Optimizing Vadose Zone Flow Forecasting Using Water Content And Pressure Head Data
Presenter: Mica Jarocki1
Co-Author(s): -
Advisor(s): Dr. Bo Guo and Dr. P.A. Ty Ferré
1Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona
Understanding vadose zone flow behavior is important for characterizing contaminant transport, recharge to aquifers, and surface-subsurface water interactions. Flow behavior can be inferred from field water content and pressure head data. However, the number of observations, their locations in space, and observation types can have significant impacts on the resulting vadose zone flow forecast. We use HYDRUS 1D to infer soil hydraulic properties given water content and pressure head data. From this, water flux is calculated at the base of the column to represent deep infiltration. We explore the effect that the spatial and temporal resolution of the data points and the observation type have on the ability to accurately infer this water flux through time. The results could be used to customize field sampling efforts to specific objectives.