REVIEWS:

Hangsheng Lin

Hydropedology: Bridging Disciplines, Scales, and Data
Hydropedology is suggested as an intertwined branch of soil science and hydrology that embraces interdisciplinary and multiscale approaches for the study of interactive pedologic and hydrologic processes and properties in the earth's critical zone. This integrative discipline is viewed as a means to potentially bridge the knowledge gaps between traditional disciplines of pedology, soil physics, and hydrology; bridge the differences found in studies at various spatial scales of soil-water interfaces; and to provide translations between soil survey information and soil hydraulic properties.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 1-11. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Jim Constantz, Scott W. Tyler, and Edward Kwicklis

Temperature-Profile Methods for Estimating Percolation Rates in Arid Environments
Methods are presented for analyzing temperature profiles in the vadose zone to estimate percolation rates. Estimates of shallow percolation are based on heat input from the surface, while estimates of deeper percolation are derived from the geothermal gradient.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 12-24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS:

M. Oostrom and R. J. Lenhard

Carbon Tetrachloride Flow Behavior in Unsaturated Hanford Caliche Material: An Investigation of Residual Nonaqueous Phase Liquids
A detailed transient experiment was conducted in an intermediate-scale flow cell to study the formation of residual carbon tetrachloride saturation in Hanford caliche material. Results indicate that a considerable fraction of the injected organic liquid does not drain from the caliche material, even after invasion by water during an infiltration event. Residual saturation formation of NAPLs in the vadose zone is not included in numerical multifluid flow simulators, and, therefore, the experimental results could not be reproduced numerically. Improvement of multifluid constitutive relationships is recommended.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 25-33. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Daniel R. Shelton, Yakov A. Pachepsky, Ali M. Sadeghi, William L. Stout, Jeffrey S. Karns, and William J. Gburek

Release Rates of Manure-Borne Coliform Bacteria from Data on Leaching through Stony Soil
Rates of rainfall-induced release of pathogens from surface-applied manure are essential input values for the pathogen transport and fate simulations and assessments. We showed that those rates can be estimated using the asymptotic properties of the solution to the convective-dispersion equation with tail parts of lysimeter breakthrough data.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 34-39. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Yves Coquet

Sorption of Pesticides Atrazine, Isoproturon, and Metamitron in the Vadose Zone
Atrazine, isoproturon, and metamitron sorption was measured in batch on 30 vadose zone samples from a catchment in France comprised of limestones, marlstones, clays, and sands. Sorption was highly variable between samples, mostly linear, and could be predicted well by the clay content of the samples.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 40-51. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Zhi Wang, Atac Tuli, and William A. Jury

Unstable Flow during Redistribution in Homogeneous Soil
Our two- and three-dimensional experiments confirmed that unstable flow forms during redistribution following infiltration in a homogeneous soil under both dry and moist initial conditions. Fingers form and propagate rapidly when the soil is initially dry, but form more slowly and are larger when the soil is initially moist. The porous medium retained a memory of the fingers formed previously such that subsequent redistribution events followed the finger pathways formed during the first redistribution event.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 52-60. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

William A. Jury, Zhi Wang, and Atac Tuli

A Conceptual Model of Unstable Flow in Unsaturated Soil during Redistribution
A conceptual model requiring only soil retention and hydraulic functions, plus relationships describing finger size and spatial frequency, is used to predict the movement and final position of unstable fingers during soil drainage. The model assumes that all soil wetting fronts are unstable during redistribution, but shows that only coarse-textured soils will form fingers capable of moving appreciable distances. The critical soil property responsible for finger propagation is the threshold water-entry matric potential, which is not present in the Richards equation.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 61-67. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

A. Kohler, K. C. Abbaspour, M. Fritsch, and R. Schulin

Using Simple Bucket Models to Analyze Solute Export to Subsurface Drains by Preferential Flow
To study the contribution of preferential flow to solute leaching, a bromide tracer experiment was performed on a 1.6-ha area of a tile-drained arable field. It was found that 73% of the bromide leached was exported through preferential flow. The analyses with a simple leaching bucket model showed that low intensity high duration events were the main trigger for the preferential flow.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 68-75. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Céline Duwig, Béatrice Normand, Michel Vauclin, Georges Vachaud, Steven R. Green, and Thierry Becquer

Evaluation of the WAVE Model for Predicting Nitrate Leaching for Two Contrasted Soil and Climate Conditions
The integrated soil-crop-atmosphere model WAVE was evaluated for two contrasted field conditions under continental and tropical climate. Overall the model was found to yield good predictions of nitrate leaching, especially for wet conditions. However, the model was used somewhat beyond its capability and there is a need for additional testing of some components of the model.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 76-89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Teruhito Miyamoto, Takeyuki Annaka, and Jiro Chikushi

Soil Aggregate Structure Effects on Dielectric Permittivity of an Andisol Measured by Time Domain Reflectometry
The volumetric water content-dielectric permittivity relationship for an aggregated Andisol soil was found to have a critical water content point where the gradient changes moderately. This critical point was absent for the same Andisol soil with the aggregated structure crushed. The results led to a hypothesis that the critical point is related to the aggregate size, the configuration of water in aggregates, the processes of water filling in inter- or intra-aggregate pores, and the low dielectric permittivity of bound water absorbed on solid surfaces.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 90-97. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Jasper A. Vrugt, Willem Bouten, Hoshin V. Gupta, and Jan W. Hopmans

Toward Improved Identifiability of Soil Hydraulic Parameters: On the Selection of a Suitable Parametric Model
Hydrologic model identification and evaluation procedures should explicitly include an estimate of the uncertainties associated with the inversely estimated parameters and the underlying model structure. A new methodology for inferring parameter identifiability, the Shuffled Complex Evolution Metropolis (SCEM-UA) algorithm, is applied to the analysis of three soil hydraulic parametric models including of the Brooks and Corey model, the Mualem-van Genuchten model, and the Kosugi model. Results demonstrate that the presented parameter identifiability analysis not only helps the selection of an adequate model structure, but in addition it simultaneously provides useful information about the limitations of a model.
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 98-113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

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Thanks to Our Reviewers
Vadose Zone J 2003 2: 114. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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