Since Edgar Buckingham successfully created the first soil water characteristic (SWC) curve in 1907, its importance for various hydrological and agricultural processes and applications has been reemphasized in recent times. This session highlights latest advancements in SWC measurement technology and modeling. Contributions that include but are not limited to the following topics are encouraged: (1) novel measurement methods that increase SWC measurement accuracy and speed from saturation to oven-dry conditions; (2) new modeling concepts, which accurately describe the SWC from saturation to oven-dryness; (3) linking SWC measurements with emerging direct visualization methods (e.g. X-ray CT) to understand pore-network structure, shape, connectivity, and functions; and (4) cross-disciplinary studies about extracting useful information from measured SWC curves and linking these to soil life-support processes including water, solute and gas fluxes, bioactivity and biodiversity.