HR: 1340h
AN: H53G-1503    [Abstracts]
TI: Measuring Moisture Dynamics in Soil and Rock Along a Steep Forested Catchment
AU: * Salve, R
EM: R_Salve@lbl.gov
AF: Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Uccelli, A
EM: aleucc@berkeley.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Dietrich, W E
EM: bill@eps.berkeley.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Fung, I
EM: ifung@berkeley.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AB: While it is recognized that bedrock groundwater is a contributor to the hydrology of hill-slopes, very little is known about how water from the overlying soil moves into, and is distributed through the rock profile. The near surface bedrock zone is usually fractured and weathered to a much greater porosity and permeability than at depth. Water availability to plants and to runoff dynamics may be significant along this zone. We have instrumented a steep forested catchment underlain primarily by deeply fractured mudstone to investigate moisture dynamics along the soil-bedrock continuum. The site, which is located within the Elder Creek Watershed in the Angelo Coast Range Reserve (CA) (http://angelo.berkeley.edu/visiting.htm), is dominated by winter storms from the ocean and summer dry spells. Using a combination of established techniques (e.g., Time Domain Reflectometry) and a proof-of-concept measurement system, we are monitoring moisture in both soil and the underlying bedrock (up to a depth of 2.0 m) at high spatial (centimeters) and temporal (minutes-hours) resolution in multiple locations. The hydrology of the deeper rock profile is being evaluated with a series of boreholes that intercept an underlying water table. This effort is part of a larger project (The Keck Hydrowatch Center) which is targeted to dramatically expand observations of all aspects of the water cycle by developing cost-effective, rapid-response, and accurate sensors and techniques to monitor water quality, quantity, and pathways (i.e., atmosphere, trees, soil/rock and streams).
DE: 1804 Catchment
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1875 Vadose zone
DE: 1895 Instruments and techniques: monitoring
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting