On Analytical Solutions of Advective Transport by Infiltration–Redistribution Gravitational Flow

Contaminant transport in the upper layers of soil during the multiple cycles of short infiltration and prolonged redistribution is investigated. Analytical solutions for the two typical problems encountered in agricultural engineering are derived. The first problem considers the penetration of fertilizer initially applied at the soil surface. The second one is the propagation of contaminant injected with the applied water. Explicit analytical expressions for the solute concentration are obtained under assumptions of one-dimensional gravitational flow and advective solute transport under equilibrium conditions. The properties of the solute penetration are analyzed for the case of contaminant initially applied at the soil surface and picked up by the water flow during ten infiltration–redistribution cycles. P. Indelman - (deceased)