Characterizing largescale preferential flow across Continental United States
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AbstractUnderstanding preferential flow (PF) at large scales is critical for improving land management and groundwater (GW) quality. However, limited knowledge of this process, due to soil surface heterogeneity and observational constraints, hampers progress. In this study, we propose estimating effective PF at remote sensing footprint scale (49km) by examining its impact on soil moisture (SM) distribution and shallow groundwater (SGW) table fluctuations (depth 5 m). Effective PF encompasses macropore, funnel, and finger flow pathways influencing SGW table fluctuations. We compiled daily SGW observations (20192021) from 19 Continental United States (CONUS) sites through United States Geological Survey. Using inverse modeling in HYDRUS1D, SGW data, and climate hazards group infrared precipitation with station data precipitation, we inversely estimated soil hydraulic parameters of the dualporosity model (DPM) simulating vertical flow from soil surface to subsurface. Effective PF presence was inferred using three criteria: (1) daily precipitation equal to or exceeding the sitespecific average across multiple (calibration) years, (2) daily observed SGW table increase, and (3) daily difference between observed and DPM simulated SGW tables 50% of the sitespecific root mean square error. Leveraging optimized DPM parameters and associated soil texture, classified PF events, and soil moisture active passive (SMAP L3E) satellitebased SM, a random forest algorithm with 10fold cross validation predicted largescale effective PF events. Results indicate seasonal dependence, with spring having the highest occurrence of PF events. The random forest model achieved 98% accuracy in predicting largescale PF events, with SMAP SM and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) among the four most impactful variables. Our approach provides a soil hydraulic property, site characteristic, soil texture, and remote sensingbased generalized tool to analyze largescale effective PF.
