Rinsing of Saline Water from Road Salt in a Sandy Soil by Infiltrating Rainfall: Experiments,Simulations, and Implications

Saline melt water from road salt applications that has percolated into a fine sandy soil in winter is rinsed out of the soil by infiltrating rainwater in the following warmer seasons. This sequence of saturated and unsaturated flow processes associated with saline water transport in a fine sandy soil was studied by simulation and exploratory laboratory experiments. Experiments in soil columns of 300-μm sand revealed that two rinses of pure water, each of one pore volume, were sufficient to reduce the salt concentration by 99% of its original value in the soil column. Simulated time variations of salt concentration in the effluent from the column agreed with experimental results. Based on simulated and experimental results, a sandy soil must become saturated to experience pore water flow in order to efficiently rinse saline snowmelt water. Depending on the saturated hydraulic conductivity and the soil depth, days, weeks, or months of freshwater infiltration in summer are needed to rinse saline melt water from an unsaturated sandy soil after road salt applications in winter. This explains findings of significant salt concentrations in surface and shallow groundwater during summer months, long after road salt application and infiltration has ceased.     

Magnitude and Occurrence Probability of Soil Loss: A Risk Analytical Approach for the Plot Scale For Two Sites in Lower Austria

Long‐term contribution of soil loss events depends on both – the magnitude and the occurrence probability – but oftentimes, a limited observation period impedes the assessment of the temporal soil loss distribution. In this research, the event‐based soil loss from two plot locations in Lower Austria (Mistelbach and Pixendorf) was linked with the event‐based rainfall erosivity (EI₃₀) to assess the temporal soil loss distribution using long‐term rainfall data from two meteorological stations in Lower Austria. For both plot locations, a risk analysis was performed to (i) assess the long‐term average annual soil loss and to (ii) evaluate the contribution of incremental erosion events according to different event return periods. The risk analysis showed that in Pixendorf the events <20 years return period dominatingly contribute to long‐term soil loss, because the contribution of the events >20 years return period is progressively reduced through the low occurrence probability. On the contrary, in Mistelbach the soil loss magnitudes of the extreme events overcome the effect of the low occurrence probability, and consequently, the contribution of the extreme events (>20 years return period) is dominant. The spatially variable contribution of the erosion events reveals the need for spatially customized soil conservation strategies. A risk analytical approach may help to allocate the driving events and thus to define proper event design magnitudes for local soil conservation planning. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.