Tracing subsurface migration of contaminants from an abandoned municipal landfill

This paper aims at determining of inorganic leachate contamination for a capped unsanitary landfill in the absence of hydrogeological data. The 2D geoelectrical resistivity imaging, soil physicochemical characterization, and surface water analysis were used to determine contamination load and extent of selective heavy metal contamination underneath the landfill. The positions of the contaminated subsoil and groundwater were successfully delineated in terms of low resistivity leachate plumes of <10 Ωm. Leachate migration towards the reach of Kelang River could be clearly identified from the resistivity results and elevated concentrations of Fe in the river downslope toe of the site. Concentration of Fe, Mn, Ca, Na, K, Mg, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, and Pb was measured for the subsoil samples collected at the downslope (BKD), upslope (BKU), and the soil-waste interface (BKI), of the landfill. The concentration levels obtained for most of the analyzed heavy metals significantly exceed the normal range in typical municipal solid waste landfill sites. The measured heavy metal contamination load in the subsoil is in the following order Fe ? Mn > Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu. Taking into consideration poor physical and chemical characteristics of the local soil, these metals first seem to be attenuated naturally at near surface then remobilize unavoidably due to the soil acidic environment (pH 4.2-6.18) which in turn, may allow an easy washing of these metals in contact with the shallow groundwater table during the periodic fluctuation of the Kelang River. These heavy metals are believed to have originated from hazardous industrial waste that might have been illegally dumped at the site.     

Short-term water quality variable prediction using a hybrid CNN–LSTM deep learning model

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - Water quality monitoring is an important component of water resources management. In order to predict two water quality variables, namely...     

Evidence for the occurrence of hydrogeochemical processes in the groundwater of Khoy plain,northwestern Iran,using ionic ratios and geochemical modeling

Rapid population growth, industrialization, and agricultural expansion in the Khoy area (northwestern Iran) have led to its dependence on groundwater and degradation of groundwater quality. This study attempts to decipher the major processes and factors that degrade the groundwater quality of the Khoy plain. For this purpose, 54 groundwater samples from unconfined and confined aquifers of the plain were collected in July 2017 and analyzed for major cations and anions (Na, K, Ca, Mg, HCO₃, SO_4, and Cl), minor ions (NO₃ and F), and Al. Magnesium and bicarbonate were identified as the dominant cation and anion, respectively. Several ionic ratios and geochemical modeling using PHREEQC indicated that the most important hydrogeochemical processes to affect groundwater quality in the plain were weathering and dissolution of evaporitic and silicate minerals, mixing, and ion exchange. There were smaller effects from evaporation and anthropogenic factors (e.g., industries). Results showed that the high salinity of the groundwater in the northeast area of the plain was due to the high solubility of the evaporitic minerals, e.g., halite and gypsum. Reverse ion exchange and the contribution of mineral dissolution were more significant than ion exchange in the northeastern part of the plain. Elevated salinity of the groundwater in the southeast was attributed mostly to reverse ion exchange and somewhat to evaporation.     

Chemical evolution of a gas-capped deep aquifer,southwest of Iran

The Kangan Aquifer (KA) is located below a gas reservoir in the crest of the Kangan Anticline, southwest of Iran. This aquifer is composed of Permo-Triassic limestone, dolomite, sandstone, anhydrite and shale. It is characterized by a total dissolved solid of about 332,000 mg/L and Na–Ca–Cl-type water. A previous study showed that the source of the KA waters is evaporated seawater. Chemical evolution of the KA is the main objective of this study. The major, minor and trace element concentrations of the KA waters were measured. The chemical evolution of KA waters occurred by three different processes: evaporation of seawater, water–rock and water–gas interactions. Due to the seawater evaporation process, the concentration of all ions in the KA waters increased up to saturation levels. In comparison to the evaporated seawater, the higher concentrations of Ca, Li, Sr, I, Mn and B and lower concentrations of Mg, SO₄ and Na and no changes in concentrations of Cl and K ions are observed in the KA waters. Based on the chemical evolution after seawater evaporation, the KA waters are classified into four groups: (1) no evolution (Cl, K ions), (2) water–rock interaction (Na, Ca, Mg, Li and Sr ions), (3) water–gas interaction (SO₄ and I ions) and (4) both water–rock and water–gas interactions (Mn and B ions). The chemical evolution processes of the KA waters include dolomitization, precipitation, ion exchange and recrystallization in water–rock interaction. Bacterial reduction and diagenesis of organic material in water–gas interaction also occur. A new type of chart, Ca_excess versus Mg_deficit, is proposed to evaluate the dolomitization process.     

