It is very exciting to simulate rainfall and follow the water through different soil and bedrock layers… especially when the water is blue! Lauren Timlick successfully led a rainfall simulation and dye tracing experiment in the Steppler Watershed (South-Central Manitoba) on June 25th, 2013.
Lauren’s summer project focuses on subsurface flow patterns, especially preferential flow pathways in clay-rich soil horizons and friable shale bedrock layers above the Manitoba escarpment. Thanks to a set-up including a constant-head rainfall simulator, brilliant blue dye, a continuously recording soil moisture profiler and a time-lapse camera, Lauren was able to capture significant spatial heterogeneity in vertical and lateral subsurface flow pathways. Lauren’s “smurf” look was a nice bonus that provided nourishing laughter throughout the experiment!
