Piotr Maloszewski

Application of flow models in an alpine catchment area using tritium and deuterium data

Abstract Measurements of tritium and deuterium concentrations in precipitation and runoff were in addition to conventional investigation methods used to provide some further insight into the storage properties of Lainbach valley, a catchment area of 18.7 km 2 and 670 to 1801 m above sea level in the Bavarian Alps. The basin was modeled using different simple hydrological models. Information about mean transit times of subsurface water and storage volumes of basin reservoirs is derived from the application of specific flow models to the isotopic output data. Based on fitted mean transit times of 0.8 yr. for the upper subsurface reservoir and 7.5 yr. for the lower subsurface reservoir, storage volume equivalents were obtained of 0.6 and 1.9 m of water depth, respectively.

Isotope hydrological study of mean transit times in an alpine basin (Wimbachtal, Germany)

Measurements of tritium and 18O concentrations in precipitation and runoff were used to provide further insight into the groundwater storage properties of the Wimbachtal Valley, a catchment area of 33.4 km2, extending between 636 and 2713 m a.s.l. in the Berchtesgaden Alps. The catchment includes three aquifer types: a dominant porous aquifer; a fractured dolomite; a karstic limestone aquifer. Employing a simple hydrological model, information about mean transit times of environmental tracers is derived for the groundwater runoff component and several karst springs from the application of the exponential and dispersion flow models to the isotopic input and output data. The mean transit times calculated from a dispersion model with transit times of 4.1 years for 18O and 4.2 years for tritium, which agree well, allow calculation of total (mobile + stagnant) groundwater storage volume, which is equivalent to 6.6 m of water depth. Direct runoff appears negligible as in many other cases.

Occurrence and transport of pharmaceuticals in a karst groundwater system affected by domestic wastewater treatment plants.

The occurrence of two pharmaceuticals, ibuprofen and diclofenac, in a vulnerable karst groundwater system was investigated. The hydrogeology of the karst system was identified by collecting (3)H samples in groundwater over 27years and by performing tracer tests. The isotopes and tracer data were interpreted by mathematical modeling to estimate the mean transit time of water and to characterize the hydrogeological flow paths in the groundwater system. By this approach, a mean (3)H transit time of 4.6 years for the fissured-porous karst aquifer was determined, whereas the fast flowing water in the conduit system showed a mean transit time of days. Both pharmaceuticals which infiltrated along sinkholes and small streams into the karst system were detected in concentrations of up to approximately 1 microg/L in effluent water of the wastewater treatment plants. Diclofenac was present in most samples collected from four springs discharging the karst groundwater to the rivers Altmühl and Anlauter in concentrations between 3.6 and 15.4 ng/L. In contrast, ibuprofen was rarely detected in groundwater. The results of this study suggest that both pharmaceuticals move into the fractured system of the karst system and go into storage. Thus dilution processes are the dominant control on the concentrations of both pharmaceuticals in the fractured system, whereas biodegradation is likely less important.

Interpretation of environmental tracers in groundwater systems with stagnant water zones

Lumped-parameter models are commonly applied for determining the age of water from time records of transient environmental tracers. The simplest models (e.g. piston flow or exponential) are also applicable for dating based on the decay or accumulation of tracers in groundwater systems. The models are based on the assumption that the transit time distribution function (exit age distribution function) of the tracer particles in the investigated system adequately represents the distribution of flow lines and is described by a simple function. A chosen or fitted function (called the response function) describes the transit time distribution of a tracer which would be observed at the output (discharge area, spring, stream, or pumping wells) in the case of an instantaneous injection at the entrance (recharge area). Due to large space and time scales, response functions are not measurable in groundwater systems, therefore, functions known from other fields of science, mainly from chemical engineering, are usually used. The type of response function and the values of its parameters define the lumped-parameter model of a system. The main parameter is the mean transit time of tracer through the system, which under favourable conditions may represent the mean age of mobile water. The parameters of the model are found by fitting calculated concentrations to the experimental records of concentrations measured at the outlet. The mean transit time of tracer (often called the tracer age), whether equal to the mean age of water or not, serves in adequate combinations with other data for determining other useful parameters, e.g. the recharge rate or the content of water in the system. The transit time distribution and its mean value serve for confirmation or determination of the conceptual model of the system and/or estimation of its potential vulnerability to anthropogenic pollution. In the interpretation of environmental tracer data with the aid of the lumped-parameter models, the influence of diffusion exchange between mobile water and stagnant or quasi-stagnant water is seldom considered, though it leads to large differences between tracer and water ages. Therefore, the article is focused on the transit time distribution functions of the most common lumped-parameter models, particularly those applicable for the interpretation of environmental tracer data in double-porosity aquifers, or aquifers in which aquitard diffusion may play an important role. A case study is recalled for a confined aquifer in which the diffusion exchange with aquitard most probably strongly influenced the transport of environmental tracers. Another case study presented is related to the interpretation of environmental tracer data obtained from lysimeters installed in the unsaturated zone with a fraction of stagnant water.

