Measurement and Simulation of Preferential Flow in Frozen Soils

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dc.contributor.advisorCey, Edwin E.
dc.contributor.authorMohammed, Aaron A.
dc.contributor.committeememberHayashi, Masaki
dc.contributor.committeememberLemieux, Jean-Michel
dc.contributor.committeememberBentley, Laurence R.
dc.contributor.committeememberWong, Ron
dc.date2020-02
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-14T18:20:15Z
dc.date.available2019-11-14T18:20:15Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractThe infiltrability of frozen soils strongly influences the partitioning of snowmelt and hydrological functioning of cold regions. Preferential flow in macropores may enhance infiltration into frozen soil, but flow dynamics are complicated by coupled water and heat transfer processes. Field studies were conducted in the Canadian Prairies to evaluate the dominant mechanisms controlling preferential flow in frozen soils, and the combined influence of soil freeze-thaw and preferential flow on snowmelt-driven infiltration and groundwater recharge. Results showed that preferential flow enabled relatively large amounts of snowmelt infiltration when the soil was still frozen, but that refreezing of infiltrated meltwater during winter snowmelt events progressively reduced soil infiltrability and enhanced runoff generation over subsequent events. Preferential flow allowed meltwater to bypass portions of the frozen soil and facilitated the lateral transport of meltwater between high and low topographic positions and groundwater recharge through frozen ground. Insights gained from field studies were used to develop a dual-permeability model of unsaturated flow in frozen soils that assumes two interacting pore domains (macropore and matrix) with distinct water and heat transfer regimes. This dual-permeability formulation was incorporated into the hydrological model HydroGeoSphere to account for liquid-ice phase change in macropores, such that porewater freezing in macropores is governed by macropore-matrix energy transfer. The model was tested against field and laboratory observations and used to examine the effects of preferential flow on snowmelt partitioning between surface and subsurface flow in frozen soils. Simulations were able to reproduce measured profile-scale infiltration and drainage in frozen soil due to macropores, as well as hillslope-scale partitioning of snowmelt input between runoff, infiltration and groundwater recharge. Incorporating macropore flow and freeze-thaw processes was key to simulating the hydrologic functioning of the prairie grassland landscape, and results highlighted that refreezing of infiltrated water governed by macropore-matrix heat transfer is an important subsurface process controlling runoff generation in frozen soils. This study improves our understanding of, and ability to predict, the effects of preferential flow and freeze-thaw on frozen soil infiltrability, and how these processes dictate the partitioning of snowmelt between surface runoff, soil moisture and groundwater recharge in seasonally frozen landscapes.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMohammed, A. A. (2019). Measurement and Simulation of Preferential Flow in Frozen Soils (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37240
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/111213
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyScienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjecthydrogeologyen_US
dc.subjecthydrologyen_US
dc.subjectfrozen soilen_US
dc.subjectinfiltrationen_US
dc.subjectpreferential flowen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationSoil Scienceen_US
dc.subject.classificationGeologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationHydrologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnvironmental Sciencesen_US
dc.titleMeasurement and Simulation of Preferential Flow in Frozen Soilsen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineGeoscienceen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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