HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bauters, T. W. J. Articles by DiCarlo, D. A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bauters, T. W. J. Articles by DiCarlo, D. A. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Bauters, T. W. J. Articles by DiCarlo, D. A.

Preferential Flow in Water-Repellent Sands

Dep. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853

David A. DiCarlo

Dep. of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA 94305

*Corresponding author(tssl{at}cornell.edu).

ABSTRACT

Water-repellent soils occur all over the world and affect both groundwater pollution and crop yield. The finger-like wetting patterns in these soils have many similarities with unstable wetting fronts in coarse-grained sandy soils. Our objectives were to study the water movement in water-repellent sand and to examine how the theory for unstable wetting fronts applies to water-repellent sands. Infiltration experiments, in which moisture content and matric potentials were measured, were carried out in slab chambers with identical sands but with different levels of water repellence. Soil water characteristics were determined in separate experiments. Infiltration in the hydrophilic soil resulted in a uniform and horizontal front. All water-repellent sands showed a fingered flow pattern. For negative water-entry values, water infiltrated without delay. For positive values, water entered the soil only after the depth of the ponded water equaled or exceeded the water-entry pressure, which increased with increasing repellency. The finger widths predicted with the unstable flow theory agreed rather well with the observed values. In general, the research showed that the wetting patterns of water-repellent sands depended directly on the soil water characteristic curve. This implies that the type of wetting front and risk to groundwater pollution can be predicted based on laboratory-measured soil hydraulic properties.

Received for publication October 10, 1997.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Larsbo, T. S. Aamlid, L. Persson, and N. Jarvis Fungicide Leaching from Golf Greens: Effects of Root Zone Composition and Surfactant Use J. Environ. Qual., June 23, 2008; 37(4): 1527 - 1535. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W.-L. Liang, K. Kosugi, and T. Mizuyama Heterogeneous Soil Water Dynamics around a Tree Growing on a Steep Hillslope Vadose Zone J., November 20, 2007; 6(4): 879 - 889. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-O. Goebel, S. K. Woche, J. Bachmann, A. Lamparter, and W. R. Fischer Significance of Wettability-Induced Changes in Microscopic Water Distribution for Soil Organic Matter Decomposition Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., August 27, 2007; 71(5): 1593 - 1599. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Bachmann, M. Deurer, and G. Arye Modeling Water Movement in Heterogeneous Water-Repellent Soil: 1. Development of a Contact Angle Dependent Water-Retention Model Vadose Zone J., August 1, 2007; 6(3): 436 - 445. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Deurer and J. Bachmann Modeling Water Movement in Heterogeneous Water-Repellent Soil: 2. A Conceptual Numerical Simulation Vadose Zone J., August 1, 2007; 6(3): 446 - 457. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Arye, I. Nadav, and Y. Chen Short-term Reestablishment of Soil Water Repellency after Wetting: Effect on Capillary Pressure-Saturation Relationship Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., April 5, 2007; 71(3): 692 - 702. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Gilboa, J. Bachmann, S. K. Woche, and Y. Chen Applicability of Interfacial Theories of Surface Tension to Water-Repellent Soils Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., August 3, 2006; 70(5): 1417 - 1429. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				U. Buczko and O. Bens Assessing Soil Hydrophobicity and Its Variability through the Soil Profile Using Two Different Methods Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 29, 2006; 70(3): 718 - 727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-J. Kim, C. J. G. Darnault, N. O. Bailey, J.-Y. Parlange, and T. S. Steenhuis Equation for Describing Solute Transport in Field Soils with Preferential Flow Paths Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2005; 69(2): 291 - 300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. T. Crist, Y. Zevi, J. F. McCarthy, J. A. Throop, and T. S. Steenhuis Transport and Retention Mechanisms of Colloids in Partially Saturated Porous Media Vadose Zone J., February 1, 2005; 4(1): 184 - 195. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-O. Goebel, J. Bachmann, S. K. Woche, W. R. Fischer, and R. Horton Water Potential and Aggregate Size Effects on Contact Angle and Surface Energy Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2004; 68(2): 383 - 393. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. G. Darnault, T. S. Steenhuis, P. Garnier, Y.-J. Kim, M. B. Jenkins, W. C. Ghiorse, P. C. Baveye, and J.-Y. Parlange Preferential Flow and Transport of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts through the Vadose Zone: Experiments and Modeling Vadose Zone J., February 1, 2004; 3(1): 262 - 270. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. S. Akhtar, M. S. Akhtar, T. S. Steenhuis, B. K. Richards, and M. B. McBride Chloride and Lithium Transport in Large Arrays of Undisturbed Silt Loam and Sandy Loam Soil Columns Vadose Zone J., November 1, 2003; 2(4): 715 - 727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Lebron, I. Lebron, and D. A. Robinson Particle Size Segregation during Hand Packing of Coarse Granular Materials and Impacts on Local Pore-Scale Structure Vadose Zone J., August 1, 2003; 2(3): 330 - 337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. McLeod, J. Aislabie, J. Smith, R. Fraser, A. Roberts, and M. Taylor Viral and Chemical Tracer Movement through Contrasting Soils J. Environ. Qual., November 1, 2001; 30(6): 2134 - 2140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G.L. Feng, J. Letey, and L. Wu Water Ponding Depths Affect Temporal Infiltration Rates in a Water-Repellent Sand Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2001; 65(2): 315 - 320. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.L.K. Carrillo, J. Letey, and S.R. Yates Unstable Water Flow in a Layered Soil: I. Effects of a Stable Water-Repellent Layer Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2000; 64(2): 450 - 455. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				M.L.K. Carrillo, J. Letey, and S.R. Yates Unstable Water Flow in a Layered Soil: II. Effects of an Unstable Water-Repellent Layer Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2000; 64(2): 456 - 459. [Abstract] [Full Text]