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Published in Soil Sci Soc Am J 36:874-879 (1972)
© 1972 Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Water Movement in Undisturbed Swelling Clay Soil1

J. T. Ritchie, D. E. Kissel and Earl Burnett2

ABSTRACT

Hydraulic conductivities of Houston Black clay were measured in two field basins, in 73-cm and 21-cm diameter undisturbed cores, and in small cores prepared from sieved soil. Conductivities averaged about 2.5 cm/day for the field basins, about 0.3 cm/day for the undisturbed cores, and 0.1 cm/day for the disturbed soil cores. After steady-state flow through the larger, undisturbed cores was obtained, water tagged with fluorescein was used to displace water in the cores until tagged water first appeared in the effluent. Examination of cross sections of the cores at different depths showed distinctive isolated areas where tagged water was present in the soil pores. The results imply that most water contained within structural units was inactive in the flow process compared to water flow around the units. The core walls apparently cut off some large pores associated with the soil structure, causing the decreased conductivities. Therefore, only field-determined hydraulic conductivities are appropriate for use when predicting water flow in natural profiles of a swelling clay soil.

NOTES

1 Contribution from Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA, in cooperation with the Texas Agr. Exp. Sta., Texas A&M Univ.

2 Soil Scientist, USDA, Assistant Professor, Texas Agr. Exp. Sta., and Soil Scientist, USDA, Box 748, Temple, Texas 76501, respectively.

Received for publication January 12, 1972. Accepted for publication August 30, 1972.






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