This session focuses on the use of geophysical methods for characterising subsurface properties, states and processes in hydrology, hydrogeology, Critical Zone, contaminant transport, ecology and beyond. Topics of particular interest include groundwater flow and storage, aquifer and soil heterogeneity, soil moisture and vadose zone dynamics, transport processes and surface water–groundwater interactions, as well as the influence of subsurface heterogeneity on biogeochemical processes and microbial biodiversity.
Geophysical methods can provide subsurface information at exceptionally high spatial and temporal resolution in a non-invasive manner. However, the interpretation of these measurements remains far from straightforward in many applications and a number of challenges persist. These include improving the quantitative use of geophysical measurements for hydrogeological model conceptualisation and parameterisation, resolving structural and hydraulic heterogeneity and extending quantitative hydrogeophysical investigations beyond laboratory and field scales towards the catchment scale.
We therefore welcome submissions addressing advances in the acquisition, processing, analysis and interpretation of data obtained from geophysical and other minimally invasive methods applied to hydrogeological, hydrological, biogeochemical and contaminant-related problems. In particular, we encourage contributions on innovative experimental and numerical methods supporting model–data fusion, new concepts for coupled and joint inversion, and advances in petrophysical understanding of the relationships between geophysical properties and hydrogeological parameters, states and processes.