Variations of Amur water chemistry during the historical 2013 flood

Water chemistry in the Amur R. at Khabarovsk was studied during the historical 2013 flood. The concentrations of dissolved substances were shown to vary significantly over both time and space, because of the difference between the discharge and chemistry in the main flood-forming tributaries. The ion runoff, nutrient runoff, and microelement runoff were estimated for the flood peak and all over flood period.     

Bio-geological processes of nitrogen transport and transformation in the aeration zone and aquifer

Abstract

Nitrate contamination in groundwater originates mainly from excessive use of fertilizers and uncontrolled discharge to land of incompletely-treated wastewater associated with agricultural activities. A systematic field investigation was carried out in a sub-catchment of Dianchi Lake, Kunming, Yunnan, China, into the hydrological, biological and geological processes of nitrogen transport and transformation in the aeration zone and aquifer system. In situ experiments showed that the quantity of NO₃-N recharged into groundwater was related to fertilization. Nitrification and denitrification behaved quite differently but were affected by moisture content and Eh value. The vertical infiltration rate was controlled by the groundwater table and hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The existence of a zero-flux plane reflected the dynamics of water fluxes in the soil profile and Eh was measured in the aeration zone. In response to these factors, the nitrification rate was greatest in the top soil and reduced with the depth of soil; it was 6.53 mg/(kg·h) in the vegetated plot and 0.2–0.3 mg/(kg·h) in the unvegetated one. The denitrification rate in the unvegetated plot was 6.36 mg/(kg·h), and it was 2.79 mg/(kg·h) in the vegetated one.     

Factors affecting water chemistry of alpine lakes

During a four-year study (1988–1991), 413 lakes in the Central Alps (Italy, Switzerland and Austria) were investigated to quantify their acidification. The ionic content of the lakes was generally low: 68% of them had alkalinity values of less than 200 µeq 1^–1 and were regarded as sensitive to acidification. Moreover, 36% of the lakes showed alkalinity values of less than 50 µeq 1^–1. Redundancy Analysis was used to relate the hydrochemistry of 187 lakes to their catchment characteristics. Calcite weathering was the main factor influencing lake chemistry. The same analysis, applied to a subset of 101 lakes lying in watersheds exclusively composed of silicic rocks, showed that lake chemistry was influenced by silicate weathering and nitrogen uptake. These processes were found to be mainly related to lake altitude and the fraction of the watershed not covered by vegetation, i.e. controlled by temperature. The importance of these relations to explain the pH shift produced by climatic variation is also discussed.     

Multivariate analyses of water chemistry: surface and ground water interactions

Multivariate statistical methods (MSMs) applied to ground water chemistry provide valuable insight into the main hydrochemical species, hydrochemical processes, and water flowpaths important to ground water evolution. The MSMs of principal component factor analysis (FA) and k-means cluster analysis (CA) were sequentially applied to major ion chemistry from 211 different ground water-sampling locations in the Amargosa Desert. The FA reduces the number of variables describing the system and finds relationships between major ions. The CA of the reduced system produced objective hydrochemical facies, which are independent of, but in good agreement with, lithological data. The derived factors and hydrochemical facies are innovatively presented on biplots, revealing composition of hydrochemical processes and facies, and overlaid on a digital elevation model, displaying flowpaths and interactions with geologic and topographic features in the region. In particular, a distinct ground water chemical signature is observed beneath and surrounding the extended flowpath of Fortymile Wash, presenting some contradiction to contemporary water levels along with potential interaction with a fault line. The signature surrounding the ephemeral Fortymile Wash is believed to represent the relic of water that infiltrated during past pluvial periods when the amount of runoff in the wash was significantly larger than during the current drier period. This hypothesis and aforementioned analyses are supported by the examination of available chloride, oxygen-18, hydrogen-2, and carbon-14 data from the region.     

Melt water chemistry and its impact on stream water quality

Samples of snowpack leachate were collected over a 60 day period of the spring melt season in 1988 and 1989 at a 10 km² upland catchment in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. These were analysed for major ions to assess snowpack chemistry dynamics through the spring and to assess the melt water influence on stream water chemistry. The data clearly show preferential elution of sulphate and nitrate over chloride and hydrogen over the other cations during the early melt of 1988. Following the addition of ions to the snow surface, either as snow or later in the season as rain, the elution sequence is reproduced. Comparison of leachate chemistry with stream chemistry samples taken at the basin outlet indicate that snow pack melt water contributes directly to stream water. The stream water chemistry signal is, however, noisy and the stream concentrations are considerably damped relative to the snowpack leachate. This is thought to be a consequence of differential melting within the catchment as the snowpack at lower altitudes is at a more advanced stage of melt and so holds fewer solutes and mixing with groundwater contributions. Temperature observations at different altitudes within the catchment support this interpretation.     

Extent of immobilisation of phosphate during aeration of nutrient-rich, anoxic groundwater

Nutrient-rich exfiltrating groundwater may impose a heavy phosphate load on surface water systems. However, iron oxides that bind PO₄ precipitate fast upon oxygenation at neutral pH and PO₄ may also become bound in Ca precipitates following upon pH increase, so load estimates based on conservative behaviour during exfiltration will be overestimates. Aeration experiments using natural groundwater were performed to characterise the immobilisation of PO₄ within one day after aeration started. Groundwaters having a wide variety in composition, were sampled in the coastal lowlands of the Western Netherlands. Three models were considered to describe the fast binding of PO₄ by Fe oxide type phases that form upon the oxygenation of dissolved Fe(II), each based on a different concept. The concepts were surface complexation, solid-solution precipitation and two-mineral precipitation. When the experimental data were compared with model results, all three models were found to be inadequate. Frequently, more immobilisation of PO₄ occurred than could be explained by binding to a Fe oxide type of phase alone. Uptake by Ca phosphates and/or Ca carbonates must additionally have played a role; alternatively, a non-ideal phase consisting of Ca, Fe and PO₄ precipitated upon oxygenation and CO₂ degassing. A predictive multiple regression model with two primary variables that reflect the driving forces for PO₄ immobilisation was deduced that describes immobilisation of phosphate after aeration of anoxic groundwater. The two primary variables are the log value of the groundwater Fe to PO₄ molar ratio and the saturation state for hydroxyapatite after the CO₂ degassing of groundwater. The model is useful for calculating the PO₄ load of surface water from exfiltration groundwater, taking into account fast immobilisation (<1 day) during exfiltration.     

基于水化学的永清井水温异常分析

在地下流体研究中,判定地下水异常的首要任务是区别地下水是受浅层物质补给的影响还是受深层介质活动的影响。本文通过对永清井及周边多次样品采集与测试,获得水化学组分和氢氧稳定同位素观测数据;通过对地下水样品数据对比分析、水化学组分及氢氧稳定同位素与大气降水线、水温数据分析,认为永清井水温的多次异常变化不是受干扰影响;通过对水温的异常变化与地震的对应关系的分析,认为永清井水温异常可能与3次地震有关。      

Fracture control of ground water flow and water chemistry in a rock aquitard

There are few studies on the hydrogeology of sedimentary rock aquitards although they are important controls in regional ground water flow systems. We formulate and test a three-dimensional (3D) conceptual model of ground water flow and hydrochemistry in a fractured sedimentary rock aquitard to show that flow dynamics within the aquitard are more complex than previously believed. Similar conceptual models, based on regional observations and recently emerging principles of mechanical stratigraphy in heterogeneous sedimentary rocks, have previously been applied only to aquifers, but we show that they are potentially applicable to aquitards. The major elements of this conceptual model, which is based on detailed information from two sites in the Maquoketa Formation in southeastern Wisconsin, include orders of magnitude contrast between hydraulic diffusivity (K/S(s)) of fractured zones and relatively intact aquitard rock matrix, laterally extensive bedding-plane fracture zones extending over distances of over 10 km, very low vertical hydraulic conductivity of thick shale-rich intervals of the aquitard, and a vertical hydraulic head profile controlled by a lateral boundary at the aquitard subcrop, where numerous surface water bodies dominate the shallow aquifer system. Results from a 3D numerical flow model based on this conceptual model are consistent with field observations, which did not fit the typical conceptual model of strictly vertical flow through an aquitard. The 3D flow through an aquitard has implications for predicting ground water flow and for planning and protecting water supplies.     

