A seepage face model for the interaction of shallow water tables with the ground surface: Application of the obstacle-type method
type: Article
item type: journalArticle
is part of: Journal of Hydrology
  type: Journal
  volume: 329
  number: 1-2
authors: Person
  surname: Beaugendre
  given name: H.
authors: Person
  surname: Ern
  given name: A.
authors: Person
  surname: Esclaffer
  given name: T.
authors: Person
  surname: Gaume
  given name: E.
authors: Person
  surname: Ginzburg
  given name: I.
authors: Person
  surname: Kao
  given name: C.
abstract: This paper presents a model to simulate overland flow genesis induced by shallow water table movements in hillslopes. Variably saturated subsurface flows are governed by the Richards equation discretized by continuous finite elements on unstructured meshes. An obstacle-type formulation is used to determine where saturation conditions, and thus seepage face conditions, are met at the ground surface. The impact of hillslope geometry, boundary conditions, and soil hydraulic parameters on model predictions is investigated on two-dimensional test cases at the metric and hectometric scales. The obstacle-type formulation is also compared with a more detailed model coupling subsurface and overland flow, the latter being described by the shallow water equations in the diffusive wave regime.
date: 2006
pages: 258–273