Quantification of the heterogeneity of the unsaturated zone based on environmental deuterium observed in lysimeter experiments

Abstract An approach is presented which enables the quantification, in integrative form, of the preferential flow and the heterogeneity in water transport through the unsaturated zone under natural atmospheric conditions. For these purposes, deuterium transport was estimated in seven lysimeters filled with different sediment materials by applying a conceptual model, which consists of preferential and matrix flow paths for each using the lumped parameter approach. The piston flow and dispersion transit time distribution functions were assumed, for preferential and matrix flow paths, respectively. Weekly 2H data measured in precipitation (1984–1991) were taken as the input function. Combining modelling of isotopes and hydrological data enabled the quantification of preferential flow rates. The fraction of preferential flow directly appearing in the outflow within one week varied between 17 and 30%. The fraction of preferential flow was practically independent of the soil texture and flow rates. The crucial parameter influencing the fraction of direct flow was found to be the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks ). In the matrix flow, it was found that the apparent dispersion parameter (PD )* is indirectly proportional to the mean water content ( ). This relationship shows that the heterogeneity of the water flux in the matrix is higher for lower water contents. Finally, the transit time distribution functions, determined for both flow paths and the fractions of preferential flow, were used to construct vulnerability diagrams. Such a diagram gives the amounts of tracer mass (conservative pollutant), which appear weekly in the outflow between 0 and 60 weeks. The vulnerability diagrams showed different patterns for different soils, depending on the saturated conductivity and mean water content. Coarser material with low and high Ks showed a short mean transit time for the matrix flow (about 10 weeks) and mean preferential flow equal to or higher than 20%. Finer sand, with lower Ks and higher , resulted in mean transit times of approximately 30 weeks and preferential flow of 17–21%. These diagrams can be used to estimate the vulnerability of groundwater to pollution for different soil materials of the unsaturated zone.

Isotope hydrology investigations in large refuse lysimeters

With the aim of studying the hydraulic behaviour and isotopic effects in refuse dumps, measurements of the 18O and 2H content of rainwater infiltrating into large cylindrical refuse lysimeters (1.5–4 m height with diameter of about 5 m), installed by the Technical University of Brunswick, Germany, were performed. The 11 lysimeters were filled with household refuse and sewage sludge under different conditions (aerobic/anaerobic, compaction, layering). The long-term hydraulic parameters of flow through the lysimeters (transit time, apparent dispersivity, volume of total water) were estimated with a specially adapted black-box model, which used isotopic content curves of rainwater and infiltrated water sampled at different depths in the lysimeters. The transit times of rainwater through the lysimeters (3–6 years) and the mean flow velocities deduced from them (0.4–1 m year−1), correspond to values in the unsaturated zone of sandy aquifers. The dispersivities are in the range of 0.1–1 cm. A special attempt was made to follow individual heavy rain events and estimate the travel times and portions of rainwater percolating swiftly through the lysimeter. It was found that up to 40% of those precipitation events drains off directly, i.e. within a few weeks. However, as it remains only a short time in the lysimeter, this water should not be greatly affected by the lysimeter filling. In addition, by evaluating the δ2H-δ18O relationship of the water samples from the different lysimeter sampling points, it was possible to differentiate, on a preliminary basis, isotopic effects caused by evaporation and biochemical reactions.

Transport and Bacterial Interactions of Three Bacterial Strains in Saturated Column Experiments

The impact of bacteria-solid and bacteria-bacteria interactions on the transport of Klebsiella oxytoca, Burkholderia cepacia G4PR1, and Pseudomonas sp. #5 was investigated in saturated sand column experiments (L = 114 mm; ø = 33 mm) under constant water velocities (∼ 5 cm · h(-1)). Bacterial strains were injected into the columns as pulses either individually, simultaneously, or successively. A one-dimensional mathematical model for advective-dispersive transport and for irreversible and reversible bacterial kinetic sorption was used to analyze the bacterial breakthrough curves. Different sorption parameters were obtained for each strain in each of the three experimental setups. In the presence of other bacteria, sorption parameters for B. cepacia G4PR1 remained similar to results from individual experiments, indicating the presence of other bacteria generally had a lesser influence on its migration than for the other bacteria. K. oxytoca is more competitive for the sorption sites when simultaneously injected with the other bacteria. Ps. sp. #5 generally yielded the greatest detachment rates and the least affinity to attach to the sand, indicative of its mobility in groundwater systems. The results of this study clearly indicate both bacteria-solid and bacteria-bacteria interactions influence the migration of bacteria. A more complete understanding of such interactions is necessary to determine potential migration in groundwater systems.

