Vadose zone
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The vadose zone, also termed the unsaturated zone, is the portion of Earth between the land surface and the water table, and is thus not considered groundwater ("vadose" is Latin for "shallow"). It comprises the unsaturated portion of the soil, regolith or bedrock, as well as the saturated capillary fringe above the water table. The pore spaces in the vadose zone are subject to atmospheric pressure, and so the water is held to the regolith and rock by adhesion (funiculary groundwater), and in pore spaces by capillary action (capillary groundwater). If the vadose zone envelops soil, the water contained therein is termed soil moisture.
Movement of water within the vadose zone is studied within hydrology, particularly hydrogeology, and is of importance to agriculture and contaminant transport.
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