Tuesday, 8 November 2005
6

Local Variability and Power-Law Correlations in Water Retention Parameters: the WTMM approach.

Takele Belachew Zeleke and Bing Si. University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N5A8, Canada

Several fluid flow and mass transport models relay on soil water retention parameters that are predicted from basic soil physical property data through pedotransfer functions (PTFs). The use of PTFs in this regard is becoming highly popular in many practical applications because of the time and expenses involved with direct measurement methods. Nonetheless, the accuracy of PTF predicted water retention parameters is usually below expectations and often results in unreliable model outputs. The objective of this study was to determine the relationships between soil physical properties and water retention parameters in terms of local scale variability and power-law correlations using the wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM) method. Soil physical property and water retention parameters were determined from 128 soil cores, from a 384-m transect with a sandy loam soil, located at Smeaton, SK, Canada. Results will include comparison between the van Genuchten (1980) water retention parameters and soil physical properties with respect to the wavelet transform (WT) spectrum, the modulus maxima lines, and local Hölder exponents.

Handout (.pdf format, 2236.0 kb)

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