Vadose Zone Journal 

About: Vadose Zone Journal is an academic journal published by Soil Science Society of America. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Soil water & Water content. It has an ISSN identifier of 1539-1663. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 2339 publications have been published receiving 82650 citations. The journal is also known as: VZJ online & VZJ.

Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 4. Physical Methods

Abstract: JACOB H. DANE and G. CLARKE TOPP (ed.) Soil Science Society of America Book Series, no. 5. Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, WI. 2002. Hardback, 1692 pp. $100.00. ISBN 0-89118-841-X. Part 4 of Methods of Soil Analysis deals with physical methods. It is the update of the well-reputed

Development and Applications of the HYDRUS and STANMOD Software Packages and Related Codes

Abstract: Mathematical models have become indispensable tools for studying vadose zone flow and transport processes. We reviewed the history of development, the main processes involved, and selected applications of HYDRUS and related models and software packages developed collaboratively by several groups in the United States, the Czech Republic, Israel, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Our main focus was on modeling tools developed jointly by the U.S. Salinity Laboratory of the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, and the University of California, Riverside. This collaboration during the past three decades has resulted in the development of a large number of numerical [e.g., SWMS_2D, HYDRUS-1D, HYDRUS-2D, HYDRUS (2D/3D), and HP1] as well as analytical (e.g., CXTFIT and STANMOD) computer tools for analyzing water flow and solute transport processes in soils and groundwater. The research also produced additional programs and databases (e.g., RETC, Rosetta, and UNSODA) for quantifying unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. All of the modeling tools, with the exception of HYDRUS-2D and HYDRUS (2D/3D), are in the public domain and can be downloaded freely from several websites.

Soil Moisture Measurement for Ecological and Hydrological Watershed-Scale Observatories: A Review

Abstract: At the watershed scale, soil moisture is the major control for rainfall–runoff response, especially where saturation excess runoff processes dominate. From the ecological point of view, the pools of soil moisture are fundamental ecosystem resources providing the transpirable water for plants. In drylands particularly, soil moisture is one of the major controls on the structure, function, and diversity in ecosystems. In terms of the global hydrological cycle, the overall quantity of soil moisture is small, ∼0.05%; however, its importance to the global energy balance and the distribution of precipitation far outweighs its physical amount. In soils it governs microbial activity that affects important biogeochemical processes such as nitrification and CO2 production via respiration. During the past 20 years, technology has advanced considerably, with the development of different electrical sensors for determining soil moisture at a point. However, modeling of watersheds requires areal averages. As a result, point measurements and modeling grid cell data requirements are generally incommensurate. We review advances in sensor technology, particularly emerging geophysical methods and distributed sensors, aimed at bridging this gap. We consider some of the data analysis methods for upscaling from a point to give an areal average. Finally, we conclude by offering a vision for future research, listing many of the current scientific and technical challenges.

Geochemistry, Groundwater and Pollution

Abstract: C.A.J. APPELO and D. POSTMA (ed.) A.A. Balkema Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. 2005. 2nd ed. Hardcover, 649 pp. $43.95. ISBN 0-41-536428-0. This book presents important fundamental concepts and current knowledge of groundwater geochemistry and the interaction of water, minerals, gases,

Estimating Uncertain Flow and Transport Parameters Using a Sequential Uncertainty Fitting Procedure

Abstract: Inversely obtained hydrologic parameters are always uncertain (nonunique) because of errors associated with the measurements and the invoked conceptual model, among other factors. Quantification of this uncertainty in multidimensional parameter space is often difficult because of complexities in the structure of the objective function. In this study we describe parameter uncertainties using uniform distributions and fit these distributions iteratively within larger absolute intervals such that two criteria are met: (i) bracketing most of the measured data (>90%) within the 95% prediction uncertainty (95PPU) and (ii) obtaining a small ratio (<1) of the average difference between the upper and lower 95PPU and the standard deviation of the measured data. We define a model as calibrated if, upon reaching these two criteria, a significant R 2 exists between the observed and simulated results. A program, SUFI-2, was developed and tested for the calibration of two bottom ash landfills. SUFI-2 performs a combined optimization and uncertainty analysis using a global search procedure and can deal with a large number of parameters through Latin hypercube sampling. We explain the above concepts using an example in which two municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash monofills were successfully calibrated and tested for flow, and one monofill also for transport. Because of high levels of heavy metals in the leachate, monitoring and modeling of such landfills is critical from environmental points of view.