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Determination of the Apparent Dispersion Coefficient of Solutes in Unsaturated Soil¹

ABSTRACT

A method for determining the apparent dispersion coefficient of a solute in unsaturated soils at relatively low soil water flow rates is presented. Two soil cores with different initial water contents were joined and water allowed to flow between the soil cores for a specified time interval. The distribution of a radioactively tagged solute, initially present in one of the soil cores, was subsequently determined by freezing the cores in liquid air, sectioning the soil with a refrigerated microtome, and analyzing the soil sections for solute content using liquid scintillation techniques. Apparent dispersion coefficients could be determined either with or against the water flow. The solutes used in this study were tritiated water, chloride, and metribuzin (a herbicide).

¹ Contribution from the Agr. Exp. Sta. of the Univ. Of Arkansas. Published with the approval of the Director of the Arkansas Agr. Exp. Sta. (A portion of this work was supported by the Water Resources Research Center under grant No. A-039-ARK.)

² Graduate Assistant and Associate Professor, respectively, Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Senior author is now Research Soil Scientist, USDA-SCS National Soil Survey Lab., Lincoln, NE 68508.

Received for publication October 13, 1977. Accepted for publication July 19, 1978.