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Design and Operability of a Large Weighable Fen Lysimeter

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Abstract

In principle, conventional lysimeters are suitable for the investigation of vertical water and solute fluxes. Lateral fluxes in water-saturated fen sites are characterized by heterogeneities and abnormities due to anisotropic layering. But due to lack of adequate monitoring techniques, these fluxes have been insufficiently analyzed. The newly developed large weighable fen lysimeter (LWFL) overcomes the limitations of conventional lysimetry and enables the measurement of vertical and horizontal transport processes in undisturbed large volume soil monoliths. The LWFL has a volume of 6 m3 (4 m length, 1 m width and 1.5 m depth) and was tested by filling the lysimeter with an undisturbed fen monolith. A special extraction procedure for the horizontal sliding of the lysimeter vessel through the natural fen was developed. In front of the vessel a converted cutting tool assisted in carving the soil monolith out of the peat, both vertically and horizontally. Inlet and outlet of the LWFL was constructed to allow the adjustment of a wide range of hydraulic gradients to depict natural occurring lateral transport processes. The LWFL including the measurement techniques was tested successfully for 3 years. On the basis of these tests, we conclude that complex physical and biogeochemical research problems involving lateral flows can be tackled now with multiphase observations and measurements at high spatial and temporal resolution, transdisciplinary data evaluation and numerical modelling approaches.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Dr Glendon Gee, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, USA, for polishing the language of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Physics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Lysimeter Station Falkenberg, Dorfstrasse 55, 39615, Falkenberg, Germany

    H. Rupp & R. Meissner

  2. Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Institute for Land Use, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18059, Rostock, Germany

    P. Leinweber & B. Lennartz

  3. UGT Environmental-Measuring-Device Ltd., Eberswalder Strasse 58, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany

    M. Seyfarth

Authors
  1. H. Rupp
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  2. R. Meissner
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  3. P. Leinweber
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  5. M. Seyfarth
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Correspondence to H. Rupp.

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Rupp, H., Meissner, R., Leinweber, P. et al. Design and Operability of a Large Weighable Fen Lysimeter. Water Air Soil Pollut 186, 323–335 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9488-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9488-8

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