Saturated soil (near emitter)
Wetting front (edge of bulb)
Target root-zone depth
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Drip irrigation delivers water from a point rather than flooding a field, so the water that leaves the emitter spreads underground into a three-dimensional "wetting bulb" instead of a flat wetted layer. This simulator renders that bulb growing in real time from a single emitter, using a simplified point-source infiltration model: cumulative volume from the emitter's flow rate and irrigation time, divided by the soil's fillable pore space, sized into a half-ellipsoid whose width-to-depth ratio depends on soil texture — narrow and deep in sand, wide and shallow in clay. Adjust the flow rate, switch between sand, loam and clay, and compare the growing wetted depth against a chosen root-zone target to see how real drip systems are tuned to put water where roots can use it instead of losing it to runoff or deep percolation.