Serious pollutions due to contaminant leakages through the unsaturated and saturated zones are still of great concern. Contaminants range from non-mobile heavy metals to degradable and mobile petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, pesticides, nutrients and other chemicals. Transport and transformation of these solutes is strongly influenced by soil heterogeneity, by aquatic chemistry, the composition and activity of microbial communities, and by mineral / geochemical interface properties. A thorough understanding of subsurface processes is needed to predict aquifer vulnerability, to improve remediation strategies of soil and groundwater contaminations, and to address sustainable use of our water resources.
This session encourages presentations of recent developments, state-of-the-art tools and techniques, and innovative instrumentation, sampling techniques and measurement / monitoring approaches to assess vulnerability, sustainability, risk and remediation approaches in the unsaturated and/or saturated zone. This may cover measuring and monitoring techniques (e.g. hydraulic testing, applied tracers, indicator techniques, in-situ microcosms, joint methods, etc.) through modeling strategies and / or scaling approaches. Of particular interest are studies on flow, microbial activity and reactive transport, as well as the use of isotope signatures and analogue compounds as tracers for contaminant source / provenance and for process identification / quantification.