Mesopores, Soil Structure, and Water Movement: Legacies of Bob Luxmoore, John Letey, and John Hanks.

A new era of soil physics and hydrology should go beyond the dependence on soil texture alone, as soil architecture is proved to be among the keys to advance our understanding, modeling, and management of soil water in the field. The legacy of three outstanding soil physicists -   Bob Luxmoore, John Letey, and John Hanks – has laid the foundation for this era. The mesopore debate in the 1980s in the soil science community was initiated by Luxmoore; the classical paper on the science and art of soil structure by Letey remains highly relevant up to this date; and the pioneering work on irrigation techniques by Hanks remains highly valuable in today’s drought-prone West. The three giants have inspired new generations of soil physicists and hydrologists to continue the journey of innovation to quantify soil architecture and flow processes in real world soils.