Long-term disturbance of ground water chemistry following well installation

Ground water samples collected from a multilevel sampler shortly after its construction showed significantly higher alkalinity and concentrations of calcium and magnesium than those from nearby wells installed 10 years earlier. The sampler was drilled using a conventional hollow-stem power auger in a sandy, silicate aquifer lying beneath an isthmus between two lakes in northern Wisconsin. Ground water in the study area is of low ionic strength and its chemistry is dominated by silicate mineral weathering. Periodic sampling over two years following installation of the sampler showed that the higher solute concentrations had subsequently decreased. Oxygen isotope signature and other solute species, such as sulfate and chloride, were comparable to those of older wells and did not show any notable trends over time. Independent variation of other chemical species that cannot be derived from aquifer minerals, and the similarly high concentrations in older wells shortly after their installation, suggest that rapid dissolution of fresh mineral surfaces and hyperfine particles generated during drilling has induced the enhanced concentrations. This observation is consistent with the field equivalent of laboratory mineral dissolution experiments that show initially increased dissolution rates that decay over time. Well installations for geochemical sampling in dominantly silicate material may require longer times to reach an equilibrium state than has been previously thought.     

基于变换光学有限差分探地雷达数值模拟研究

在采用有限差分方法开展探地雷达复杂目标体精细结构模拟时,为了提高计算精度,常采用非均匀网格对目标区域划分小尺寸的网格,以压制离散网格频散现象和保证有限差分方法的稳定性.常规非均匀网格和自适应亚网格技术在网格剖分数量和粗细网格边界处理上难以达到计算效率和计算精度的均衡.本文根据隐形斗篷(invisible cloak)理论,将基于变换光学(Transformation optics)理论应用于有限差分探地雷达数值计算中.该理论的主要思想是基于目标参数变化而保持电磁场的传播不变性,在坐标变换后,Maxwell方程的形式可以维持不变,而使得相对介电常数与磁导率的表达式变得复杂.通过这种方式可以虚拟地扩大目标体所占的网格节点数,减少背景介质区域的网格数,不增加模型空间的网格总数.另外,这种网格划分方式不但提高了计算效率,同时也可以克服亚网格技术边界反射误差的影响.本文推导实现了基于变换光学的二维有限差分方法,通过典型探地雷达模型测试,对比分析了该方法与常规有限差分、变网格有限差分和自适应亚网格有限差分的优缺点.计算结果验证了基于变换光学的有限差分可用于探地雷达目标精细结构模拟,具有较高的计算精度和计算效率.     

Formation conditions of the chemistry of Tersinskie carbonic-acid mineral water

Data on the ion-salt, microcomponent, gas, microbiological, and isotopic composition of water and the results of studies of the equilibriums in the water-rock system are used to analyze the formation processes of the composition of Tersinskie carbonic-acid mineral water and their genesis.     

Delineating ground water recharge from leaking irrigation canals using water chemistry and isotopes

Across the Great Plains irrigation canals are used to transport water to cropland. Many of these canals are unlined, and leakage from them has been the focus of an ongoing legal, economic, and philosophical debate as to whether this lost water should be considered waste or be viewed as a beneficial and reasonable use since it contributes to regional ground water recharge. While historically there has been much speculation about the impact of canal leakage on local ground water, actual data are scarce. This study was launched to investigate the impact of leakage from the Interstate Canal, in the western panhandle of Nebraska, on the hydrology and water quality of the local aquifer using water chemistry and environmental isotopes. Numerous monitoring wells were installed in and around a small wetland area adjacent to the canal, and ground water levels were monitored from June 1992 until January 1995. Using the water level data, the seepage loss from the canal was estimated. In addition, the canal, the monitoring wells, and several nearby stock and irrigation wells were sampled for inorganic and environmental isotope analysis to assess water quality changes, and to determine the extent of recharge resulting from canal leakage. The results of water level monitoring within study wells indicates a rise in local ground water levels occurs seasonally as a result of leakage during periods when the canal is filled. This rise redirects local ground water flow and provides water to nearby wetland ecosystems during the summer months. Chemical and isotopic results were used to delineate canal, surface, and ground water and indicate that leaking canal water recharges both the surface alluvial aquifer and upper portions of the underlying Brule Aquifer. The results of this study indicate that lining the Interstate Canal could lower ground water levels adjacent to the canal, and could adversely impact the local aquifer.     