Estimation of groundwater residence time using environmental radioisotopes (14C,T) in carbonate aquifers, southern Poland

Triassic carbonate aquifers in the Upper Silesia region, affected by intense withdrawal, have been investigated by means of isotopic analyses of 14C, δ13C, δ2H, δ18O and 3H. The isotopic examinations were carried out in the 1970s and in the early 1980s, and it was the first application of tracers to estimate age and vulnerability for the contamination of groundwater in this region. Similar isotopic analyses were conducted in 2007 and 2008 with the same Triassic carbonate formation. The isotopic examinations were performed within the confined part of the carbonate formation, wherein aquifers are covered by semi-permeable deposits. The direct recharge of the aquifer occurs in the outcrop areas, but it mainly takes place due to percolation of the water through aquitards and erosional windows. The Triassic aquifer has been intensively drained by wells and by lead–zinc mines. Nowadays, the declining water demand and closure of some mines have induced a significant increase in the water table level. The detailed analysis of the results, including the radiocarbon age corrections and the comparison of radioisotope activities, has made it possible to estimate the range of residence time within the carbonate Triassic aquifer. This range from several tens to several tens of thousands indicates that the recharge of aquifers might have occurred between modern times and the Pleistocene. The apparent age of the water estimated on the basis of 14C activity was corrected considering the carbon isotope exchange and the diffusion between mobile water in fractures and stagnant water in micropores. The obtained corrected period of recharge corresponds to the result of investigations of noble gases, which were carried out in the 1990s. In almost half of the cases, groundwater is a mixture of young and old water. The mixing processes occur mainly in areas of heavy exploitation of the aquifer.

Tracer tests in fractured rocks with a new fluorescent dye—pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetra sulphonic acid (PTS) / Tests de traçage en roches fracturées avec un nouveau produit fluorescent—l'acide pyrène 1.3.6.8 tétra sulfonique (PTS)

Abstract Two multi-tracer tests were performed in fissured rocks accessible in underground laboratories to examine a new fluorescent dye: pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetra sulphonic acid (PTS). The first test was carried out at the Lindau Rock Laboratory (LRL), Germany, in a highly permeable ore dike, and the second, at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS), Switzerland, in a heterogeneous granite fault zone (AU 126). At the LRL new tracer was injected together with uranine in a convergent flow field (monopole test), and slightly different tracer breakthrough curves were observed according to different diffusion coefficients of both tracers. The matrix porosity calculated with the aid of the one-dimensional (1-D) single-fissure dispersion model (SFDM) agrees well with that found in earlier tracer tests and with measurements performed on core samples. At the GTS, the PTS tracer was applied together with pyranine in two-well injection–withdrawal (dipole) tests. Both tracers yielded identical tracer concentration curves, which confirm their conservative behaviour. Mathematical simulations performed with the aid of a 3-D numerical model (FRAC3DVS) yielded equally good fits for different sets of parameters, independent of whether matrix porosity was included or neglected. That lack of unique solution and the difficulty in observing the influence of matrix diffusion result from a wide distribution of the transit times of particular streamlines, which is characteristic for injection–withdrawal tests. However, both tracer tests clearly indicated that the new tracer (PTS) behaves conservatively at high pH values and can be successfully used for groundwater labelling.

Response and recovery of a pristine groundwater ecosystem impacted by toluene contamination – A meso-scale indoor aquifer experiment

Microbial communities are the driving force behind the degradation of contaminants like aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater ecosystems. However, little is known about the response of native microbial communities to contamination in pristine environments as well as their potential to recover from a contamination event. Here, we used an indoor aquifer mesocosm filled with sandy quaternary calciferous sediment that was continuously fed with pristine groundwater to study the response, resistance and resilience of microbial communities to toluene contamination over a period of almost two years, comprising 132days of toluene exposure followed by nearly 600days of recovery. We observed an unexpectedly high intrinsic potential for toluene degradation, starting within the first two weeks after the first exposure. The contamination led to a shift from oxic to anoxic, primarily nitrate-reducing conditions as well as marked cell growth inside the contaminant plume. Depth-resolved community fingerprinting revealed a low resistance of the native microbial community to the perturbation induced by the exposure to toluene. Distinct populations that were dominated by a small number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) rapidly emerged inside the plume and at the plume fringes, partially replacing the original community. During the recovery period physico-chemical conditions were restored to the pristine state within about 35days, whereas the recovery of the biological parameters was much slower and the community composition inside the former plume area had not recovered to the original state by the end of the experiment. These results demonstrate the low resilience of sediment-associated groundwater microbial communities to organic pollution and underline that recovery of groundwater ecosystems cannot be assessed solely by physico-chemical parameters.