The unsaturated zone – a neglected component of nature

The unsaturated zone and the saturated/unsaturated interface region are important links between groundwater and the land surface. They provide storage capacity for both water and contaminants; a reactor medium for physical, chemical and biological processes; a delay time between the release of a contaminant into the unsaturated zone and its influx into the saturated zone and, a domain for the lateral and vertical transport of gases. We highlight some of the properties associated with these domains providing results of studies conducted in the phreatic Coastal Plain aquifer of Israel for the last 30 years. 4 D. Ronen, S. Sorek