Keywords

soil mositure retention curves, hydraulic conductivity, soil amendments, retention ponds

Abstract

The vadose zone plays an important role in managing stormwater. Predicting the water balance and water movement is crucial in ground water remediation to keep water suitable for use. To aid in understanding soils ability to transmit and store water, soil and hydraulic properties were analyzed for soils in Marion County, Florida, and potential soil amendments. Soil and hydraulic properties were examined for two soil amendments and for the soils in Marion County, Florida, at the South Oak and the Hunter's Trace locations. The hydraulic properties measured were the soil moisture retention curve (SMRC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks). The soil properties measured were the particle-size distribution (PSD) and the specific gravity. From these, the bulk density and porosity were calculated. The SMRC corresponds to the water holding capacities, while the Ks corresponds to the soils ability to transmit water. Both are dependent on the soil properties. The SMRC for the soil amendments and native soils were developed in the laboratory using a Tempe Cell apparatus. In addition, the SMRC was measured in the field at the Hunter's Trace location with time domain reflectometry (TDR) and tensiometer equipment at three depths of 1-ft, 2-ft, and 3-ft over approximate a two month period. The SMRC obtained in the laboratory was compared to two analytical models, Brooks and Corey and van Genuchten, and to the field data. There is a strong correlation between the laboratory, analytical, and field SMRC for both South Oak and Hunter's Trace. In addition, there is a strong correlation between the laboratory SMRC and analytical models for the soil amendments. The Arya and Paris (AP) model, a pedotransfer function, was examined for its accuracy in predicting the SMRC for the soils at South Oak and Hunter's Trace, in addition to the soil amendments. Measuring the SMRC in the lab is a time consuming process; therefore, inferring the SMRC from textural and structural soil properties which are easier measured characteristics would be advantageous.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Chopra, Manoj

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Degree Program

Civil Engineering

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002410

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002410

Language

English

Release Date

December 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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