Focused infiltration of snowmelt water in partially frozen soil under small depressions

Ephemeral puddles in small closed depressions can play an important role in the hydrology and ecology of many landscapes, by storing runoff water, recharging soil moisture and shallow groundwater, and by providing food and habitat for many organisms. Infiltration of snowmelt water under small depressions (<1000 m2) has been studied in the St. Denis National Wildlife Area in Saskatchewan, Canada, located within the northern glaciated prairie of North America where numerous depressions of varying sizes exist. The depressions stored most of the snowmelt runoff generated within their respective watersheds. The water level in a typical depression declined at 0.6 mm/h while the underlying frozen soil was thawing. This rate was likely limited by the rate of downward movement of the thawing front, which was functioning as a moving impermeable boundary. The rate of thawing was controlled by the external energy input from the ground surface. Standing water in depressions efficiently trapped incoming radiation and conducted it to the thawing front. The recession rate increased to 1.1 mm/h when the soil under the depression thawed completely. The recession rate at this later stage appears to be limited by the hydraulic conductivity of the subsoil (0.04–4 mm/h), which is much smaller than the topsoil conductivity (10–20 mm/h).