Seginer, I.
Morin, J.

An infiltration equation was derived on the assumption that a drop upon impact with the soil compacts into final crust structure a small area. The size of this area is characteristic of the drop and the soil properties. Extensions of this model can treat spectrums of drops and variations of rainfall characteristics with time. The model applies to initially saturated homogeneous soil columns and leads to the conclusion that the reduction of infiltration capacity is not directly related to time but rather to the number of drops that hit the surface. The effect of the depth of the soil column on the final infiltration capacity is such that the deeper it is, the higher the final infiltration capacity, approaching a limit, which depends on the properties of the crust, not of the subsoil. It is suggested that comparisons between infiltration experiments in columns be made on the basis of the intrinsic value of the limiting infiltration capacity. Copyright 1970 by the American Geophysical Union.