HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, cilt.11, sa.12, ss.1607-1619, 1997 (SCI-Expanded)
Estimation of groundwater recharge to an unconfined aquifer is studied using analytical and numerical techniques and results are compared with field observations. There is an acute need for such estimation in water balance studies in arid climates, and the case study in this paper is for such a region. The wetting front movement in the unsaturated zone depends on antecedent soil moisture, the ponded water depth and its duration, and on the position of the water table and the hydraulic properties of the unsaturated zone. A hydraulic connection between the recharge basin and the aquifer is not immediately established because the wetting front is unsaturated.