Using a quantitative modeling approach, this volume offers a comprehensive exploration of the movement of water in the unsaturated zone (and associated transport phenomena) – the pathway of many contaminants to the saturated zone where much of the world's potable water is stored. It is the first book to combine research and knowledge on this subject from a wide variety of disciplines into a single source directed toward engineering and environmental training and applications. Deals with contaminant and heat transport in the unsaturated zone; includes a description of soils and their properties and unsaturated soil hydraulic properties; describes unsaturated zone processes; and thoroughly explores numerical modeling and uncertainty in modeling. A text for students in engineering and environmental science, and a reference for practicing engineers and scientists involved in the analysis of unsaturated zone contaminant problems.

Introduction and bief history; Physical properties and characteristics of soils; Behavior of clay-water systems; Potential and thermodynamics of soil water; Chemical properties and principles of soil water; Principles of water flow in soil; Saturated water flow in soil; Unsaturated water flow in soil; Transport of heat and gas in osil and at the surface; Contaminant transport; Effects of infiltration and drainage on soil-water redistribution; Applied soil physics: modeling water, solute, and vapor movement. Drainage in soil water and ground water; Soil remediation techniques; Saptial variability, scaling, and fractals; Appendix 1: Site characterizaton and monitoring devices; Appendix 2: Mathematics review; Appendix 3: tables; References; Index.

Vadose Zone Hydrology describes the elements of the physical processes most often encountered by hydrogeologists and ground-water engineers in their vadose zone projects. It illustrates the application of soil physics to practical problems relevant to the characterization and monitoring of the vadose zone. It includes an introduction to physical processes, including basic flow theory, and provides examples of important field-scale processes that must be recognizable by hydrogeologists. Considerable attention is given to the concepts of recharge, including how it is most accurately evaluated in the vadose zone. Field and laboratory methods for characterizing hydraulic properties in the vadose zone are also covered, and case studies illustrating these methods are provided. New and emerging technologies for monitoring the vadose zone, particularly for the purpose of detecting contaminants, are highlighted. In the last section of the book, additional case studies are presented, demonstrating applications related to seepage detection, landfill monitoring, and soil gas investigations. This book is written from the perspective of hydrogeologists and is designed to be directly applicable and to maintain continuity and consistency between chapters. It will be an invaluable primer for environmental or geotechnical consultants, regulators, or students who have no prior formal academic training in unsaturated flow concepts. Because the text contains some of the latest advances in this field, it will be an excellent reference for geologists and engineers currently working on problems of vadose zone hydrology.

The vadose zone is the region between ground level and the upper limits of soil fully saturated with water. Hydrology in the zone is complex: nonlinear physical, chemical, and biological interactions all affect the transfer of heat, mass, and momentum between the atmosphere and the water table. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to vadose zone hydrology, bringing together insights from soil science, hydrology, biology, chemistry, physics, and instrumentation design. The chapters present state-of-the-art research, focusing on new frontiers in theory, experiment, and management of soils. The collection addresses the full range of processes, from the pore-scale to field and landscape scales.

This book focuses on the the application of hydrogeophysical methods to the understanding of hydrological processes and environmental problems dealing with the flow of water and the transport of solutes and contaminants. Taking a process-driven approach, the book offers a series of process-driven chapters, each authored by leading experts. Areas covered include: infiltration and solute transport processes, biogeochemical functioning of soil-water systems, coastal groundwater interactions, cold region hydrology, engineered barriers and landfill processes.

Vadose Zone Hydrology describes the elements of the physical processes most often encountered by hydrogeologists and ground-water engineers in their vadose zone projects. It illustrates the application of soil physics to practical problems relevant to the characterization and monitoring of the vadose zone. It includes an introduction to physical processes, including basic flow theory, and provides examples of important field-scale processes that must be recognizable by hydrogeologists. Considerable attention is given to the concepts of recharge, including how it is most accurately evaluated in the vadose zone. Field and laboratory methods for characterizing hydraulic properties in the vadose zone are also covered, and case studies illustrating these methods are provided. New and emerging technologies for monitoring the vadose zone, particularly for the purpose of detecting contaminants, are highlighted. In the last section of the book, additional case studies are presented, demonstrating applications related to seepage detection, landfill monitoring, and soil gas investigations. This book is written from the perspective of hydrogeologists and is designed to be directly applicable and to maintain continuity and consistency between chapters. It will be an invaluable primer for environmental or geotechnical consultants, regulators, or students who have no prior formal academic training in unsaturated flow concepts. Because the text contains some of the latest advances in this field, it will be an excellent reference for geologists and engineers currently working on problems of vadose zone hydrology.