An automated, computer-controlled soil column experimental setup was developed to simulate in det... more An automated, computer-controlled soil column experimental setup was developed to simulate in detail the effects of water table dynamics on the biogeochemical transformations of nutrients and other redox-sensitive chemical species at the interface between groundwater and surface waters. The experiments were conducted using two parallel soil columns, one under stable and the other under fluctuating water table conditions. The water table in the soil columns was controlled by an automated multi-channel pump connected to two equilibrium and storage columns. In the stable column, the water table was maintained at -20 cm below the soil surface while it fluctuated between the soil surface and -45 cm in the fluctuating column at a rate of 4.8 cm/d. Redox potential (Eh), pH profiles were measured continuously using high temporal resolution microsensors (10 μm glass tip) installed into the columns at different depths. The results show striking geochemical contrasts between the fluctuating an...
A model network comprising climate models, a hydrological model, a catchment-scale model for phos... more A model network comprising climate models, a hydrological model, a catchment-scale model for phosphorus biogeochemistry, and a lake thermodynamics and plankton dynamics model was used to simulate phosphorus loadings, total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in Lake Vansjø, Southern Norway. The model network was automatically calibrated against time series of hydrological, chemical and biological observations in the inflowing river and in the lake itself using a Markov Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. Climate projections from three global climate models (GCM: HadRM3, ECHAM5r3 and BCM) were used. The GCM model HadRM3 predicted the highest increase in temperature and precipitation and yielded the highest increase in total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in the lake basin over the scenario period of 2031-2060. Despite the significant impact of climate change on these aspects of water quality, it is minimal when compared to the much larger effect of changes in land-us...
Field measurements combined with numerical simulations provide insight into the water exchange, g... more Field measurements combined with numerical simulations provide insight into the water exchange, groundwater flow, and geochemical processes controlling the mobility of arsenic (As) in freshwater beach aquifers. Elevated dissolved As (up to 56 μg/L) was observed 1-2 m below the shoreline at two sandy beaches on Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. Water and solid-phase analyses suggest that Fe (hydr)oxides present below the shoreline accumulate As, creating a risk of high As in the beach aquifer. Groundwater flow simulations combined with vertical hydraulic gradient measurements indicate that wave-induced flow recirculations across the groundwater-lake interface are significant. These recirculations, which vary with wave intensity and lake water level fluctuations, set up redox and pH gradients, where Fe precipitates and subsequently sequesters As. The elevated As concentrations observed at both beaches, combined with the distribution of other dissolved species, suggest that the As enrichment may be naturally occurring. Regardless of the As source, the interacting hydrologic and geochemical processes revealed may have important implications for the flux of As and also other oxyanions, such as phosphate, across the groundwater-lake interface in nearshore areas of the Great Lakes.
An automated, computer-controlled soil column experimental setup was developed to simulate in det... more An automated, computer-controlled soil column experimental setup was developed to simulate in detail the effects of water table dynamics on the biogeochemical transformations of nutrients and other redox-sensitive chemical species at the interface between groundwater and surface waters. The experiments were conducted using two parallel soil columns, one under stable and the other under fluctuating water table conditions. The water table in the soil columns was controlled by an automated multi-channel pump connected to two equilibrium and storage columns. In the stable column, the water table was maintained at -20 cm below the soil surface while it fluctuated between the soil surface and -45 cm in the fluctuating column at a rate of 4.8 cm/d. Redox potential (Eh), pH profiles were measured continuously using high temporal resolution microsensors (10 μm glass tip) installed into the columns at different depths. The results show striking geochemical contrasts between the fluctuating an...
A model network comprising climate models, a hydrological model, a catchment-scale model for phos... more A model network comprising climate models, a hydrological model, a catchment-scale model for phosphorus biogeochemistry, and a lake thermodynamics and plankton dynamics model was used to simulate phosphorus loadings, total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in Lake Vansjø, Southern Norway. The model network was automatically calibrated against time series of hydrological, chemical and biological observations in the inflowing river and in the lake itself using a Markov Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. Climate projections from three global climate models (GCM: HadRM3, ECHAM5r3 and BCM) were used. The GCM model HadRM3 predicted the highest increase in temperature and precipitation and yielded the highest increase in total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in the lake basin over the scenario period of 2031-2060. Despite the significant impact of climate change on these aspects of water quality, it is minimal when compared to the much larger effect of changes in land-us...
Field measurements combined with numerical simulations provide insight into the water exchange, g... more Field measurements combined with numerical simulations provide insight into the water exchange, groundwater flow, and geochemical processes controlling the mobility of arsenic (As) in freshwater beach aquifers. Elevated dissolved As (up to 56 μg/L) was observed 1-2 m below the shoreline at two sandy beaches on Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. Water and solid-phase analyses suggest that Fe (hydr)oxides present below the shoreline accumulate As, creating a risk of high As in the beach aquifer. Groundwater flow simulations combined with vertical hydraulic gradient measurements indicate that wave-induced flow recirculations across the groundwater-lake interface are significant. These recirculations, which vary with wave intensity and lake water level fluctuations, set up redox and pH gradients, where Fe precipitates and subsequently sequesters As. The elevated As concentrations observed at both beaches, combined with the distribution of other dissolved species, suggest that the As enrichment may be naturally occurring. Regardless of the As source, the interacting hydrologic and geochemical processes revealed may have important implications for the flux of As and also other oxyanions, such as phosphate, across the groundwater-lake interface in nearshore areas of the Great Lakes.
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