SOLUTE TRANSPORT IN SIMULATED CONDUCTIVITY FIELDS UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATIONS

The interactive effect of irrigation methods and spatial variability o f saturated hydraulic conductivity (K-s) on solute transport was deter mined with the combined use of a two-dimensional deterministic solute transport model and a stochastic parameter generator: In a homogeneous K-s field, the time required to infiltrate a prescribed amount of wat er or chemical increased from sprinkler to furrow to drip irrigation. Furrow irrigation appeared to leach the chemical more rapidly than eit her drip or sprinkler irrigation, Assuming the spatial distribution of K-s to be a stationary stochastic process, increased spatial variabil ity in K-s reduced the infiltration rate. When K-s is spatially correl ated, sprinkler irrigation appeared to be less susceptible to cause gr ound-water contamination than furrow or drip irrigation. The concentra tion distributions in the uncorrelated K-s field were not very differe nt from those in the homogeneous field.