Instructor(s): Aaron Lee M. Daigh
Number of Credit Hours: 3
Cross-listings: BSEN 957, CIVE 957, GEOL 957
Prerequisites: MATH 221/821 or equivalent. AGEN/BSEN 350 or NRES 453/853 or equivalent. Typically offered spring semester in even years.
Description: Principles and modeling of fluid flow and solute transport in the vadose zone. Topics include hydraulic properties of variably saturated media, application of Darcy's Law in variably saturated media, hydrologic and transport processes in the vadose zone, and solution of steady and unsteady flow problems using numerical techniques including finite element methods. Contemporary vadose zone models will be applied to engineering flow and transport problems. Review and synthesis of classic and contemporary research literature on vadose zone hydrology will be embedded in the course.
Learning Outcomes/Course Objectivess:
- Literate in their understanding of the vadose zone and its importance in agricultural and hydrologic processes, and water quality.
- Literate in their understanding of the key properties of fluids, porous media and solutes, and how the properties are estimated and described mathematically.
- Competent in formulating and analytically solving commonly encountered steady and transient one-dimensional isotropic fluid flow and solute transport problems in the vadose zone.
- Competent in using numerical methods and models (HYDRUS 1D) to model fluid flow and solute transport in the vadose zone.
- Familiar with a base of key classic published research literature, and a selection of current research literature pertaining to vadose zone hydrology.