CAREER: Field-scale quantification of dynamic physical properties in shrink-swell soils for improved hydrological prediction

职业：对收缩膨胀土壤的动态物理特性进行现场规模量化，以改进水文预测

• 批准号: 2337711
• 负责人: Briana Wyatt
• 金额: $ 68.01万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-08-01 至 2029-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2337711&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Field; scale; quantification; dynamic

Shrink-swell soils are clayey soils that expand when wetting and shrink when drying. Though these soils account for only 2% of soil globally, they have a disproportionately large impact on water quantity and quality due to their shrink-swell properties, which lead to the formation of cracks that in turn strongly influence key hydrologic processes including water and contaminant transport, infiltration, runoff, and plant water use. Currently, there are no ways of predicting the cracking behavior of these soils or including the effects of these cracks in model simulations. The goal of this research is to improve our ability to measure and predict crack formation in shrink-swell soils, with the ultimate goal of improving models of water flow in soils. This will allow us to better manage and predict the movement of water and pollutants within the environment. In addition, the project will include training opportunities for K-12 teachers to learn about soil science activities and lessons, with the goal of attracting students to the field at a young age.To date, the dynamic physical properties of shrink-swell soils have not been adequately quantified beyond individual sites. Further, theoretical models describing the soil water content-bulk density relationship depend on empirical parameters that lack physical meaning. To address this gap, this project will integrate multiple proven, non-invasive geophysical measurement types at several locations to allow for the accurate field-scale quantification of the soil water content-bulk density relationship. The goal of the proposed research is to improve understanding of and ability to quantify dynamic properties of shrink-swell soils at the field scale by providing a physically-based, non-site-specific representation of the soil water content-bulk density relationship. This objective will be reached using the following objectives: 1) Quantify the relationship between soil moisture and bulk density at the field scale in shrink-swell soils at multiple sites, 2) Quantify the number and size of soil cracks based on surface and subsurface imagery, and 3) Produce field-scale estimates of effective soil hydraulic parameters for characterizing soil shrinkage, swelling, and crack development. The educational objectives of the proposed work are to 1) Broaden participation in soil and Earth sciences by hosting multiple train-the-trainer soil science education workshops for K-12 educators, and 2) incorporate project findings into an existing open-source introductory soil physics textbook. This research will provide a physically-based theoretical model of the soil water content-bulk density relationship at the field scale and lay a foundation for the integration of that model into existing numerical models. This will allow for the dynamic representation of the presence and size of cracks in areas with shrink-swell soils, improving estimates of infiltration, surface runoff, and soil water storage.This project is co-funded by the Hydrologic Sciences and Education and Human Resources programs in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

收缩 - 切成薄片的土壤是粘土质土壤，在干燥时润湿和收缩时会扩展。尽管这些土壤在全球范围内仅占土壤的2％，但由于它们的收缩特性，它们对水量和质量的影响不成比例，这导致裂纹的形成，进而强烈影响关键的水文过程，包括水和污染物。运输，浸润，径流和植物用水。当前，没有办法可以预测这些土壤的裂纹行为，或者在模型模拟中包括这些裂纹的影响。这项研究的目的是提高我们测量和预测收缩 - 河水土壤中裂纹形成的能力，其最终目标是改善土壤中水流模型。这将使我们能够更好地管理和预测环境中水和污染物的运动。此外，该项目将包括K-12老师学习土壤科学活动和课程的培训机会，目的是吸引学生到年轻的年龄。除了单个站点之外，没有充分量化。此外，描述土壤含量块密度关系的理论模型取决于缺乏物理意义的经验参数。为了解决这一差距，该项目将在多个位置整合多个经过验证的非侵入性地球物理测量类型，以允许对土壤水含量块密度关系的准确量表定量。拟议的研究的目的是通过提供基于物理的，非位置的非位置特异性表示土壤含水量 - 耗电块密度关系来提高对田间尺度上缩小的矿山土壤动态特性的理解和能力。将使用以下目标来达到此目标：1）量化多个地点的收缩式土壤中土壤水分和散装密度之间的关系，2）根据表面和地下图像量化土壤裂纹的数量和大小，和3）产生有效土壤液压参数的现场尺度估计值，以表征土壤收缩，肿胀和裂纹发育。拟议工作的教育目标是1）通过为K-12教育工作者举办多个培训土壤科学教育研讨会，并将项目发现纳入现有的开放源土壤中，从而扩大了土壤和地球科学的参与。物理教科书。这项研究将提供一个基于物理的理论模型，以在现场尺度的土壤含水量块密度关系上，并为将该模型整合到现有数值模型中奠定基础。这将允许动态表示裂缝土壤中裂纹的存在和大小，从而改善了浸润，地表径流和土壤储水的估计值。该项目由水文科学和教育和人力资源共同资助NSF的地球科学部计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估值得支持的。