Quantification of the influence of different Mini Disk Infiltrometer
(MDI) suction settings when measuring infiltration across various soil
types
Abstract
Defining the infiltration characteristics of an area is beneficial for
understanding soil compaction, determining soil health, and measuring
the rate of surface water infiltration, which is needed for hydrological
modelling. Single and double ring infiltrometers (SRI, DRI) are commonly
used to determine infiltration characteristics in the field, however
these are frequently impractical due to the required water volume, the
weight and the intrusiveness of measurement, hindering the ease of
replication. The Mini Disk Infiltrometer (MDI) offers a lightweight,
portable and non-intrusive method of measuring infiltration, however no
previous research has explained the influence of changing the tension
settings on the collected infiltration data. To address this gap, this
novel study tested the relationship between infiltration data collected
using all tension settings of the Mini Disk Infiltrometer (MDI), against
infiltration data collected using a 100mm Single Ring Infiltrometer
(SRI). Three soil textures (sand, silt and clay) were collected from
different geographical areas of the UK and deposited within the
experimental facility designed for this study. Controlled infiltration
measurements were taken with both the MDI and the SRI for each soil
type, to further define the impact of MDI tension settings on derived
infiltration, in comparison to the SRI. For the first time, the results
show that the MDI tension setting of 0cm most closely replicated the
findings of the SRI across all soils, which was supported through
applying the Nash and Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) analysis. The accuracy
with which the MDI replicated the infiltration of the SRI reduced as
tension increased. Consequently, the previously assumed ideal tension
setting of 2 cm, as defined by the MDI handbook and used in previous
research, does not offer an accurate representation of derived
infiltration.