Pedosphere 14(3): 339--346, 2004
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2004 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| An analytical solution for advance of solute front in soils |
| LIU Chun-Ping1,2, SHAO Ming-An2,3, LU Dian-Qing1,3, XIA Wei-Sheng1 and CAI Song-Bai1 |
1 Department of Resource and Environment Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410006 (China). E-mail: zhxy@hunnu.edu.cn;
2 Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing 100101 (China);
3 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling 712100 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Based on the assumption that solute transport in a semi-infinite soil column or in a field soil profile can be described by the boundary-layer method, an analytical solution is presented for the advance of a solute front with time. The traditional convection-dispersion equation (CDE) subjected to two boundary conditions: 1) at the soil surface (or inlet boundary) and 2) at the solute front, was solved using a Laplace transformation. A comparison of resident concentrations using a boundary-layer method and an exact solution (in a semi-infinite-domain) showed that both were in good agreement within the range between the two boundaries. This led to a new method for estimating solute transport parameters in soils, requiring only observation of advance of the solute front with time. This may be corroborated visually using a tracer solution with marking-dye or measured utilizing time domain reflectometry (TDR). This method is applicable to both laboratory soil columns and field soils. Thus, it could be a step forward for modeling solute transport in field soils and for better understanding of the transport processes in soils. |
| Key Words: analytical solution, parameter estimation, solute front, solute transport |
| Citation: Liu, C. P., Shao, M. A., Lu, D. Q., Xia, W. S. and Cai, S. B. 2004. An analytical solution for advance of solute front in soils. Pedosphere. 14(3): 339-346. |
|
View Full Text
|
|
|
|
