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The Use of Numerical Flow and Transport Models in Environmental Analyses

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Book cover Application of Soil Physics in Environmental Analyses

Part of the book series: Progress in Soil Science ((PROSOIL))

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of alternative approaches for modeling water flow and contaminant transport problems in soils and groundwater. Special focus is on flow and transport processes in the variably saturated vadose zone between the soil surface and the groundwater table. The governing flow and transport equations are discussed for both equilibrium and nonequilibrium flow conditions, followed by three examples. The first example shows how one-dimensional root-zone modeling can be used to estimate short- and long-term recharge rates, including contaminant transport through the vadose zone. A second example illustrates a two-dimensional application involving drip irrigation, while the third example deals with two-dimensional nonequilibrium transport of a pesticide in a tile-drained field soil. Also discussed are alternative pore-scale modeling approaches that may provide a better understanding of the basic physical and geochemical processes affecting fluid flow and contaminant transport in saturated and variably saturated media.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, POLI&COPPE, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 68503, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21945-970, Brazil

    Martinus Th. van Genuchten

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, 3584CD, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Martinus Th. van Genuchten & Amir Raoof

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, POLI&COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 68503, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21945-970, Brazil

    Carolina Naveira-Cotta

  4. U.S. Salinity Laboratory, USDA-ARS, 450 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside, CA, 92507, USA

    Todd H. Skaggs

  5. Department of Nuclear Engineering, POLI&COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 68503, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21945-970, Brazil

    Elizabeth M. Pontedeiro

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  1. Martinus Th. van Genuchten
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  2. Carolina Naveira-Cotta
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  3. Todd H. Skaggs
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  4. Amir Raoof
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  5. Elizabeth M. Pontedeiro
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Correspondence to Martinus Th. van Genuchten .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Physics, Embrapa Soils, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira

  2. Soils Department, Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil

    Marcos Bacis Ceddia

  3. Department of Hydrology, Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais (CPRM), Geological Survey of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Marta Vasconcelos Ottoni

  4. Soil Physics, Embrapa Soils, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Guilheme Kangussu Donnagema

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van Genuchten, M.T., Naveira-Cotta, C., Skaggs, T.H., Raoof, A., Pontedeiro, E.M. (2014). The Use of Numerical Flow and Transport Models in Environmental Analyses. In: Teixeira, W., Ceddia, M., Ottoni, M., Donnagema, G. (eds) Application of Soil Physics in Environmental Analyses. Progress in Soil Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06013-2_15

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