Uncertainties around modelling of steady-state phreatic evaporation with field soil profiles of δ18O and chloride

JF Costelloe; EC Irvine; AW Western

Journal article

Uncertainties around modelling of steady-state phreatic evaporation with field soil profiles of δ18O and chloride

JF Costelloe, EC Irvine, AW Western

Journal of Hydrology | ELSEVIER | Published : 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.01.046

Abstract

The application of the general advection-diffusion equation to model phreatic evaporation flux rates from solute concentration soil profiles has been applied to a variety of arid zone locations but the effects of heterogeneous and uncertain field data on modelling performance are rarely described. We revisit and extend the model by accounting for the effects of variable water content and sediment type on the impedance factor, and in turn, effective diffusion coefficient. We explore the local sensitivity of the extended model to its major assumptions and parameter values. The mean diffusion coefficient of the soil profile data is most sensitive to the volumetric water content close to the eva..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Andrew Western Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP0774814 and Discovery Grant DPO450334, in conjunction with industry partners BHP-Billiton, Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee, Santos Limited and the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board. The second author was supported by a Land and Water Australia Postgraduate Scholarship. The permission of the following landholders to conduct fieldwork is gratefully acknowledged;Robert Khan (Marree Station), George Morphett (Callanna Station), David Brook and Frank Booth (Murnpeowie Station), Reg Dodd (Finniss Springs Station), Bobby Hunter (Stuart Creek Station), Randall Crozier (Mt Anna Station), Trevor Williams (Nilpinna Station). The fieldwork would not have been possible without the assistance of Vjeko Matic, Graeme Tomlinson, Dinh Phu Nguyen, Belis Matabire, Maria Friderich, Peter Richards, Susan Hayes and Richard Evans. The authors thank the reviewers and editor for their constructive comments which greatly improved this paper.