The movement of water, under hydrostatic pressure, through the interstices of a rock or soil, except the movement through large openings such as caves.
In hydrologic terms, the movement of water, under hydrostatic pressure, through the interstices of a rock or soil, except the movement through large openings such as caves.
The movement of a liquid such as water through the void spaces of a permeable solid such as snow or firn, the rate of movement being governed by the porosity and liquid content of the solid, the geome
tric attributes of the pores, including their diameter and tortuosity, and the response of the pore walls to wetting. See infiltration.
In hydrologic terms, the course followed by water moving or percolating through any other permeable material, or under a dam which rests upon a permeable foundation.
The rate, usually expressed as a velocity, at which water moves through saturated granular material. The term is also applied to quantity per unit of time of such movement, and has been used erroneous
ly to designate Infiltration Rate or Infiltration Capacity.
The part of the glacier where water from surface melting or rainfall percolates into the subsurface; see percolation, zone. In the upper percolation zone, above the wet-snow line, water percolates onl
y into the snow. In the lower percolation zone, also called the wet-snow zone, water percolates into the firn below the summer surface. The lower percolation zone contains the slush zone. If, having percolated, the water refreezes, it warms its surroundings by releasing latent heat. If it refreezes in the firn, the result is internal accumulation. If it refreezes as a layer immediately above the summer surface, it forms superimposed ice. If this superimposed ice becomes exposed by continued surface ablation, the resulting superimposed ice zone is conventionally regarded as distinct from the percolation zone.