Abstract

The water content (q) of the subsoil is an important parameter affecting all the processesthat occur in the vadose zone, playing a key role in the infiltration, aquifer recharge, andflow and transport of water and substances, as well as groundwater storage. Although thevadose zone is usually considered constituted of soil, it may also be comprised of rock.In the latter case, q cannot yet be operationally measured despite its unquestionableimportance. The aim of the present work was therefore to investigate the potential of anovel electrical impedance sensor for q measurement in rocks and to evaluate the effectsof frequency and salinity on the calibration of this device. In this study, only the resistance(R), i.e., the real part of the measured impedance, was investigated because of its directcorrelation with q. Calcarenite, a sedimentary porous rock, was used for the calibration inthe laboratory via the installation of penetration-type probes. The independence of themeasured R from the different frequencies set on the device was checked using a statisticalapproach. The q-R calibration functions obtained for the different saturation solutionshave a power-law dependence with a good degree of correlation. The results highlight boththe strong reproducibility of the experimental data (by using the penetration-type probes)and the suitability of the device for q measurement in calcarenite. The method could beadvantageous for field applications that involve rocks.

Autore Pugliese

• Caputo Maria Clementina , Masciale Rita , Barca Emanuele

Tutti gli autori

• M.C. Caputo; R. Masciale; E. Barca

Titolo volume/Rivista

Vadose zone journal

Anno di pubblicazione

2013

ISSN

1539-1663

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile