Unsaturated Zone Hydrology and Chemical Transport

Catalog description

Recommended Preparations: At least one undergraduate course in Mathematics and in Chemistry. GEOSC 452 This course provides the theoretical basis for and mathematical description of the transport of water and chemicals through the unsaturated zone between the soil surface and the regional water table. This zone is frequently referred to as the vadose zone. In particular, the course investigates the solutions to problems involving the transport of water and chemicals through the vadose zone, such as might be the case when attempting to predict direction and rate of a contaminant spill, or to determine the length of time required for contaminant remediation, or to protect buried waste from infiltrating water. Students will recognize parameters required in order to develop solutions to identified problems, will identify means to obtain values of the needed parameters, and will develop model solutions in order to gain insight into expected outcomes of proposed solutions.