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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #225160
Title: How surface roughness affects chemical transfer from soil to surface runoff?

Author
item BATAILLE, C - ENSAT, FRANCE
item Huang, Chi Hua

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2008
Publication Date: 10/5/2008
Citation: Bataille, C., Huang, C. 2008. How surface roughness affects chemical transfer from soil to surface runoff? [abstract]. 2008 Joint Annual Meeting Soil Science Society of Agronomy, October 5-9, 2008, Houston, Texas. 2008. CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil surface roughness affects transport processes, e.g., runoff generation, infiltration, sediment detachment, etc., occurring on the surface. Nevertheless, how soil roughness affects chemical transport is less known. In this study, we partitioned roughness elements into mounds which diverge water flow and depressions which converge surface runoff and studied how these different roughness forms affect chemical loading to runoff water. Preliminary results using bromide (Br) as the chemical tracer showed that surface depressions provided temporary water storage and increased Br loading as much as four times as compared to flat surfaces and twice as compared to surfaces with mounds under 1 hour rainfall at 50 mm/h. The interaction between different roughness forms and surface hydrologic conditions, i.e., seepage vs. drainage, on chemical loading is currently being studied. The results will be used to improve water quality modeling.