Flow and Transport in the Natural Environment: Advances and Applications : Advances and Applications

This volume arises from an International Symposium on Flow and Transport in the Natural Environment held in Canberra, Australia, in September 1987. The meeting was hosted by the CSIRO Division of Environmental Mechanics (now the Centre for Environmental Mechanics) to mark the opening of the second stage of its headquarters, the F.C. Pye Field Environment Laboratory, twenty-one years after the opening of the first stage. Those twenty-one years have seen much progress in our understanding of the physics of the natural environment and the occasion provided an ideal opportunity to review advances in our knowledge of flow and transport phenomena, particularly with regard to flow and transport in soils, plants and the atmosphere. The contents of this volume are based very closely on the Symposium's program. Undoubtedly, our choices of topics were idiosyncratic, but we believe that those we have selected exhibit progress, innovation, and much scope for practical application. Rather than being encyclopaedic, we have sought to deal with thirteen selected topics in depth. Front Matter....Pages I-VII Solute Transport and Dispersion....Pages 1-16 Solute Transport and Dispersion: Commentary....Pages 17-29 Quasianalytic and Analytic Approaches to Unsaturated Flow....Pages 30-47 Quasianalytic and Analytic Approaches to Unsaturated Flow: Commentary....Pages 48-58 Measurement of Soil Physical Properties in the Field....Pages 59-85 Measurement of Soil Physical Properties in the Field: Commentary....Pages 86-94 Canopy Transport Processes....Pages 95-127 Canopy Transport Processes: Commentary....Pages 128-132 Surface Temperature and the Surface Energy Balance....Pages 133-153 Surface Temperature and the Surface Energy Balance: Commentary....Pages 154-159 Stomatal Physiology and Gas Exchange in the Field....Pages 160-172 Stomatal Physiology and Gas Exchange in the Field: Commentary....Pages 173-182 Air Flow Over Complex Terrain....Pages 183-229 Air Flow Over Complex Terrain: Commentary....Pages 230-239 Convective Processes in the Lower Atmosphere....Pages 240-260 Convective Processes in the Lower Atmosphere: Commentary....Pages 261-269 Turbulent Wakes in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer....Pages 270-292 Turbulent Wakes in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer: Commentary....Pages 293-299 Particulate Transport in the Atmosphere: Wind Erosion....Pages 300-311 Processes of Water Erosion....Pages 312-326 One-Dimensional Solid-Liquid Separation....Pages 327-342 One-Dimensional Solid-Liquid Separation: Commentary....Pages 343-351 Atmospheric Dispersion - Observations and Models....Pages 352-376 Atmospheric Dispersion - Observations and Models: Commentary....Pages 377-380 Back Matter....Pages 381-384 This up-to-date survey of the knowledge of flow and transport phenomena in the natural environment by twenty-four world authorities deals with processes in soil, plants and the lower layers of the atmosphere, and with some physically similar transport processes in industry. The main topics concern the transport of water and solutes in soils and porous media; the mechanics of soil erosion by wind and water, processes of energy exchange and mass transfer between plants and the atmosphere; turbulent and convective processes in the atmosphere including wind flow over complex terrain and pollutant dispersal; and processes of filtration and sedimentation. Both theoretical and practical aspects of each topic are discussed.