Assessing subsurface heterogeneity and infiltration capacity at a restored wetland using geophysical imaging and infiltration tests

Assessing subsurface heterogeneity and infiltration capacity at a restored wetland using geophysical imaging and infiltration tests | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessing subsurface heterogeneity and infiltration capacity at a restored wetland using geophysical imaging and infiltration tests Nana-Aboagye Otchere, Ahzegbobor P Aizebeokhai, James Martin-Hayden, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6164625/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Wetlands → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Wetland soil properties and stratigraphic heterogeneity influence their water-holding capacity, infiltration, and subsurface flow. Infiltration, however, depends on the soil’s saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat ) whose spatial variability at field scale is difficult to quantify. In this study, we combined electromagnetic imaging (EMI) and electrical resistivity (ER) with infiltration tests to assess the spatial variation in the shallow subsurface stratigraphy and K sat at a restored wetland in northwest Ohio. We used a Geonics EM38-MK2, with a transmitter and two receivers spaced 0.5 and 1.0 m to map the spatial distribution of the soil’s apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). The ER measurements were acquired along nine transects using a SuperSting R8 resistivity meter with 84-electrode and a dipole-dipole electrode array. The ER results, constrained with lithostratigraphic logs, showed 0.7 m thick topsoil (silty loam) underlain by 0.5 m thick clayey loam interspersed with coarser materials and alternating units of diamictons. The observed ECa were relatively higher (10–40 mS/m) for the 0.5 m T-R spacing compared to the 1.0 m spacing (8–36 mS/m). The spatial distribution of K sat ranged from 0.01–0.9 mm/min with higher values at areas with high silt and sand content. A least-squared linear regression between Ksat and ECa yielded coefficient of determination (R 2 ) values > 0.62 indicating the effectiveness of EMI for predicting the spatial variation of K sat . Thus, combining geophysical imaging with field infiltration tests provided valuable insights into infiltration through the soil and potential subsurface flow at the restored wetland with limited details on subsurface flow. Wetland soil properties infiltration capacity subsurface stratigraphy electromagnetic Imaging electrical resistivity Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Wetlands → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 24 Mar, 2025 Editor invited by journal 13 Mar, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 07 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 06 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6164625","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":433477633,"identity":"3bd6eb26-21b3-46b4-b3b1-2f55f1da961f","order_by":0,"name":"Nana-Aboagye Otchere","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Toledo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nana-Aboagye","middleName":"","lastName":"Otchere","suffix":""},{"id":433477634,"identity":"4e4d9ade-f085-4eef-b78f-ea9585e4525d","order_by":1,"name":"Ahzegbobor P Aizebeokhai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Toledo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahzegbobor","middleName":"P","lastName":"Aizebeokhai","suffix":""},{"id":433477635,"identity":"acf534e1-a3d5-4266-9b0b-4e0586d5ba85","order_by":2,"name":"James Martin-Hayden","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Toledo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"James","middleName":"","lastName":"Martin-Hayden","suffix":""},{"id":433477636,"identity":"8575719b-a132-4c95-80c7-391b8d6505ab","order_by":3,"name":"Kennedy O. 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Infiltration, however, depends on the soil\u0026rsquo;s saturated hydraulic conductivity (K\u003csub\u003esat\u003c/sub\u003e) whose spatial variability at field scale is difficult to quantify. In this study, we combined electromagnetic imaging (EMI) and electrical resistivity (ER) with infiltration tests to assess the spatial variation in the shallow subsurface stratigraphy and K\u003csub\u003esat\u003c/sub\u003e at a restored wetland in northwest Ohio. We used a Geonics EM38-MK2, with a transmitter and two receivers spaced 0.5 and 1.0 m to map the spatial distribution of the soil\u0026rsquo;s apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). The ER measurements were acquired along nine transects using a SuperSting R8 resistivity meter with 84-electrode and a dipole-dipole electrode array. The ER results, constrained with lithostratigraphic logs, showed 0.7 m thick topsoil (silty loam) underlain by 0.5 m thick clayey loam interspersed with coarser materials and alternating units of diamictons. The observed ECa were relatively higher (10\u0026ndash;40 mS/m) for the 0.5 m T-R spacing compared to the 1.0 m spacing (8\u0026ndash;36 mS/m). The spatial distribution of K\u003csub\u003esat\u003c/sub\u003e ranged from 0.01\u0026ndash;0.9 mm/min with higher values at areas with high silt and sand content. A least-squared linear regression between Ksat and ECa yielded coefficient of determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) values\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.62 indicating the effectiveness of EMI for predicting the spatial variation of K\u003csub\u003esat\u003c/sub\u003e. Thus, combining geophysical imaging with field infiltration tests provided valuable insights into infiltration through the soil and potential subsurface flow at the restored wetland with limited details on subsurface flow.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Assessing subsurface heterogeneity and infiltration capacity at a restored wetland using geophysical imaging and infiltration tests","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-26 21:53:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6164625/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2025-03-25T14:03:33+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-03-25T02:50:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Wetlands","date":"2025-03-13T15:28:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-03-07T05:13:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Wetlands","date":"2025-03-06T12:50:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"wetlands","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"wela","sideBox":"Learn more about [Wetlands](https://www.springer.com/journal/13157)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/wela/default.aspx","title":"Wetlands","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"03803c24-85bd-4bf9-b919-3e98f92c4a0b","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 26th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-29T16:02:52+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6164625","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-025-02020-9","journal":{"identity":"wetlands","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Wetlands"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-23 15:57:17","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 23rd, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-26 21:53:58","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s13157-025-02020-9","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-025-02020-9","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6164625","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6164625","identity":"rs-6164625","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}