Application of wavelet-artificial intelligence hybrid models for water quality prediction: a case study in Aji-Chay River,Iran

The accuracy of Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), wavelet-ANN and wavelet-ANFIS in predicting monthly water salinity levels of northwest Iran’s Aji-Chay River was assessed. The models were calibrated, validated and tested using different subsets of monthly records (October 1983 to September 2011) of individual solute (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, SO₄ ^2? and Cl^?) concentrations (input parameters, meq L^?1), and electrical conductivity-based salinity levels (output parameter, µS cm^?1), collected by the East Azarbaijan regional water authority. Based on the statistical criteria of coefficient of determination (R²), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSC) and threshold statistics (TS) the ANFIS model was found to outperform the ANN model. To develop coupled wavelet-AI models, the original observed data series was decomposed into sub-time series using Daubechies, Symlet or Haar mother wavelets of different lengths (order), each implemented at three levels. To predict salinity input parameter series were used as input variables in different wavelet order/level-AI model combinations. Hybrid wavelet-ANFIS (R² = 0.9967, NRMSE = 2.9 × 10^?5 and NSC = 0.9951) and wavelet-ANN (R² = 0.996, NRMSE = 3.77 × 10^?5 and NSC = 0.9946) models implementing the db4 mother wavelet decomposition outperformed the ANFIS (R² = 0.9954, NRMSE = 3.77 × 10^?5 and NSC = 0.9914) and ANN (R² = 0.9936, NRMSE = 3.99 × 10^?5 and NSC = 0.9903) models.     

Surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer and their contribution to atmospheric aerosols around coastal areas of the Malaysian peninsula

A study was done to determine the concentrations of surfactants on the sea-surface microlayer and in atmospheric aerosols in several coastal areas around the Malaysian peninsula. The concentrations of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer (collected using rotation drum) and from aerosols (collected using HVS) were analyzed as methylene blue active substances and disulphine blue active substances through the colorimetric method using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The results of this study showed that the average concentrations of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer ranged between undetected and 0.36 ± 0.34 μmol L⁻¹ for MBAS and between 0.11 ± 0.02 and 0.21 ± 0.13 μmol L⁻¹ for DBAS. The contribution of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer to the composition of surfactants in atmospheric aerosols appears to be very minimal and more dominant in fine mode aerosols.     

Groundwater Origin in Qanats,Chemo-Isotopic,and Hydrogeological Evidence

A systematic study of the chemo-isotopic characteristics and origin of the groundwater was carried out at six major qanats in the hyper-arid Gonabad area, eastern Iran. These qanats as a sustainable groundwater extraction technology have a long history, supporting human life for more than a thousand years in this region. The Gonabad qanats are characterized by outlet electrical conductivity (EC) values of 750 to 3900 µS/cm and HCO₃-Na-Mg and Cl-Na water types. The Gonabad meteoric water line (G_nMWL) was drawn at the local scale as δ²H = 6.32×δ¹⁸O + 8.35 (with R² = 0.90). It has a lower slope and intercept than the global meteoric water line due to different water vapor sources and isotope kinetic fractionation effects during precipitation in this arid region. The altitude effects on isotopic content of precipitation data were derived as δ¹⁸O = (−0.0031 × H_(m.a.s.l))−1.3). The δ²H and δ¹⁸O isotopes signatures demonstrate a meteoric origin of the groundwater of these qanats. The shift of the qanat's water samples from the local meteoric water line (LMWL) in a dry period with higher temperatures is most probably due to evaporation during the infiltration process and water movement in qanat gallery. Based on the isotopic results and mass balance calculations, the qanats are locally recharged from an area between 2000 to 2400 m.a.s.l of nearby carbonate formations and coarse alluvial sediments. The dissolution of evaporate interlayers in Neogene deposits deteriorates the groundwater quality, especially in Baidokht qanat.     

Evaluation of the effects of uncertainty on the predictions of landslide occurrences using the Shannon entropy theory and Dempster–Shafer theory

Natural Hazards - One of the requirements for planning and decision-making to develop the infrastructures is to prepare the landslide occurrence hazard map. For this purpose, in this article, the...     

Deterioration of groundwater quality in the vicinity of an active open-tipping site in West Malaysia

There is an urgent need for characterization of leachate arising from waste disposal to ensure a corresponding effective leachate management policy. Field and laboratory studies have been carried out to investigate the impact of municipal landfill leachate on the underlying groundwater at a site in West Malaysia. The solid waste was disposed of directly onto an unprotected natural soil formation. This situation was made worse by the shallow water table. The hydrochemical composition of groundwater in the vicinity of the site (background) is a dilute mixed cation, bicarbonate water. The high ionic balance error of ~13.5% reveals that the groundwater body underneath the site was a highly contaminated leachate rather than contaminated groundwater. Elevated concentration of chloride (355.48 mg/L), nitrate (10.40 mg/L as NO₃), nitrite (14.59 mg/L), ammoniacal-N (11.61 mg/L), sodium (227.56 mg/L), iron (0.97 mg/L), and lead (0.32 mg/L) measured downgradient indicate that the contamination plume has migrated further away from the site. In most cases, the concentration of these contamination indicators, together with the ranges of sodium percentage (66.3–89.9%) and sodium adsorption ratio (10.1–19.7%), were found to be considerably higher than the limit values of safe water for both domestic and irrigation purposes, respectively.