701-0535-00L  Environmental Soil Physics/Vadose Zone Hydrology

Courses

Catalogue data

Abstract	The course provides theoretical and practical foundations for understanding and characterizing physical soil properties and processes and their relevance for terrestrial ecosystems, plant growth, hydrological processes and atmospheric-land gas exchange, across all relevant scales.
Learning objective	Students are able to: -Characterize the different soils based on their key textural and structural properties. -Simulate and predict soil water retention and flow under varying environmental conditions and understand the key driving forces (capillarity, gravity, friction) and related water properties (surface tension and viscosity). -Predict soil hydraulic properties for varying soil textural classes. -Predict solute transport in soils for varying environmental conditions. -Predict energy balance and temperature dynamics in soils. -Predict conditions for plant water stress -Estimate the impact of soil properties on the hydrological cycle and on plant growth.
Content	INTRODUCTION Week 1 (September 18) Presentation of the role of soil physics in environmental sciences and terrestrial ecosystems: soils in the water cycle; soils and vegetation; soils and solute transport. Survey on students' interests and expectations. Presentation of course structure and learning objectives. BASIC SOIL PROPERTIES Week 2 (September 25) and Week 3 (October 02) soil texture, particle size distribution, soil structure, soil surface area, porosity and bulk density Pore scale consideration (water in a single pore), pore sizes and shapes; surface tension; Young-Laplace equation; capillary rise; contact angle Friction and laminar flow; Hagen-Poiseuille’s law; Washburn equation; numerical lab (REPORT 1) SOIL HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES Week (4 October 09) and Week 5 (October 16) Soil water content and soil water potential - The energy state of soil water; total water potential and its components; volumetric and gravimetric water contents; field capacity and wilting point Soil water characteristics and pore size distribution Saturated water flow in soils - Laminar flow in tubes (Poiseuille's Law); Darcy's Law, conditions and states of flow; permeability and hydraulic conductivity, measurement and theoretical concepts; effective conductivity; unsaturated hydraulic conductivity; Buckingham law. Unsaturated water flow in soils - Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity models and applications TOOLBOX – MEASUREMENTS AND MODELING Week (6 October 23) and Week 7 (October 30) Measuring soil hydraulic properties, fitting and interpretation; Lab tour - demonstration of soil physical methods; lecture on HYPROP method; report on Hyprop data (REPORT 2) Modelling unsaturated water flow based on Richards equation - Using Hydrus1D for simulation of unsaturated flow; simulating HYPROP measurements (REPORT 3) SOIL IN THE WATER CYCLE Week 8 (November 06) – Week 9 (November 13) Water infiltration - steady state solutions for infiltration; approximate solutions to infiltration (Green-Ampt, Philip); infiltration rate and ponding; outlook to preferential flow Water evaporation - Energy balance and land atmosphere interactions - potential and actual evaporation, evaporation stages; SOIL PLANT INTERACTIONS Week 10 (November 20) Week 11 (November 27) Root water uptake and transpiration – Theory and mechanisms controlling root water uptake; hydraulic properties of rhizosphere; plant and stomatal conductance. Modelling root water uptake and transpiration; analytical approaches and modeling using Hydrus (REPORT 4) SOLUTE TRANSPORT Week 12 (December 04) Week 13 (December 11) Transport mechanisms of solutes in porous media; breakthrough curves; convection-dispersion equation; solutions for pulse and step solute application Transport of reactive substances, preferential flow, simulations with Hydrus CLOSURE Week 14 (December 18) Summary, course synthesis, connections between the different topics, questions, exam preparation
Literature	Supplemental textbook (not mandatory) -Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics, by: D. Hillel
Competencies	Subject-specific Competencies Concepts and Theories assessed Techniques and Technologies assessed Method-specific Competencies Analytical Competencies assessed Decision-making assessed Problem-solving assessed Project Management fostered Social Competencies Communication fostered Cooperation and Teamwork fostered Leadership and Responsibility fostered Personal Competencies Adaptability and Flexibility fostered Creative Thinking fostered Critical Thinking fostered Integrity and Work Ethics fostered Self-awareness and Self-reflection fostered Self-direction and Self-management fostered

Performance assessment

Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course
ECTS credits	3 credits
Examiners	A. Carminati, P. U. Lehmann Grunder
Type	end-of-semester examination
Language of examination	English
Repetition	A repetition date will be offered in the first two weeks of the semester immediately consecutive.
Mode of examination	oral 30 minutes

Learning materials

Groups

Restrictions

Offered in

Programme	Section	Type
Agricultural Sciences Master	Functioning of Soil Systems	W
Earth and Climate Sciences Bachelor	Electives	W
Environmental Engineering Master	EM: Soil	W
Environmental Sciences Bachelor	Biogeochemistry	W
Environmental Sciences Bachelor	Soil Sciences	W
Environmental Sciences Bachelor	Forest and Landscape	W
Environmental Sciences Master	Hydrology and Water Cycle	W