The water distribution in the capillary fringe (CF) reflects the inter
action of a strongly wetting fluid in a heterogeneous porous medium. F
ield profiles of gravimetric water content of the CF for a 30 m deep,
sandy, phreatic aquifer in Israel are critically analyzed in the conte
xt of the possible wetting and drainage processes in these sediments.
A highly plausible explanation of the profiles is based on the spatial
configuration of the CF surface determined from a model of the moveme
nt of water within the porous medium. The structural types of CF that
can arise from a number of competing pore-scale displacement mechanism
s, in the presence of gravity, are characterized by the model. We diff
erentiate between two generic types of CF structures: a tenuous invasi
on-percolation type and a compact type. Flow, in response to a horizon
tal pressure gradient, associated with each structure is analyzed. Our
interpretation of the field data supports the compact structure with
a spatial variation in the height of the CF surface, above the water t
able, on the order of 1 m. In this compact structure horizontal how is
characterized by stagnant regions in the CF above a critical height h
(c) and flow only for regions below h(c). The field water content (at
h(c)) may be used to predict the onset of lateral water flow in the CF
.