Project Summary (1995-2000)

Transport and distribution of organic and biological compounds in unsaturated porous media depend on the chemical and physical properties of the media, the fluid and gas properties, and the characteristics of these substances. In this project, an intermediate-scale facility is being designed and developed to study flow and transport in variably-saturated soils. The facility contains a 1m column and 2x1m sandbox, both made of stainless steel and Teflon. They are being instrumented to monitor content distributions, gas and fluid pressure and designed to have access ports for gas and liquid sampling. The column and sandbox are being used to study one and two dimensional flow and transport of biological and organic compounds under well-controlled saturated or unsaturated conditions. Additionally, the sandbox will permit studies of the effects of physical and chemical soil heterogeneities, such as lenses and layers, on unsaturated flow and transport.