Puddles - A trigger for heterogeneous chemical influx into the unsaturated zone.

Spatial heterogeneity in the chemical concentration of interstitial water in the vadose zone was previously observed under apparently homogeneous surface conditions on two leveled fields sprinkler irrigated with treated sewage effluents on the phreatic Coastal Plain aquifer of Israel. This phenomenon greatly hampers the monitoring of groundwater quality. In this study we report on the presence of puddles of different size and shape that were sporadically observed in these fields.