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Transfer Function Model of Field-Scale Solute Transport under Transient Water Flow

Dep. of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521

Greg L. Butters

Dep. of Agronomy, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523

* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Simulation of transient solute transport under field conditions has been limited by the requirement that local water velocities must be represented explicitly by a hydrologic model. In this paper, that requirement is avoided by using a solute transfer function model to characterize solute dispersion explicitly in terms of field scale or area-averaged water flow past a depth of interest. The model is constructed by assuming that the solute travel-time probability density function to a depth of interest is an invariant property of the soil when expressed as a function of cumulative drainage, except for differences in water-storage volume at the time solute is applied. Both water storage and water flux at the field scale may be calculated by the water-balance equation, provided that a relationship can be developed between water flux at depth z and water-storage volume from z = 0 to z. The model is illustrated by simulating transient area-averaged solute concentrations as a function of time both for a field experiment involving chemical leaching under rainfall, and for a hypothetical process involving simusoidal water input and time-dependent solute input concentration. The model preserves mass balance and produced a good representation of the field data, using independently measured parameters to calibrate the transfer function and hydrologic function.

Received for publication May 22, 1989.

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