Hydrology of the unsaturated zone

A better understanding of water transfer processes in the unsaturated zone (UZ) of the soil is essential both for estimating the runoff/infiltration partition in hydrological models and for quantifying groundwater recharge in hydrodynamic models used in hydrogeology.
This course unit will mainly focus on practical work on soil columns in the laboratory. After a review of the equations governing material transfer in the ZNS, an introduction to modeling transfers in the ZNS will be covered using HYDRUS 1D software.
The practical work for this course unit consists of experimenting under controlled conditions (known rainfall intensity and duration, known drought period, surface load, sand or reworked soil column of known grain size) with water transfer in unsaturated environments and continuously monitoring the temporal evolution of water content and water potential at several depths.

This course will focus primarily on practical work on soil columns in the laboratory. After a review of the equations governing water transfer and solute
s in the ZNS, an introduction to modeling transfers in the ZNS will be covered using HYDRUS 1D software.

The practical work for this course unit consists of experimenting under controlled conditions (known rainfall intensity and duration, known dry period, surface load, sand column or reworked soil with known grain size) with water transfer in unsaturated environments and continuously monitoring changes over time in water content and water potential at several depths.

The objectives of these practical assignments are multiple:

• Gain a qualitative understanding of the concept of capillarity in soil and its impact on infiltration processes.
• Understanding the concept of water potential and water content in an unsaturated environment and how it changes following rainfall or a period of drought. 
• Understanding the relationship between water content and water potential, 
• Estimate the volume of infiltrated water and the usable reserve based on the water profiles before and after infiltration.
• Provide a complete dataset to then calibrate a simple 1D hydrodynamic flow model in the ZNS (using HYDRUS 1D).

EU "Water Cycle"; EU "Functioning of Hydrosystems"

• Written (final exam): 60%
• Oral (practical exam): 40%