Impact of Salinity and Groundwater Fluctuations on Moisture Distribution and Non-Isothermal Water Fluxes in Soils of Arid Zones

Fondecyt 1130522

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Abstract

The main objective of this project is to explore the impact of salinity and groundwater fluctuations on both moisture distribution and non-isothermal water fluxes in soils from the north of Chile, which are volcanic-origin and high-salinity soils. This investigation will determine the main mechanisms of water transport in arid zones where shallow ground waters exist. To simultaneously measure water contents and temperature distribution within the soil profile, a state-of-the-art methodology, based on distributed temperature sensing (DTS), will be investigated and combined with electrical conductivity measurements to understand the coupled heat, mass and solute transport in this complex environment. This is the first investigation that will explore the use of DTS methods to determine both the liquid and gaseous water transport within soils, at spatial scales of millimeters, to understand the main mechanisms of non-isothermal water transport, and the water and energy balance in soils.

Research Team

  • José Francisco Muñoz Pardo (Principal investigator).
  • Francisco Ignacio Suárez Poch (Co-investigator).
  • Felipe Andrés Cristi Matté, M.Sc. (2014), Thesis: “A new TDR-waveform approach capable to estimate soil moisture contents at large electrical conductivity range”.
  • Verónica Belén Fierro Cortés, M.Sc. (2015), Thesis: “SAR effects on evaporation fluxes from shallow groundwater”.
  • José Luis Serna Farfán, M.Sc. (2015), Thesis: “Evaluación del método activo para determinar contenidos de humedad en suelos”.
  • Alex Arturo Samuel Cifuentes, M.Sc. (in program).
  • Magdalena Sofía Lagos del Río, M.Sc. (in program).
  • Cristián Moreno, Eng. Thesis (in program).
  • Rodrigo Andrés Araya Pavez, Undergraduate student, Theme: development of a heating system for soil moisture determination using distributed temperature sensing.

 

Publications (peer reviewed)

  1. Hernández-López, M.F., Gironás, J., Braud, I., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2014). Assessment of evaporation and water fluxes in a column of dry saline soil subject to different water table levels. Hydrological Processes 28(10), 3655-3669. doi: 10.1002/hyp.9912.
  2. Cristi, F., Fierro, V., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F., Hausner, M.B. (2016). A TDR-waveform approach to estimate soil water content in electrically conductive soils. Accepted in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2015.12.004.

 

Conference presentations/abstracts

  1. Serna, J.L., Muñoz, J.F., Suárez, F. Determination of Soil Evaporation Fluxes Using Distributed Temperature Sensing Methods. AGU 2015 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 14-18, 2015.
  2. Lagos, M., Fierro, V., Moreno, C., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2015). The Effects of Salinity and Sodium Adsorption Ratio on the Water Retention and Hydraulic Conductivity Curves of Soils From The Pampa del Tamarugal, Chile. AGU 2015 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 14-18, 2015.
  3. Fierro, V., Muñoz, J.F., Suárez, F. (2015). Efecto del SAR en los flujos de evaporación en columnas de suelo con napa somera. XII Jornadas de Investigación en la Zona No Saturada. Madrid, España. November 18-20, 2015.
  4. Suárez, F. (2015). Evaporation suppression in salt-gradient solar ponds and development of new measuring techniques in soils. International Seminar: Advances in evaporation and its impacts on the environment. Santiago, Chile, March 19, 2015.
  5. Serna, J.L., Cristi, F., Muñoz, J.F., Suárez, F. (2014). Determination of soil evaporation fluxes using distributed temperature sensing methods. AGU 2014 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 15-19, 2014.
  6. Fierro, V., Cristi, F., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2014). Impacts of salinity on soil hydraulic properties and evaporation fluxes. AGU 2014 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 15-19, 2014.
  7. Cristi, F., Fierro, V., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2014). A new TDR-waveform approach capable to measure soil moisture contents at large electrical conductivity ranges. AGU 2014 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 15-19, 2014.
  8. Cristi, F., Fierro, V., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. Análisis de aplicabilidad de sensores TDR en suelos salinos. XII Congreso Latinoamericano de Hidrogeología. Santiago, Chile. August 25-30, 2014.
  9. Fierro, V., Cristi, F., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. Efecto de la evaporación en las propiedades hidrodinámicas de un suelo salino. XII Congreso Latinoamericano de Hidrogeología. Santiago, Chile. August 25-30, 2014.
  10. Fierro, V., Hernández, M.F., Cristi, F., Braud. I., Gironás, J., Hausner, M.B., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2013). Impacts of evaporation from saline soils on soil hydraulic properties and water fluxes. AGU 2013 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 9-13, 2013.
  11. Cristi, F., Hernández, M.F., Fierro, V., Hausner, M.B., Suárez, F., Muñoz, J.F. (2013). Evaluation of TDR sensors to estimate moisture content in a highly saline soil from northern Chile. AGU 2013 Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California, USA. December 9-13, 2013.