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Description

Soil infiltrability is an important soil quality indicator, as it has important agricultural and environmental implications and is strongly affected by land management practices.  Measurement of soil infiltrability is generally done through ponded ring infiltration or simulated rainfall, each having specific advantages and disadvantages.  The Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer  (Ogden et al., 1997) was designed to combine the advantages of both.  It also allows for easy and rapid measurement of soil infiltration, as this is essential to adequately estimate spatially and temporally-variable infiltration behavior (van Es, 1993).  

 The Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer system consists of a portable rainfall simulator that is placed onto a single 241-mm (9 1/2") inner diameter infiltration ring and allows for application of simulated rainfall at a wide range of predetermined rates.   The apparatus permits the determination of several important soil hydrological properties:  Time-to-runoff, sorptivity, and field-saturated infiltrability.

In contrast to most other ponded infiltration measurements, this approach:

•  Wets the soil in a more natural manner and eliminates soil slaking as a result of instantaneous ponding
• Reduces unnaturally high contributions of macropore flow under ponded conditions Provides a realistic surface boundary condition, including the effects of soil surface roughness which can greatly influence infiltration behavior
• Is conservative with water Compared to most other rainfall simulators, the Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer measures infiltrability for a relatively small soil surface area.

However, its main advantages are:

• Low cost
• High portability
• Allows for rapid measurements by a single person
• Easy calibration for a wide range of simulated rainfall rates
• Conservative water use

The Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer employs a single, rather than a double infiltration ring, and makes adjustments for three-dimensional flow at the bottom of the ring based on research by Reynolds and Elrick (1990).

Specifications

• Length of cylinder                     46 cm

• Inside diameter of cylinder        24 cm

• Volume                                    20.8 liters

• Number of drip tubes                69

• Inside diameter of drip tubes     0.063 cm

• Length of drip tubes                 19 cm

• Composition of drip tubes         Chemfluor FEP  (Teflon)

Operating Range

• Low rate                0 cm / hr  (with 0 cm head)   

• High rate               30 cm / hr (with 10 cm head)

Publications

 Ogden, C.B., H.M. van Es, and R.R. Schindelbeck. 1997 A simple rainfall simulator for measurement of soil infiltration and runoff. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 61:1041-1043. (read article)

van Es, H.M., C.B. Ogden, R.L. Hill, R.R. Schindelbeck, and T. Tsegaye. 1999. Integrated assessment of space, time, and management-related variability of soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am J. 63:1599-1607. (read article)

Ogden, C.B., H.M. van Es, R.J. Wagenet, and T.S. Steenhuis. 1999. Spatial temporal variability of flow in clay soil macropores under no till and plow till. J. Environm. Qual. 1264-1273. (read article)

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