Field-monitored variations of soil moisture and matric suction in a saprolite slope

A full-scale field experiment has been conducted in an instrumented saprolite slope in Hong Kong. Soil moisture probes, tensiometers, piezometers, inclinometers, earth pressure cells, and a rain gauge were installed in the slope before and during excavation of a cut. This paper presents the results from soil moisture probes, tensiometers, and piezometers to reveal the surface infiltration process. The soil moisture and matric suction results show that the maximum "wetting front" during the wet season was limited to the top 3 m of soil, and a transient perched water table could develop in the soil during a very heavy rainstorm. A new method based on the variation of volumetric water content in the soil is proposed to analyze rainfall infiltration. The results indicate the following phenomena: (i) rainfall infiltration was around 70% of the total rainfall, (ii) the infiltrated water mainly increased the soil moisture content of the soil at shallow depths, and (iii) the surface vertical infiltration had a very limited effect on the permanent groundwater table at depth. The wetting-front analysis shows that the unsaturated wetting band theory can be used to assess the movement of the wetting front in the unsaturated saprolite soil.Key words: rainfall infiltration, moisture content, matric suction, wetting front, field instrumentation.