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ELS09 Integrated modelling of contaminants in the vadose zone; Source, Fate, and Impact |
Management of soil contamination is critically dependent on our understanding of soil’s chemical, physical and biological functions. The vadose zone is at the interface of abiotic and biotic, hydraulically saturated and unsaturated regions, aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic regions, and is the most managed region of the soil.
Heterogeneity in liquid and gaseous fluxes, associated heterogeneities in contaminant distribution, and heterogeneities in abiotic and biotic functions make modeling and prediction of contamination risks particularly challenging.
Scientists from diverse backgrounds are involved in the management of contaminant risks in soils by either directly considering the relevant parameters of soil’s heterogeneity, mechanistically, or by treating soils as blackboxes and thus stochastically monitoring inputs and outputs of interest with associated parameters perceived as relevant. Predictive, exploratory, or explanatory models and statistics may then follow. The session tries to integrate research from diverse areas all dealing with contaminant transfer, transformation, and removal processes with the soil’s vadose zone as a direct or indirect study region. Both theoretical and applied approaches will be considered.