Research Programs
Vadose Zone Hydrology
Characterizing soil-water content and flow in the vadose zone is critically important to many activities, including those associated with agriculture, forestry, hydrology, pollution abatement and engineering. For example, knowledge of soil-water dynamics is especially important for management of agricultural resources, for flood control, environmental considerations and for determining water resource balances. This program is focused on the characterization of physical properties of soils, as well as processes influencing water occurrence and flow in the vadose zone. Specific interests include:
- the development of laboratory methods for determining unsaturated flow properties, development of theoretical models for description of water and solute flow in soils, and development of optimum sampling schemes for a quantitative description of soil physical properties in a natural setting (Brusseau)
- the development and validation of models for predicting flow and transport in unsaturated soils is also of interest.