COMPARISON OF SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT METHODS FOR A GLACIAL-TILL SOIL

AbstractHydraulic conductivity is the single most important hydraulic parameter for flow and transportrelated phenomena in soil, but the results from different measuring methods vary under different field conditions. To evaluate the performance of four in situ saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) measuring methods, Ks measurements were made at four depths (15, 30, 60, and 90 cm) and five locations on a glacialtill soil of Nicollet (fineloamy, mixed, mesic Aquic Hapludoll)Clarion (fineloamy, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludoll) association. The four in situ methods were: (i) Guelph permeameter, (ii) velocity permeameter, (iii) disk permeameter, and (iv) doubletube method. The Ks was also determined in the laboratory on undisturbed soil cores collected from all the five sites and four depths. The Guelph permeameter method gave the lowest Ks values, possibly because of small sample size, whereas the disk permeameter and doubletube methods gave maximum values for Ks with minimum variability, possibly because of large sample size. Maximum variability in Ks values for soil cores at shallow depths may have occurred because of the presence or absence of openended macropores. Estimates of Ks, however, are most comparable for the velocity permeameter and the laboratory method using a constanthead permeameter.

COMPARISON OF SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT METHODS FOR A GLACIAL-TILL SOIL Academic Article