A numerical analysis of precipitation recharge in the region of monsoon climates using an infiltration model

Based on the transient finite difference solution of Richards' equation, an infiltration model is developed to analyze temporal variation of precipitation recharge in the region of monsoon climates. Simulation results obtained by using time series data of 20-year daily precipitation and pan evaporation indicate that a linear relationship between the annual precipitation and the annual recharge holds for the soils under the monsoon climates with varying degrees of the correlation coefficient depending on the soil types. A sensitivity analysis reveals that the water table depth has little effects on the recharge for the sandy soil, whereas, for the loamy and silty soils, rise of the water table at shallow depths causes increase of evaporation by approximately 100㎜/yr and a corresponding decrease in recharge. A series of simulations for two-layered soils illustrate that the amount of recharge is dominantly determined by the soil properties of the upper layer, although the temporal variation of recharge is affected by both layers.