An Experimental Study of Liquid and Vapor Water Flux in Layered Slopes

Abstract:

Mechanisms governing water flow and evaporation in unsaturated layered soils are relevant to study hillslope dynamics and to design landfill covers. The latter are often based on capillary barrier effects to reduce vertical flow and enhance lateral flow. Vapor fluxes can become especially relevant for water redistribution in arid regions where liquid water fluxes are small. This work presents the results of a study of liquid and vapor fluxes in layered slopes. Two pilot covers were built including a capillary barrier. We analyzed their performance for two years by means of a thorough monitoring system. Lateral water flow confirmed the capillary barrier effectiveness in reducing vertical flow depending on the granulometry of the underlying layer and highlighted the importance of the slope to enhance lateral drainage. The detailed study of the daily and annual variations of vapor fluxes shows that there is a relevant vapor flux and contrary to intuition: downwards during the summer and upwards during the winter, with a downward net annual vapor flux. Finally, how rainfall events can be the cause of the vapor fluxes reversing is discussed and an analytical solution to calculate diffusive vapor fluxes at any depth is presented and compared with field data.