RISK ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY FOR KARST AQUIFERS: (2) SOLUTE-TRANSPORT MODELING

Ground-water flow and solute-transport simulation modeling are major components of most exposure and risk assessments of contaminated aquifers. Model simulations provide information on the spatial and temporal distributions of contaminants in subsurface media but are difficult to apply to karst aquifers in which conduit flow is important. Ground-water flow and solute transport in karst conduits typically display rapid-flow velocities, turbulent-flow regimes, concentrated pollutant-mass discharge, and exhibit open-channel or closed-conduit flow. Conventional ground-water models, dependent on the applicability of Darcy`s law, are inappropriate when applied to karst aquifers because of the (1) nonapplicability of Darcian-flow parameters, (2) typically nonlaminar flow regime, and (3) inability to locate the karst conduits through which most flow and contaminant transport occurs. Surface-water flow and solute-transport models conditioned on a set of parameters determined empirically from quantitative ground-water tracing studies may be effectively used to render fate-and-transport values of contaminants in karst conduits. Hydraulic-flow and geometric parameters developed in a companion paper were used in the surface-water model, TOXI5, to simulate hypothetical slug and continuous-source releases of ethylbenzene in a karst conduit. TOXI5 simulation results showed considerable improvement for predicted ethylbenzene-transport rates and concentrations over qualitative tracing and analytical ground-water model results. Ethylbenzene concentrations predicted by TOXI5 simulations were evaluated in exposure and risk assessment models.     

Modeling photocatalytic destruction of the organic contaminants in continuous stir flow reactor

Thin-film technique is becoming an industry standard for the preparation of TiO₂-based photocatalyst for organic destruction. The catalyst provides several advantages over the conventional powder TiO₂ in the treatment of wastewater and groundwater. In this study, a continuous stir flow reactor model is developed capable of describing the photocatalytic process. The model incorporates the following fundamental mechanisms: adsorption, diffusion, liquid-film transfer, UV attenuation, and photocatalytic reaction. All of the simulation results indicate that there exists a highly nonlinear relation between each of these parameters and the destruction rate. Various incident light intensities also are incorporated to simulate the energy efficiency. The simulations illustrate that the photocatalytic model can be used to elucidate the effect of process variables. It is also possible to “custom-design” a catalyst for the treatment of a particular waste stream.     

Modeling rhizofiltration: heavy-metal uptake by plant roots

The discovery of phytoaccumulation potential of plant species has led to its application for remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated soil and wastewater, which is termed as phytoextraction/rhizofiltration. For prediction, analysis, planning and cost-effective design of such systems, mathematical models not only are used as a screening tool but also provide optimal parameters like harvesting time, irrigation schedule, etc. Several laboratory and field scale studies have been carried out in the past, and mathematical expressions have been developed by various researchers for different phenomena like metal adsorption in soil, plant root growth with time, moisture and metal uptake by plant root, moisture movement in unsaturated zone, soil moisture relationship, etc. The complete design of any such phytoremediation program would require the knowledge of behavior of heavy-metal movement in soil, water and plant root system. In this paper, a model for simulating heavy-metal dynamics in soil, water and plant root system is developed and discussed. The governing non-linear partial differential equation is solved numerically by implicit finite difference method using Picard's iterative technique, and the formulation has been illustrated using a characteristic example. The source code is written in MATLAB.     

Test of a Modelling System for Estimating Nitrogen Leaching – A Pilot Study in a Small Agricultural Catchment

Nitrogen leaching is a world-wide concern for the quality of ground- and surfacewater. Measures to abate this is still limited by a lack of understanding mechanisms behind all factors describing the leaching process, time lags between countermeasures and improvement in waterquality and spatial distribution of nitrogen leaching. The purpose of this study was to do an initial test of the SOILNDB model system which is built on the existing mechanistic SOIL and SOILN models and an automatic parameterization procedure for use of simplified input data. The test was done by simulating nitrogen leaching from each of the 150 fields in a small catchment during a three-year study period. The simulated mean root-zone nitrogen leaching rate from all the fields in the catchment was compared to measurements of nitrogen flow in the stream draining the catchment and showed good agreement in between-year dynamics.     

