Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate

地下水是干旱和半干旱地区唯一的常年水源。干旱和半干旱地区占全球陆地面积的1/3，澳大利亚面积的70%。半干旱区洪泛平原的非饱和带对地下水补给的作用机理尚不完全清楚。我们将研究土壤水分的动态，以及它对地下水补给的贡献，分别针对水文制度和天气模式。我们将使用记录器测量对洪水事件的直接响应，并将其与从水化学和同位素示踪模型推断的间接测量结果进行比较，以更好地了解补给模式、蒸发损失以及地表径流、洪泛平原和景观中不同位置的含水层之间的相互作用。

Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure direct responses to flood events using loggers and compare them to indirect measurements inferred from hydrochemical and isotope tracer models to better understand recharge patterns, evaporative losses, and interactions between surface runoff, floodplains, and aquifers at different positions in the landscape.