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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #60321
Title: SUBSURFACE LATERAL TRANSPORT IN CENTRAL IOWA DURING A WET YEAR

Author
item Logsdon, Sally
item Jaynes, Dan

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Water and solute movement in a landscape is not all vertical, but may be lateral in subsurface positions through a hillslope. Subsurface lateral movement is prevalent in gently rolling landscapes with shallow water tables. We used bromide as a tracer to indicate subsurface lateral water flow patterns in a soybean (Glycine max.) field on a Clarion soil (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludoll) with a 5% slope. Bromide was applied in a trench 18 cm deep on May 20, 1993. In this wet year, 25% of applied bromide mass moved laterally in the subsurface extending to 6 m downslope, and minute amounts were detected near the surface extending to 15 m downslope. Over 70% moved vertically beneath the applied transect but only to the 90 cm depth. The occurrence of lateral water and solute movement should be considered in contaminant transport.