ABSTRACT
The unsaturated zone, sometimes called the vadose zone, is the zone between the ground surface and the water table. The term unsaturated zone is somewhat of a misnomer as the capillary fringe above the groundwater or the rain-saturated top soil are portions that are saturated. For this reason some authors (e.g., Bouwer, 1978) prefer the term vadose zone. The unsaturated zone is the hydrological connection between the surfacewater component of thehydrologic cycle and the groundwater component (Figure 6.1).
