ABE 6265: Vadose Zone Water & Solute Transport Modeling
Semester: Summer A (alternative years)
Credits: 3
Catalog Description
Unsaturated zone modeling of water flow and solute transport processes. Comparative analysis of alternative mechanistic modeling approaches of different complexity.
Corequisites/Prerequisites
The subject matter of this course requires computer literacy and a background on, or willingness to learn, a high level computer language (i.e., Fortran C, Java, Visual Basic, etc) or numerical computing environment (i.e., Matlab, Mathematica, etc.) that allows the student to develop and test algorithms, and read existing Vadose Zone modeling source code.
Course Objectives
- Understanding fundamentals of soil hydrology: flow, solute transport, and water quality.
- Step-by-step development and testing of numerical code for flow and solute transport through the vadose zone.
- Exploring the oportunities of functional/simplified vs. numerical approaches for modeling water and solute transport in the unsaturated Vadose Zone.
- Use of advanced tools for formal model calibration and evaluation.
- Analysis of prediction uncertainty and global sensitivity analysis of models.
- Knowledge of High Performance Computing (HPC) throughput simulation tools for global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of models.
- Application to student's own research area.
Instructor
Dr. Rafael Muñoz-Carpena
Professor in Hydrology and Water Quality
287 Frazier Rogers Hall,
P.O. Box 110570
Gainesville, FL 32611-0570
(352) 392-1864 x287
(352) 392-4092 (fax)
carpena@ufl.edu
Use CANVAS E-mail for Class Correspondence (see below in class materials)
Course Outline
| Lecture | Topic |
| 1 | Introductory comments - course outline |
| 2 | Water! (and hydrology) - A soil water relations “refresher” |
| 3 | Soil water and energy: Capillarity theory - Hydrostatic soil conditions |
| 4 | Hydrodynamic conditions: Saturated Flow: Darcy’s Law, Unsaturated flow: Darcy-Buckingham and Richards Equation |
| 5 | Infiltration: basis and models (1) |
| 6 | Richards Equation - Finite Difference Approximation ands Step-by-Step Programming |
| 7 | An Improved Green-Ampt Soil Infiltration And Redistribution Method and Its Application to 1D and 3D (Point Source) Flow Domains |
| 8 | Preferential Flow – Description, Factors and Models |
| 9 | Evaluation of Model Goodness-of-Fit (GoF) criteria with statistical significance |
| 10 | Global Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of models (GSUA) |
| 11 | High Performance Computing (HPC) for GSUA |
| 12 | Solute transport in porous media: Advective-Dispersive-Reactive (ADR) transport equation |
| 13 | Modeling solute transport in porous media: ADR numerical and Analytic Solutions and Simplified approaches - SLIM model |
| 14 | Reactive transport in porous media: nitrogen cycle and modeling with WAVE |
| 15 | The Modeling Trilemma: Complexity, Uncertainty and Relevance |
| 16 | Natural Science and Models |
Class Materials
Class web site
CANVAS:: http://lss.at.ufl.edu (Click on “Log in to E-learning”)
Material/Supply Fees
$30.00
Required Materials
Reading materials on Canvas and on reserve in department and library.
Recommended Reading
- Smith et al. 2002. Infiltration Theory for Hydrologic Applications (AGU)
- Corwin et al. 1999. Assessment of Non-Point Source Pollution in VZ (AGU)
- Tindall and Kunkel, 1999. Unsaturated Zone Hydrology for Scientists and Engineering
- Warrick, 2002. Soil Physics Companion (CRC)
- Wilson et al. 1995. Handbook of VZ Characterization & Monitoring (CRC)
- Alvarez-Benedi and Muñoz-Carpena. 2005. Soil-water-solute Process Characterization: An Integrated Approach (CRC)
- Raats et al. 2002. Environmental Mechanics: Water, Mass, and Energy Transfer in Biosphere (AGU)
- Hillel. 1998. Environmental Soil Physics (APress)
- Fleming. 1975. Computer simulation techniques in hydrology (Elsevier)
- Kutilek and Nielsen. 1990. Soil Hydrology (Catena Verlag)
- Haan et al. 1982. Hydrologic Modeling of Small Watersheds (ASAE)
- Hank and Ritchie. 1991. Modeling Plant and Soil Systems (ASA/CSSA/SSAA)
Attendance and Expectations
Active class participation is necessary to satisfactorily complete this course.
Grading
| Grading Scale | |||
| A | ≥90% | C | ≥70-<77 |
| B+ | ≥87-<90 | D+ | ≥67-<70 |
| B | ≥80-<87 | D | ≥60-<67 |
| C+ | ≥77-<80 | F | <60 |
| Grading Method | Percent |
| 5 Projects | 80% |
| Class participation | 20% |
| All work to be submitted via WebCT | |
Projects
These assignments will consist of application of relevant literature in the field through model development and testing to build the student modeling skills and in-depth understanding of the modeling alternatives in Vadose Zone modeling projects. Assignments will be penalized 10% for each business day late beyond the due date. All assignments must be returned to receive grade in the course.
Exams
There will be no exams. The grade will be assessed on the basis of project work and class participation.
All deliverables should be submitted both electronically and in paper. All assignments must be formatted so that they can be printed on standard 8.5" by 11" paper. Electronic documents must be a single text document (i.e., Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe Acrobat .pdf file) that clearly answers each question and shows the work done to arrive at the answer. Any relevant graphs, tables, and equations that support your answer must be included (i.e., pasted) in this document and must be numbered, labeled, and captioned appropriately. If you do not sufficiently explain your work, you will only get partial credit - and no credit for a wrong answer. You may, and probably should, attach additional material (i.e., well-organized and labeled programs - source code, executables and in/out files, spreadsheets or other calculations), in addition to the required text report.
Academic Honesty
All students admitted to the University of Florida have signed a statement of academic honesty committing themselves to be honest in all academic work and understanding that failure to comply with this commitment will result in disciplinary action. This statement is a reminder to uphold your obligation as a UF student and to be honest in all work submitted and exams taken in this course and all others.
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. That office will provide the student with documentation that he/she must provide to the course instructor when requesting accommodation.
Use of Library, Personal References, PC Programs & Electronic Databases
These items are university property and should be utilized with other users in mind. Never remove, mark, modify nor deface resources that do not belong to you. If you're in the habit of underlining text, do it only on your personal copy. It is inconsiderate, costly to others, and dishonest to use common references otherwise.
Software Use
All faculty, staff and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
UF Counseling Services
Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals which interfere with their academic performance. These resources include:
- University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling
- Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling
- Center for Sexual Assault/Abuse Recovery and Education (CARE), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual assault counseling
- Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling
This page was last updated on July 13, 2019.