution and resource
management.
Quantitative characterization of material and energy flows through soil is extremely difficult,
because the properties of the soil profile that are important in transport are quite variable in
space, and can change significantly over time. Moreover, spatial heterogeneity is manifest at all
distance scales, so that measurements of transport properties are difficult to interpret or to
average. This heterogeneity also makes transport modelling difficult, both because not all of the
processes that contribute to the transport of matter and energy through soil are well understood,
and also because measurement limitations greatly restrict the spatial scale at which the transport
processes can be formulated.
This book contains the proceedings of the fITst workshop held at the Monte Verita resort near
Ascona, Switzerland on September 24-29, 1989. It is intended to represent a cross section of
current research on water and solute transport through soil, as well as group reports on four
current areas of interest in transport. The fITst part of the book consists of the reports prepared by
the four Think Tank discussion groups. These groups, which were formed from the body of the
conference attendees, held daily meetings during the conference to discuss issues surrounding
the topic assigned to the group by the conference organisers. Each group defined its own format,
and developed a unique response to the charge of developing a summary report defining its
activities. The second part of the book contains a selection of contributions that were presented
at the workshop.
Some special circumstances as well as the hard work of many people were responsible for the
success of the workshop and the production of this book. The most important circumstances
behind the success of the workshop were the marvellous setting of the Centro Stefano Franscini
and the generous financial support provided by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
(ETH). The running of the workshop was facilitated greatly through the efforts of the Soil
Physics group of the ETH. We owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr. Bernhard Buchter, Markus
2
Flury, Thomas Gimmi, Sabine Koch, Hanspeter Laser, Andreas Papritz, Gerald Richner, and
Martin Schneebeli for their efforts preparing for the gathering, and working behind the scenes
during the week, and to Flavia Crameri for patiently typing many manuscripts into the proper
format. We also acknowledge an important, albeit anonymous contribution from the many
outside reviewers who provided valuable comments on the research papers in this book. Finally,
we express special gratitude to the Director of the Centro Stefano Franscini, Dr. Konrad
Osterwalder, for his active support during the planning, execution, and preparation of
proceedings for this workshop.
-ZUrich, Switzerland
Riverside, California USA
Blacksburg, Virginia USA
September 1990
Kurt Roth
Hannes Fliihler
William Jury
Jack Parker
PARTl
THINK TANK REPORTS
Field-Scale Water and
Solute Flux in Soils
Monte Verita
© Birkhiiuser Verlag Basel
FLOW AND TRANSPORT MODELING APPROACHES:
PHILOSOPHY, COMPLEXITY AND RELATIONSHIP TO
MEASUREMENTS
Discussion leaders: A. Rasmuson and H. Fltihler
Participants: T. Addiscott, G. Dagan, T. Gimrni, P. Hufschmied, D. Imoden,
S. Koch, G. Kachanowski, G. Karlaganis, P. Lachassagne,
D.O. Lomen, P.S.C. Rao, B. Sagar, R.E. White, P. Wierenga,
J.H.M. Wosten
Defining the Goal
Models for flow and transport in the geo-and pedosphere are developing at a rapid pace. This
field of research is receiving considerable attention and increasing support based on several
implicit assumptions. It is for instance assumed that such models are or will become
regulatory as well as research tools for interpreting cause and effect relationships in
environmental pollution events. Furthermore, it is assumed that such models can ultimately be
scaled up to represent the significant features of reality, that is, a field soil or even a catchment
with its space and time domain, including all relevant features and elements such as structure,
biota, liquid, and mineral phases, etc. The choice of the workshop topic and the outcome of this
meeting indicate that these implicit assumptions are not entirely based on solid grounds.
The goal of this think tank was to distill ideas and personal views from the on-going
discussion of what models are and what they are presumed to be; ideas and personal views which
are relevant for enhancing our understanding of field scale transport phenomena and useful
in a regulatory and management sense.
The essence of our group discussions can be summarized by a collection of questions which
floated to the surface of our "tank" during the initial ~und:
Do we need more models? How can we make models relate better to the real world? How preci
sely do we need to know parameter values - and do we have the sensitivity analysis that will
enable us to decide? In estimating model parameters should we scale up from smaller to larger
systems or should we go straight to the larger system? How do we establish safety factors for soil
contaminants for regulatory purposes? What can we do, other than measuring concentrations in
4
