Soils comprise a highly complex media combining chemical, physical and biological processes. There is an urgent need for quantitative methods to elucidate, model, predict and then communicate information about soil system functionality. Soil systems are a vital natural resource and are characteristically complex. They vary at multiple scales in space and time as a result of the combined effects of many different factors which arise from the interaction of biologic, geological, hydrological and anthropogenic processes. We especially encourage contributions that combine imaging and/or detection of small soil quantities which can serve as input for numerical simulations or are already used to feed process-orientated models.
The session will provide the platform for scientist from various disciplines including hydrology, soil science and biogeoscience to discuss conceptual and technical challenges related to:
1) Experimental designs compatible for modeling
2) Implementing real data in existing process-orientated models
3) New imaging techniques to study soil functions quantitatively