ARS | Publication request: Seepage and seepage gradients in an homogeneous, isotropic aquifer with drains as a function of soil properties and flow region geometry

Submitted to: European Geosciences Union General Assembly Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 31, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Seepage and seepage gradients are important parameters in soil erosion processes and water quality problems on agricultural land. Traditionally, surface overland flow is viewed as one of the major soil erosive agents on those areas. In recent years, the role of the subsurface flow regime is increasingly being recognized as an important soil instability factor and contributor to surface water quality deterioration. This paper presents an analysis that attempts to quantify the seepage flow to a drain embedded into an homogeneous, isotropic aquifer in a flat land area. Seepage and seepage gradients are determined for different soil hydraulic characteristics, aquifer geometry, and drain location in the aquifer. The analysis is based on a solution of Laplace’s equation using conformal theory. The explicit solution also yields pathways of contaminant transport in the flow region.