Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Engineering Science
First Advisor
Matteo D'Alessio
Second Advisor
Craig J. Hickey
Third Advisor
Mohammad Al-Hamdan
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Information on infiltration rates is crucial for developing climate-resilient infrastructure, optimizing irrigation in agricultural management, and tackling stormwater-related hazards. However, rapid urbanization and climate change are expected to exacerbate these risks. Therefore, proper assessment and understanding of infiltration capacity is essential for designing effective soil conservation strategies aimed at enhancing infiltration, reducing erosion, and supporting sustainable land and water management. Despite the importance, traditional methods such as single ring and double ring infiltrometer (DRI) test are limited by spatial resolution and time inefficiency, often fail to capture spatial heterogeneity across large areas.
To address these limitations, this research developed a high-resolution, time-efficient technique for infiltration rate by incorporating geophysical electromagnetic induction (EMI) measurements and hydrogeological modeling. The novelty of this research lies in correlating geophysically measured conductivity data with infiltration parameters to generate high-resolution infiltration rate maps. Field measurements using EM38 and EM31 Geonics system at basin, revealed lateral and vertical variations in apparent electrical conductivity, supported by textural analysis of soil samples from 10 locations. DRI tests conducted at the soil sampling points showed infiltration rates ranging from 0.744 cm/h to 3.506 cm/h. These infiltration rates were converted into saturated hydraulic conductivities and correlated with geophysics-derived resistivity data. Using these correlations and the Green-Ampt model, high-resolution conductivity data were transformed into a high-resolution infiltration rate map. Geophysics-aided infiltration rates estimated from EM38 and EM31 ranged from 0.990 to 20.930 cm/h and 0.610 to 11.890 cm/h respectively. Integrating the infiltration rate maps allowed estimating basin scale infiltration rate at steady state: 1.624 cm/h from DRI, 2.850 cm/h from EM38 and 4.690 cm/h from EM31. Additionally, water balance analysis based on inflow, outflow and precipitation measurements from instrumented weirs and rain gauges yielded an average of 2.883 cm/h over two rainfall events.
This study demonstrates the ability of geophysical EMI measurements to overcome limitations of traditional point-specific tests by providing high-resolution information and detecting localized high-infiltration zones that were missed by DRI tests, leading to accurate and spatially detailed basin-scale infiltration estimates. These findings can significantly contribute to enhancing hydrologic modeling, stormwater management, and sustainable land use planning in response to ongoing climate and land-use changes.
Recommended Citation
Samad, Md Abdus, "High-Resolution and Time-Efficient Infiltration Rate Estimating Technique Using Geophysical EMI and Hydrogeological Modeling" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3378.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3378