SOIL WATER CONTENT DATA FOR ESTIMATIONS OF EVAPORATION AND INFILTRATION IN A SUBURBAN AREA

The soil water content profile in the first 70 cm layer was measured for a period of about 16 months in the suburban area of the Parco Lambro in Milan.The standard meteorological data and the soil temperature at four depths were monitored as well. From the soil moisture data, the water lost by the investigated soil column of unitary cross section is estimated by a mass balance method.The mean evaporation from the surface, evaluated during the summer period is 2.3 mm/day about 38% of the potential evaporation measured by an evaporation pan installed in the same site.During the wetting periods the mass balance method may be firstly used to assess the water stored (gain) in the soil column and then the water drained (lost) towards the deeper layers during redistribution. If and how mach of this infiltered waterwill reach the water table below is under study.Analytical solutions of the diffusion equation and of the linearized Richards equation for well-characterized episodes of soil drying, infiltration and water redistribution after a precipitation event will be presented.