Synonyms
Definition
Infiltration is defined as the entry of water from the surface into the subsurface.
Introduction
Infiltrated water may originate from rainfall; irrigation; water bodies such as ponds, rivers, and lakes; or other anthropogenic activities. The terms infiltration and percolation are frequently interchangeably used even though they represent two different processes. Infiltration describes the entry from the surface to the subsurface, whereas percolation focuses on the flow of water through soil and porous media. The amount of water percolation that reaches the groundwater represents the groundwater recharge. When the soil surface is exposed to rainfall or submersion, infiltrated water fills the interstices between soil grains of the upper layers of the soil. The soil profile may contain a saturated horizon that extends a few millimeters in depth, called the saturated zone. Water continues to penetrate into the subsurface forming a...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Darcy H (1856) Les fontaines publiques de la ville de Dijon. Dalmont, Paris
Gargouri-Ellouze E, Eslamian S (2014) Ch. 1 Application of copulas in hydrology: geomorphological instantaneous unit hydrograph and intensity index of infiltration frequency. In: Eslamian S (ed) Handbook of engineering hydrology. Modeling, climate changes and variability, vol 2. Francis and Taylor, CRC Group, Boca Raton, pp 1–18
Green WH, Ampt G (1911) Studies of soil physics. Part 1. The flow on air and water through soils. J Agric Soc 4:1–24
Hendriks MR (2010) Introduction to physical hydrology. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Holtan HN (1961) A concept for infiltration estimates in watershed engineering, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Publication 41–51
Horton RE (1938) The role of infiltration in hydrologic cycle. Trans Am Geophys Union 14:446–460
Huggins LF, Monke EJ (1968) A mathematical model for simulating the hydrologic response of a watershed. Water Resources Research 4:529–539. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR004i003p00529
Kostiakov AN (1932) The dynamics of the coefficient of water percolation in soils and the necessity for studying it from a dynamic point of view for purpose of amelioration. Society of Soil Science 14:17–21
Mishra SK, Tyagi JV, Singh VP (2003) Comparison of infiltration models. Hydrol Process 17(13):2629–2652
Overton DE (1964) Mathematical refinement of an infiltration equation for watershed engineering, Rep. ARS 41–99, Agric. Res. Serv., U.S. Dep. of Agric., Washington, DC
Philip JR (1957) Theory of infiltration: 1. The infiltration equation and its solution. Soil Science 83(5):345–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4831-9936-8.50010-6
Richards LA (1931) Capillary conduction of liquids through porous mediums Physics 1:318–333. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1745010
Singh VP, Yu FX (1990) Derivation of infiltration equation using systems approach, J Irrig Drain Eng 116(6):837–858. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(1990)116:6(837)
Soil Conservation Service (1972) Hydrology, in SCS national engineering handbook, sect. 4, chap. 4–12, U.S. Dep. of Agric., Washington, DC
Wilson EM (1990) Engineering hydrology. Palgrave, London. ISBN: 978-0-333-53180-8
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Gargouri-Ellouze, E., Eslamian, S., Ostad-Ali-Askari, K., Chérif, R., Bouteffeha, M., Slama, F. (2018). Infiltration. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_169-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_169-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences