Groundwater recharge is often assumed to be uniform within a watershed owing to difficulties in quantifying its temporal and spatial variability. In this paper, fluctuations in soil moisture content at multiple depths in the unsaturated zone together with fluctuations in the water table are used to provide a record of the recharge process and a means to quantify and compare temporal and spatial recharge variability. Hourly measurements of soil moisture content and the elevation of the water table were collected at two sites, a clear cut and a coniferous forest site, within the Trout Lake basin of northern Wisconsin. The soil moisture and water table data were used together to assess the temporal and spatial variability in groundwater recharge from October 1999 to May 2001 and to identify the climatic (amount and timing of rainfall) and physical (vegetation and soil type) controls on the recharge process within this basin. Together, the two datasets allow for a holistic assessment of the recharge process from the ground surface through the unsaturated zone down to the water table.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.