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Brooks et al. 2004
Brooks, E.S., Boll, J. and McDaniel, P.A. (2004). A hillslope-scale experiment to measure lateral saturated hydraulic conductivity. Water Resources Research 40. doi: 10.1029/2003WR002858. issn: 0043-1397.

One of the most challenging parameters in hillslope- and watershed-scale, distributed, hydrologic models is the lateral saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks). In this paper, we present a methodology to determine the hillslope-scale lateral Ks above a moderately deep sloping restrictive layer in an 18 ¿ 35 m hillslope plot using perched water level measurements and drain tile outflow data. The hillslope-scale lateral Ks was compared to small-scale Ks measured with small soil cores and the Guelph permeameter. Our results show that small-scale Ks measurements underestimate the actual hillslope-scale Ks. The hillslope-scale Ks measurements were 13.7, 4.1, and 3.2 larger than small soil core measurements in the A, B, and E horizons, respectively. We argue that the gap between small-scale and hillslope-scale Ks within the same porous medium is foremost a measurement problem. Data analysis provided the Ks distribution with depth, showing a sharp decrease in Ks within the first 0.1 m of the soil and an exponential decline in Ks below 0.1 m. The distribution of Ks with depth was best described by a double-exponential relationship. Overall, results indicate the importance of macroporosity, perhaps of biological origin, in determining Ks at a hillslope scale.

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Abstract

Keywords
Hydrology, Instruments and techniques, Hydrology, Runoff and streamflow, Hydrology, Groundwater hydrology, Hydrology, Groundwater quality, distributed modeling, drain tiles, fragipan soils, macropores, scaling, through flow
Journal
Water Resources Research
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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