Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2008PA88B

Seeing into the subsurface: Detecting and visualizing preferential flow in situ using innovative approaches

Institute: Pennsylvania
Year Established: 2008 Start Date: 2008-03-01 End Date: 2009-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $19,546 Total Non-Federal Funds: $46,405

Principal Investigators: Henry Lin

Project Summary: The lack of an effective means for detecting and visualizing subsurface flow dynamics has constrained our understanding and predicting of vadose zone processes such as subsurface stormflow and groundwater recharge. Growing evidence suggest that subsurface flow network is a key to understanding hydrologic processes including hillslope threshold behavior. The dynamic origin of network structures in soils and hydrologic systems and recurrent patterns of self-organization are the subjects of recent research and model development. The goal of this project is to investigate innovative approaches for detecting subsurface preferential flow using noninvasive time-lapse Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and to visualize the subsurface flow process using a 3- and 4-dimensional scientific visualization system. The time-lapsed GPR measurements will be combined with real-time soil hydrologic monitoring to detect subsurface preferential flow pathways and their dynamics. The hypothesis to be tested is that an internal network structure exists in the subsurface of many hillslopes, which governs vertical and lateral preferential flow dynamics and the threshold-like hydrologic response under varying precipitation, soil, and antecedent moisture conditions. This project focuses on fundamental hydrologic processes in hillslope and watershed hydrology that impacts the management of humid forest catchments in Pennsylvania and across the Northeast. Another benefit of this project is its potential in revitalizing the education of soil and water sciences, as the dearth of effective and compelling visualizations of the heterogeneous and dynamics world underfoot has limited students and the general publics interest and understanding of complex soil and water interactions.