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701-0535-00L 3 Credits BSC , MSC , NDS D-USYS , D-ERDW , D-BAUG
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Environmental Soil Physics/Vadose Zone Hydrology

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Peter Ulrich Lehmann Grunder, Prof. Dr. Andrea Carminati
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:48:49

Abstract

The course provides theoretical and practical foundations for understanding and characterizing physical and transport properties of soils/ near-surface earth materials, and quantifying hydrological processes and fluxes of mass and energy at multiple scales.

Objective

Students are able to - characterize porous media at different scales - parameterize structural, flow and transport properties of partially-saturated porous media - quantify driving forces and resulting fluxes of water, solute, and heat in soils

Content

Week 1: Introduction, soil and vadose zone, units and dimensions, definitions and basic mass-volume relationships between the solid, liquid and gaseous phases; soil water content; soil texture; particle size distributions; Week 2: Pore scale consideration, pore sizes, shapes and connectivity, coordination number, continuity and percolation, surface area, soil structure Week 3: Capillarity – capillary rise, surface tension, Young-Laplace equation; Washburn equation; numerical lab Week 4: Soil Water Potential - the energy state of soil water; total water potential and its components; properties of water (molecular, surface tension, and capillary rise); units and calculations and measurement of equilibrium soil water potential components Week 5: Soil water characteristics - definitions and measurements; parametric models, fitting and interpretation, hysteresis; demo lab Week 6: Saturated water flow in soils - laminar flow in tubes (Poiseuille's Law); Darcy's Law, conditions and states of flow; permeability and hydraulic conductivity, measurement and theoretical concepts (Kozeny-Carman) Week 7: Unsaturated water flow in soils - unsaturated hydraulic conductivity models and applications; Richards equation, approximations of Richards equation for steady state; approximate solutions to infiltration (Green-Ampt, Philip); outlook on unstable and preferential flow Week 8: Numerical solution of Richards equation – using Hydrus1D for simulation of unsaturated flow; choosing class project Week 9: Energy balance and land atmosphere interactions - radiation and energy balance; evapotranspiration, definitions and estimation; evaporation stages and characteristic length; soil thermal properties; steady state heat flow; non-steady heat flow Week 10: Root water uptake and transpiration Week 11: Solute and gas transport in soils; transport mechanisms of solutes in porous media; breakthrough curves; convection-dispersion equation; solutions for pulse and step solute application; parameter estimation; salt balance. Week 12: Summary of lectures; solution of old exam Week 13: Written semester-end exam Week 14: Short presentations of Hydrus class projects; discussion of written exam

Resources

Literature

Supplemental textbook (not mandatory) -Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics, by: D. Hillel

General Information

Language
English
Levels
BSC , MSC , NDS
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
end-of-semester examination
Mode
written 105 minutes
Aids
None

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture Environmental Soil Physics/Vadose Zone Hydrology
  • Wed 16:15-18:00 (CHN E 46)
2 h weekly
exercise Environmental Soil Physics/Vadose Zone Hydrology
  • Wed 18:15-19:00 (CHN E 46)
1 h weekly

Offered In

  • Earth and Climate Sciences Bachelor
    • Majors
      • Major: Climate and Water (Advisor of the BSc-major "Climate and Water" is Dr. Hanna Joos, Institute for climate and atmosphere (IAC).)
        • Electives (The electives listed are recommended. Additional courses can be chosen from the complete offerings of the ETH Zurich and University of Zurich.)
  • Environmental Sciences Bachelor (Students can choose between one Bachelor thesis of 10KP or two Bachelor theses of 5KP each. In principle, all professors and lecturers involved in the teaching of the Environmental Sciences degree programme are entitled to supervise a Bachelor's thesis (BA). BA in the area of social sciences and humanities can only be supervised by lecturers who teach in this area. The same applies to BA in the field of natural sciences and technology. If the thesis is supervised by a person who does not teach in the Environmental Sciences degree programme or who does not have ETH lecturer status, then the student has to fill in the "Form for supervisors of a Bachelor thesis who do not teach in the Environmental Sciences degree programme" Link)
    • Natural Science and Technical Electives
    • Specialization in an Environmental System
      • Biogeochemistry (The following courses are highly recommended as preparation for the Specialization in Biogeochemistry: 701-0225-00L Organic Chemistry (Autumn semester) 752-0100-00L Biochemie (Autumn semester) 752-1300-00L Introduction to Toxicology (Spring semester) These courses should be successfully completed during the second year.)
      • Forest and Landscape (The following courses are highly recommended as preparation for the Specialization in Forest and Landscape: 701-0266-00L Einführung in die Dendrologie (Autumn semester) 551-0435-00L Systematische Biologie: Zoologie (Spring semester) 701-0360-00L Systematische Biologie: Pflanzen (Spring semester) These courses should be successfully completed during the second year.)
  • Environmental Engineering Master
    • Elective Modules (For all majors.)
      • EM: Soil (Elective Module for Majors "Environmental Technologies", "Resource Management", "River and Hydraulic Engineering", "Urban Water Management" and "Water Resources Management".)
  • Environmental Sciences Master
  • Agricultural Sciences Master
  • Atmospheric and Climate Science Master
  • MAS in Sustainable Water Resources (The Master of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Water Resources is a 12 month full time postgraduate diploma programme. The focus of the programme is on issues of sustainability and water resources in Latin America, with special attention given to the impacts of development and climate change on water resources. The programme combines multidisciplinary coursework with high level research. Sample research topics include: water quality, water quantity, water for agriculture, water for the environment, adaptation to climate change, and integrated water resource management. Language: English. Credit hours: 66 ECTS. For further information please visit: )