Hydraulic Conductivity - Amoozemeter

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Parameter to be measured:

Hydraulic conductivity

Method:

Constant head permeameter: Measures infiltration rate within an auger hole up to a depth of 2 m and with extension set up to a depth of 4 m. A constant hydraulic head is kept in the auger hole which must be H/r >= 5 and the infiltration rate will be monitored until steady state flow is attained. Hydraulic conductivity will be calculated with the equation of Glover (Amoozegar, 1989b, 1993)

Equipment:

Constant head permeameter with reservoir (with combined) Mariotte-bottle
dissipation unit
auger drill equipment
measure tabe or folding meter stick
datasheets, stop watch, torch for deep holes
water vessels for supply

Advantages:

in-situ measurement, no analysis of disturbed soil samples in lab
measurement in different depths of soil profile
easily transportable for monitoring at any location
less water consume

Disadvantages:

many pipes and valves - requires practice and understanding to recognise errors, set-up time
price
exact geometry of auger hole as specified in the equation is not often realised
in depth up to 70 cm the measurment is complicated because of controling water level
soils with high content of gravels and boulders would be problematic because of realsing the correct geometry of the auger hole

What to watch out for:

potential problems with

hydrophobic soils
heterogenous water content of soil before measurement
strong effects from preferential flowpaths
strong swelling/shrinking of soil
effects of impermeable layers before stationarity is achieved
inclined, uneven surfaces
in loamy and clay soils the augering will smear up the soil pores which will lead to an underestimation of hydraulic conductivity

Problems/Questions:

Links

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Other related web sites:

References

Amoozegar, A, 1989a. A compact, constant-head permeameter for measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity of the vadose zone, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53, 1356–1361.
Amoozegar, A, 1989b. Comparison of the Glover solution with the simultaneous equations approach for measuring hydraulic onductivity, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53, 1362–1367.
Amoozegar, A, 1993. Comments on ‘‘Methods for analyzing constanthead well permeameter data’’, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 559– 560.
Amoozegar, A, 2005. Amoozemeter, in: Lal, R. Encyclopedia of Soil Science, Second Edition.
Elrick, DE, Reynolds WD, 1992. Methods for analyzing constanthead well permeameter data, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 320– 323.
Elrick, DE, Reynolds, WD, 1992. Methods for analyzing constanthead well permeameter data, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 320– 323.
Elsenbeer, H, Newton, BE, Dunne T, de MoraesJM, 1999. Soil hydraulic conductivities of latosols under pasture, forest and teak in Rondonia, Brazil. Hydrol. Process. 13, 1417-1422.
Sobieraj, JA, Elsenbeer, H, Coelho, RM, Newton, B, 2002, Spatial variability of soil hydraulic conductivity along a ropical rainforest catena, Geoderma 108, 79–90.
Zigler, AD, Negishi, JN, Sidle, RC, Noguchi, S, Nik, AR, 2006. Impacts of logging disturbance on hillslope saturated hydraulic conductivity in a tropical forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Catena 67, 89 – 104.