ABSTRACT
Many numerical models have been proposed to analyse water infiltration and evaporation across the topsoil. In most cases, in these analyses, soil-atmosphere interaction is accounted for by imposing inward and outward fluxes at the boundary of the discretised mesh, based on some hydrologic estimation. However, in practical applications, fluxes, which govern the water mass balance, are a required output of the analysis more than an input of the model. Fluxes can be obtained in a reliable way from the numerical analysis if meteorological conditions are properly translated into forcing conditions at the soil-atmosphere interface. The final aim of the experimental work presented here is to find a correct way to assign boundary conditions in numerical analyses, starting from the soil properties and the meteorological data. A prototype column, 120 cm high, was designed and equipped with moisture sensors and with a meteorological station, reproducing a monitoring setup which can be adopted in real scale applications. The design and some relevant data from a two month monitoring time period are presented and discussed.
