Exact solution for nonlinear, nonhysteretic redistribution in vertical soil of finite depth

We present the first exact solution to nonlinear, nonhysteretic redistribution of water in a vertical column of soil of finite depth. We analyze the effects of gravity, capillarity and initial volume of infiltrated water on the redistribution process. Redistributed profile shapes are found to be consistent with the numerically produced profiles in the absence of hysteresis. Finally, we derive the steady state redistributed profile for arbitrary soil properties.