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

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wells, R. R. Articles by Prasad, S. N. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wells, R. R. Articles by Prasad, S. N. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Wells, R. R. Articles by Prasad, S. N. Related Collections Other Geophysical Methods Infiltration Soil Physics

DIVISION S-1—SOIL PHYSICS

Infiltration and Surface Geometry Features of a Swelling Soil following Successive Simulated Rainstorms

^a USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Lab., Oxford, MS 38655
^b Dep. of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853
^c Dep. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677

^* Corresponding author (tss1{at}cornell.edu).

The theory of water movement in high shrink/swell soils has experienced consistent revision since Haines first presented the topic in 1923. Several aspects of the infiltration process in cracking soils have proven to be difficult to measure; seal/crust formation and properties, crack network patterns, preferential flow zones and contributions, and soil moisture determinations within the profile (near crack and near center of prismatic column) to name a few. Here, we used simulated rainstorms, laser measurements of surface elevation, needle-penetrometer measurements, and mass measurements of infiltrating water over a 206- and 145-d period to examine water movement and cracking patterns in a large sample box filled with a swelling clay soil. Water movement was restricted to the neighborhood of the crack zone, since the formation of a surface seal/crust prohibited infiltration into the surface of the prismatic columns of soil between cracks. Also, the location of cracks was observed to alternate between rainstorms. The alternating crack pattern led to more uniform wetting with depth as time increased and the number of rainstorms increased, thereby reducing the extent of preferential flow.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Sz. Kishne, C. L. S. Morgan, and W. L. Miller Vertisol Crack Extent Associated with Gilgai and Soil Moisture in the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., May 13, 2009; 73(4): 1221 - 1230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. R. Wells, M. J. M. Romkens, J.-Y. Parlange, D. A. DiCarlo, T. S. Steenhuis, and S. N. Prasad A Simple Technique for Measuring Wetting Front Depths for Selected Soils Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., April 5, 2007; 71(3): 669 - 673. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Braudeau and R. H. Mohtar Modeling the Swelling Curve for Packed Soil Aggregates Using the Pedostructure Concept Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., February 27, 2006; 70(2): 494 - 502. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Blanco-Canqui, R. Lal, W. M. Post, R. C. Izaurralde, and L. B. Owens Corn Stover Impacts on Near-Surface Soil Properties of No-Till Corn in Ohio Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., January 6, 2006; 70(1): 266 - 278. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]