This book contains the refereed and edited proceedings of the Second IHP/IAHS George Kovacs Colloquium on Subsurface Flow and Transport: The Stochastic Approach, held in Paris, France, during January 26–30, 1995. The Colloquium was convened by Professors Gedeon Dagan and Shlomo P. Neuman under the auspices of UNESCO's Division of Water Sciences as part of its International Hydrological Programme (IHP), and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS).

The book is devoted to issues of fluid flow and solute transport in complex geologic environments under uncertainty. The resolution of such issues is important for the rational management of water resources, the preservation of subsurface quality, the optimization of irrigation and drainage efficiency, the safe and economic extraction of subsurface mineral and energy resources, and the subsurface storage of energy and wastes. Over the last two decades, it has become common to describe the spatial variability of geologic medium flow and transport properties using methods of statistical continuum theory (or geostatistics). According to the geostatistical philosophy, these properties constitute spatially correlated random fields. As medium properties are random, the equations that govern subsurface flow and transport are stochastic. This book takes stock of mathematical and computational solutions obtained for stochastic subsurface flow and transport equations, and their application to experimental field data over the last two decades. The book also attempts to identify corresponding future research needs.

The book contains invited articles on selected topics by 15 leading experts in the emerging field of stochastic subsurface hydrology. All 15 authors have made seminal contributions to this field during its early formative years.