Absorption of Water by Soil: The Effect of a Surface Crust

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Abstract
The one‐dimensional absorption of water by a uniform soil through a relatively impermeable surface layer is analyzed using conventional soil physics theory. The analysis permits calculation of the evolution of the water potential on the interface between the soil and the crust, the water content profiles, and the cumulative volume of water absorbed. In the first instance the approach is tested for situations where the conductance of the crust is constant. Extensions of the analysis to cases where the conductance is time‐dependent are foreshadowed.