Unsaturated materials comprise residua, collapsible and expansive naturally occurring soils, compacted soils and, more recently, residues of solid wastes. The engineering problems associated with unsaturated materials range from those related to conventional geotechnical works (e.g. foundations, pavements, slopes and excavations, retaining structures, earthdams, irrigation canals, tunnelling, compacted embankments) to those included in the environmental area (e.g. natural slope instability, erosion and subsidence processes, tailings, residues or solid waste disposal, contaminant transport, remediation of contaminant sites, engineered barriers for environmental protection, re-use of residues). This book, published in three separate volumes, comprises a selection of selected and invited papers presented at the Third International Conference on Unsaturated Soils – UNSAT ‘2002 – that took place in Recife, Brazil, form 10th to 13th March 2002. The book is of interest to consultants, researchers, practitioners, lecturers and students with a background in geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering and engineering geology.

This second edition is extensively revised throughout with expanded discussion of modeling fundamentals and coverage of advances in model calibration and uncertainty analysis that are revolutionizing the science of groundwater modeling. The text is intended for undergraduate and graduate level courses in applied groundwater modeling and as a comprehensive reference for environmental consultants and scientists/engineers in industry and governmental agencies. - Explains how to formulate a conceptual model of a groundwater system and translate it into a numerical model - Demonstrates how modeling concepts, including boundary conditions, are implemented in two groundwater flow codes-- MODFLOW (for finite differences) and FEFLOW (for finite elements) - Discusses particle tracking methods and codes for flowpath analysis and advective transport of contaminants - Summarizes parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis approaches using the code PEST to illustrate how concepts are implemented - Discusses modeling ethics and preparation of the modeling report - Includes Boxes that amplify and supplement topics covered in the text - Each chapter presents lists of common modeling errors and problem sets that illustrate concepts