Background/Objectives. Assessment of water percolation and solute transport in the vadose zone is considered a major challenge in hydrologic sciences. It is often characterized by unstable flow that is highly sensitive to hydraulic conditions. In laboratory experiments where the flow characteristics through a well-defined medium may be controlled, close predictions may be achieved. Nevertheless, in natural field conditions the lithologic heterogeneity as well as the erratic nature of hydraulic conditions increase flow instability and imposes a great obstacle to proper prediction. Often conventional models relay solely on parameter that are measured on the domain boundaries, with no direct validation in time and dimension scales that correspond with actual flow dynamics in the modeled domain.
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