<p>Are there any simple models to approximate soil moisture level (%) as a function of distance from a waterbody (say a lake)? If one assigns saturation level of lake to 100% , then are there any approximations one can use to determine saturation level of land mass at say distance x from the center of lake? I understand that these calculations will depend on weather and other parameters like soil type, for example.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-31T09:55:08.103Z
Short answer...no. Soil moisture is a measure of the unsaturated zone, and generally driven by meteorology. The lake will influence its surroundings, but through affecting the saturated zone. Over short distances, and for permeable materials, you could assume that any sediment below the surface level of the lake will be saturated, and estimate a depth to groundwater, but that wouldn't be expressed as a soil moisture measurement.
Andy M
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-03T13:30:37.870Z
Thank you for your reply.
user1889930
<climate><hydrology><groundwater><flooding><soil-moisture>
Approximating Soil Moisture level
user1889930
# Approximating Soil Moisture level

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-10-27)

Are there any simple models to approximate soil moisture level (%) as a function of distance from a waterbody (say a lake)? If one assigns saturation level of lake to 100% , then are there any approximations one can use to determine saturation level of land mass at say distance x from the center of lake? I understand that these calculations will depend on weather and other parameters like soil type, for example.

**Tags:** climate, hydrology, groundwater, flooding, soil-moisture

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Short answer...no. Soil moisture is a measure of the unsaturated zone, and generally driven by meteorology. The lake will influence its surroundings, but through affecting the saturated zone. Over short distances, and for permeable materials, you could assume that any sediment below the surface level of the lake will be saturated, and estimate a depth to groundwater, but that wouldn't be expressed as a soil moisture measurement.  
> **username_0**: Thank you for your reply.  

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