Transformation between phreatic water and soil water during freeze–thaw periods

Abstract

During freeze–thaw periods, the exchange between shallow groundwater and soil water is unusually strong and bidirectional, which causes soil salinization and affects the accuracy of water resources assessment. The objectives of this study were to explore the laws of transformation between phreatic water and soil water through nine different groundwater table depths (GTDs) and three kinds of lithologies during three successive freeze–thaw periods using field lysimeters. The results showed that phreatic evaporation increased with smaller average soil particle sizes. The differences between phreatic evaporation and recharge to groundwater (DPR) and GTDs were well fitted by the semi-logarithmic model, and the regression coefficients A and B of the model were well fitted by the linear relationship with the average soil particle size. With the increase of soil particle size, the change of DPR decreased with the change rate of soil particle size. The extent of transformation between phreatic water and soil water decreased with the increase of soil particle size. During the whole freeze–thaw period, the negative value of DPR increased with an decrease in GTD. The groundwater depths of zero DPR (D-zero) of sandy loam, fine sand and sandy soil during the freeze–thaw periods were 2.79 m, 2.21 m and 2.12 m, respectively. This research is significant for the prevention of soil salinization disasters and the accurate assessment of water resources.