Evaluation of Surface Infiltration Measurements Using Soil Physical and Hydraulic Properties to Model Behavior.

Stormwater management decisions can be informed by infiltration measurements.  Surface infiltration rate determines the fraction of rainfall partitioned to surface runoff.  Typical approaches for measuring surface infiltration rate require some assumptions and/or simplifications of water flow processes compared to natural rainfall. Interpreting infiltration measurements for understanding the effects of management practices thus requires a more comprehensive understanding of the physical system being measured.  Infiltration measurements were collected using two different methods (mini rainfall simulator and constant head) at four research sites in North Carolina.  Physical and hydraulic properties including saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat), water retention, and bulk density for each site were measured and will be fit to models for predicting infiltration behavior.  Field measurements will be compared with models to assess and potentially modify interpretations of infiltration measurements.