SUBSURFACE WATER

Austria, Melody Joy V. (BSCE-2)

SUBSURFACE WATER

-is water that exists in the pore spaces and

fractures in rocks and sediments beneath the
Earths surface.

-an important phase of hydrological cycle.

- it is often use in arid region as the only reliable

source of water for irrigation of pollution and is
especially useful for domestic use .

-is relatively free of pollution and is especially

useful for domestic use in small towns and
isolated farms.

Occurrence of Subsurface Water

The subsurface occurrence of groundwater classified in subsurface
zones divided by an irregular surface called the water table.

Water table is the locus of points (in unconfined material)

where hydrostatic pressure equals atmospheric pressure.

Two Major Subsurface Zones

Zone of Aeration
Above the water table, in the vadose zone, soil pores may
contain either air or water.
Zone of Saturation
in the phreatic zone, below the water table, interstices are filled
with water.

Schematic cross section showing the occurrence of groundwater.

Moisture in Vadose Zone

Vadose Zone - also termed the unsaturated zone,

is the part of Earth between the land surface and
the top of thephreatic zone.

Three Moisture Region within the Vadose

Zone
Region penetrated by roots of vegetation
(Ranging to 10m below the soil surface)
Soil-Moisture Region
Intermediate Region

Soil-Water Relationships
Soil Moisture may be present as gravity water in transit in the
larger pore spaces, as capillary water in the smaller pores, as
hygroscopic moisture adhering in a thin film to soil grains, and
as water vapor.
*Gravity Water is in a transient state
* hygroscopic Water held by molecular attaraction and is
normally removed from the soil under usual
climatic
conditions.
*Capillary Water the important variable element
of soil
moisture.
Buckingham first proposed characterizing soil moisture
phenomena on the basis of energy relationships. He introduced
the concept of Capillary potential go describe the attraction of
soil for water.

Capillary potential defined as the work required

to move a unit of mass of water from the
reference plane to any point in the soil column.

Equation:
= gy

Where:
= capillary potential
g = acceleration of gravity
y = height above datum (negative)

Equilibrium Points

define the limit and visualizing the limit of water in soil.

Two Greatest Interest of Equilibrium points

Field Capacity is defined as the moisture content of soil after
gravity drainage is complete.
*Tension (Colman) 30 KPa
*Moisture Equivalent (Veihmeyer and Hendrickson) 9.5mm
deep
after centrifuged for 30mins at a speed equivalent to a
force of
1000g field capacity of fine-grained soils.
Wilting Point represents the soil-moisture level when plants cannot
extract water from soil. It is the moisture held at a tension
equivalent to the osmotic pressure in the plant roots.
*Tension 1.5 Mpa
Available Moisture is the difference between the moisture
content at field capacity and wilting point.

Measurement of Soil Moisture

The standard determination of soil moisture is the loss
in the weight when a soil sample is oven dried.
Equipment needed to measure soil moisture

Tensiometer consists of a porous ceramic cup which

is inserted to the soil. Filled with water and connected
to a manometer. It is remains in equilibrium with the
soil.

Manometer - If the soil moisture falls below saturation,

water is drawn from the cup and a negative pressure

Field Capacity

Wilting Point

Available Water

Density(dry)
kg/m3

Sand

1520

Sandy Loam

12

1440

Loam

19

10

1360

Silt Loam

22

13

1280

Clay Loam

24

15

1280

Clay

36

20

16

1200

Peat

140

75

65

400

Soil Type

Methods of Soil Moisture Measurement

Resistivity Method

Neutron- Scattering Method

Aerial Observation of Natural Gamma

Radiation from the Soil