f SIMULATING P-WAVE VELOCITY VARIATIONS DURING FLUID INFILTRATION IN THE VADOSE ZONE USING FINITE-DIFFERENCE SEISMIC MODELING IN A VISCOELASTIC MEDIA

Hydrogeologic parameter estimation in the vadose zone is critical in a variety of environmental and engineering applications. However, moisture content in the vadose zone is difficult to properly constrain using traditional methods, because water saturation can be highly variable in space and time, and geologic materials can be anisotropic, heterogeneous, or both. We have previously proposed an in situ method for estimating field-saturated hydraulic conductivity using time-lapse seismic first-arrival tomography (TLSFT).