Author(s): M. L. Sharma; I. D. Cresswell; J. D. Watson
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Abstract: We investigated the possibility of estim ating groundwater recharge rates through a sandy soil profile in an area of about 0.04 ha. The soil was v egetated with a native Banksia w oodland. A pulse of potassium bromide solution w as applied and allowed to be leached by natural precipitation. Depth distributions of Br were monitored at two times (21 days and 76 da ys after application) as a function of water input. We outline briefly＿a stochastic/d eterministic approach for describing the ' average' de pth distribution function of Br for the area. The method requires estimation o f average depth of centre of mass of Br in the profile for the area. The model was calibrated based on the observation s at t＿1=21da ys, and used to predict solute distribution at t＿2= 76 days. With some approximations, average ground-w ater recharge for the area can be predicted. The predicted recharge of 224 mm at t＿2 ag reed reasonablyw ell with an independently estimated value of 235 mm. It is suggested that there is a good potential for developing a method of recharge estimation using this approach. However, its applicability needs to be tested for different soil-vegetation systems.
Year: 1985