University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Water Resources Center
Abstract
In an eight-year study of precipitation and water-yield relationships on the Lake Glendale Watershed, Boggess et al (1965) suggested that the nature of the underlying fragipan soil had a significant effect on the flow characteristics of the drainage. The outflow hydrographs were characterized by sustained recession legs, indicating a substantial amount of detained or delayed flow. The authors stated, "Water yield was composed of both surface (overland) and subsurface flow. ...subsurface flow was a major contributor to total yield, due both to the presence of the slowly permeable fragipan and the relatively low moisture storage capacities of the soil profiles." Subsurface flow was believed to be largely made up of downslope seepage along the top of the fragipan, since a perched water table formed there during prolonged periods of wet weather. No attempt was made in their study to determine the relative amounts of surface and subsurface f low. Research reported in this paper was directed toward determining the contribution of each of these flow components in the total water yield from the Grantsburg soiIs.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe
