Regimes of haline convection during the evaporation of groundwater containing a dissolved admixture

Abstract

The problem of formation of salt concentration profile in high-permeability soil duringwater evaporation and solution upflow is considered. The numerical experiments performed showed that the salt concentration profile may be either stable or unstable. As instability develops, there arises natural haline convection whose different regimes are described and analyzed. If the evaporation intensity is moderate, in soil the curvilinear upward or circulatory flow that fills the entire layer is established. The intense evaporation leads to the formation of a small-scale structure of salt “fingers”. Boundaries between regimes are determined.