Assessing land use impacts on flood processes in complex terrain by using GIS and modeling approach

A distributed hydrologic modeling and GIS approach is applied for the assessment of land use impact in the Steinsel sub-basin, Alzette, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The assessment focuses on the runoff contributions from different land use classes and the potential impact of land use changes on runoff generation. The results show that the direct runoff from urban areas is dominant for a flood event compared with runoff from other land use areas in this catchment, and tends to increase for small floods and for the dry season floods, whereas the interflow from forested, pasture and agricultural field areas contributes to the recession flow. Significant variations in flood volume, peak discharge, time to the peak, etc., are found from the model simulation based on the three hypothetical land use change scenarios.     

Monitoring of diazinon concentrations and loadings,and identification of geographic origins consequent to stormwater runoff from orchards in the Sacramento River watershed,U.S.A

Diazinon contamination of California's rivers has resulted in placing several rivers on the federal Clean Water Act § 303d list of impaired waterways. Impaired water body listing requiresthe development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL). Previous studies identified stormwater related diazinon pulses in California rivers. This study was conducted to monitor diazinonconcentrations in the Sacramento River watershed after rainfallevents, to ascertain whether pulses could be identified and, ifconcentrations of concern were observed, to estimate loadings anddetermine geographic origins of the insecticide. TMDL developmentrequires knowledge of contaminant sources, loadings, and geographic origins. Flow and diazinon concentrations peaked in the Sacramento River at Sacramento after the three largest stormsduring January and February 1994. Diazinon concentrations peakedconsequent to each of three storms. Diazinon concentrationsmeasured in the Sacramento River at Sacramento exceeded theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game acute and chroniccriteria for protection of aquatic life during January andFebruary for nine and nineteen days, respectively. Multipleexceedances were observed throughout the watershed. Diazinon loading and geographic origin differed with each of the three storms. The design of this study provides a useful template for others attempting to identify loadings and sources of contaminants in surface waters and to rectify aquatic ecosystemcontamination from various land use practices.     

我国城市降雨径流污染控制模式探讨

随着城市的发展与点源污染控制的不断完善,城市降雨径流污染日益突出,对城市水体构成严重威胁,必须得到有效的控制。对国内外城市降雨径流污染控制模式进行了比较,并结合我国的实际情况,首次提出了双重控制模式,以期为我国城市降雨径流污染的控制与决策提供参考和借鉴。     

生态工业园区的绿色招商指标体系的研究

生态工业园区是一种以追求更高物质利用率和能量转化效率,更少废物排放甚零排放为目标的企业地域分布形式,环境保护意义和生态绿色概念的工业园区.为了能够获得最大的生态效益,就要从源头开始提高招商引资的质量,制定一个绿色招商的指标体系,设置绿色门槛,把好环保关,为园区的可持续发展奠定良好的基础.     

干旱地区森林对流域径流的影响

森林对流域径流的影响包括森林对流域径流形成机制的影响、森林对流域径流量的调节以及森林对流域径流水质的影响3个方面。论文根据作者在黄土高原和北京土石山区多年研究的结果，并结合国内同行在森林水文方面的研究成果，就干旱地区森林对流域年总径流量、洪峰流量、枯水径流以及径流水质等方面的影响作了概括。结果表明，在干旱地区随着森林植被覆盖率的增加，流域年总径流量减少；森林植被可以大幅度地减小小流域的暴雨洪峰流量；森林植被覆盖率越高，枯水径流量随之增加；森林可以在很大程度上改善流域径流水质。根据干旱地区森林植被可以减少流域年径流总量的研究结果，初步估算目前我国干旱地区林业生态工程建设（包括天然林）的生态用水量为160亿m3左右。由于森林植被对流域径流影响的复杂性和尺度依赖性，森林在区域（或大流域）尺度的水文功能评价仍有待于进一步深入研究。