Solute transport through a groove is affected by its vortices. Our laboratory and numerical experiments of dye transport through a single axisymmetric groove reveal evidence of enhanced spreading and mixing by the vortex, i.e., a new kind of dispersion called here the vortex dispersion. The uptake and release of contaminants by vortices in porous media is affected by the flow Reynolds number. The larger the flow Reynolds number, the larger is the vortex dispersion, and the larger is the mass-transfer rate between the mobile zone and the vortex. The long known dependence of the mass-transfer rate between the mobile and "immobile" zones in porous media on flow velocity can be explained by the presence of vortices in the "immobile" zone and their uptake and release of contaminants.