Abstract:
Evaporation from bare soil was investigated using a numeric model In one set of simulations, texture and evaporative demand were analyzed as they impacted short and long term evaporation. The effect of these factors on water redistribution was also analyzed. A second set of simulations was run to determine the effect of soil cracks on evaporation and salt redistribution. The effect of salt on evaporation rates was also analyzed. Soil texture was found to have a profound effect on 100 day average evaporation rates, with a range of over one order of magnitude. Evaporative potential was found to have a smaller, texture dependent, effect. Soil cracks were found to increase evaporation by 20% over the 100 day period, and create significant salt concentration along the crack surface. The presence of saline pore water was found to depress evaporation by 7-20%, depending on the concentration.
