Hydrology of the unsaturated zone

A better understanding of water transfer processes in the unsaturated zone (UZ) of the soil is essential, whether for estimating the runoff/infiltration split in hydrological models or for quantifying groundwater recharge in the hydrodynamic models used in hydrogeology.
This course unit will focus primarily on laboratory practicals involving soil columns. Following a review of the equations governing mass transfer in the unsaturated zone, an introduction to modeling mass transfer in the unsaturated zone will be provided using the HYDRUS 1D software.
The lab sessions for this course unit involve conducting experiments under controlled conditions (known rainfall intensity and duration, known drought period, imposed surface load, sand or disturbed soil column with known grain size distribution) to study water transfer in unsaturated media and to continuously monitor the temporal evolution of water content and water potential at various depths.

This course unit will focus primarily on laboratory practicals involving soil columns. After a review of the equations governing water and solute
in the unsaturated zone, students will be introduced to modeling transport processes in the unsaturated zone using the HYDRUS 1D software.

The lab exercises for this course consist of conducting experiments under controlled conditions (known rainfall intensity and duration, known drought period, surface load, sand column, or a remolded soil
e with known particle size distribution) to study water transfer in an unsaturated medium and to continuously monitor the temporal evolution of water content and water potential at various depths.

These lab exercises have multiple objectives:

• Gain a qualitative understanding of the concept of capillarity in soil and its impact on infiltration processes.
• Understand the concepts of water potential and water content in an unsaturated medium, and how they change following a rainfall event 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 and then calibrate a simple 1D hydrodynamic flow model in the ZNS (using HYDRUS 1D).

Course Unit “Water Cycle”; Course Unit “Functioning of Hydrosystems”

• Written exam (final exam): 60%
• Oral (Lab Report): 40%