Influence of climate on alpine stream chemistry and water sources

The resilience of alpine/subalpine watersheds may be viewed as the resistance of streamflow or stream chemistry to change under varying climatic conditions, which is governed by the relative size (volume) and transit time of surface and subsurface water sources. Here, we use end‐member mixing analysis in Andrews Creek, an alpine stream in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, from water year 1994 to 2015, to explore how the partitioning of water sources and associated hydrologic resilience change in response to climate. Our results indicate that four water sources are significant contributors to Andrews Creek, including snow, rain, soil water, and talus groundwater. Seasonal patterns in source‐water contributions reflected the seasonal hydrologic cycle, which is driven by the accumulation and melting of seasonal snowpack. Flushing of soil water had a large effect on stream chemistry during spring snowmelt, despite making only a small contribution to streamflow volume. Snow had a large influence on stream chemistry as well, contributing large amounts of water with low concentrations of weathering products. Interannual patterns in end‐member contributions reflected responses to drought and wet periods. Moderate and significant correlations exist between annual end‐member contributions and regional‐scale climate indices (the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the Palmer Hydrologic Drought Index, and the Modified Palmer Drought Severity Index). From water year 1994 to 2015, the percent contribution from the talus‐groundwater end member to Andrews Creek increased an average of 0.5% per year (p < 0.0001), whereas the percent contributions from snow plus rain decreased by a similar amount (p = 0.001). Our results show how water and solute sources in alpine environments shift in response to climate variability and highlight the role of talus groundwater and soil water in providing hydrologic resilience to the system.     

Gamma random field simulation by a covariance matrix transformation method

In studies involving environmental risk assessment, Gaussian random field generators are often used to yield realizations of a Gaussian random field, and then realizations of the non-Gaussian target random field are obtained by an inverse-normal transformation. Such simulation process requires a set of observed data for estimation of the empirical cumulative distribution function (ECDF) and covariance function of the random field under investigation. However, if realizations of a non-Gaussian random field with specific probability density and covariance function are needed, such observed-data-based simulation process will not work when no observed data are available. In this paper we present details of a gamma random field simulation approach which does not require a set of observed data. A key element of the approach lies on the theoretical relationship between the covariance functions of a gamma random field and its corresponding standard normal random field. Through a set of devised simulation scenarios, the proposed technique is shown to be capable of generating realizations of the given gamma random fields.     

蒸散发时间尺度转换在日降雨径流过程模拟中的应用

针对目前研究蒸散发时间尺度转换方面的不足,构建了月蒸散发时间尺度转换模型,对淮河史灌河流域黄泥庄小流域1982-1987年月蒸散发能力进行逐栅格解集,并与改进后的AFFDEF分布式水文模型耦合进行日径流过程模拟.结果显示:解集产生的日蒸散发能力随时间在平均值附近波动变化,能很好地体现日蒸发量的时间变异特点;模拟的日径流过程的精度较高,平均Nash效率系数在80%以上,径流深相对误差都在10%以内,平均泊松相关系数为0.912,模拟流量过程曲线与实测值匹配的较好;经与采用平均解集模式的模拟结果对比发现,耦合蒸散发时间尺度转换模型后的模拟精度与前者大体相当,部分指标略优于前者.蒸散发时间尺度转换模型解集产生的日蒸散发量序列能够反映日蒸发量的时间变异特点,更能满足区域日降雨径流过程模拟的需要,可为解决资料匮乏区域水文模拟提供一个新途径.     

Experimental simulation of degrading structures through active control

In experimental studies of structural behaviour, it is often desirable, even necessary, to perform tests on a test structure from its undamaged state, through its damaged states, and finally to failure. The fact that experiments of this type are not often done primarily because of its prohibitive cost. In this paper, a testing procedure is proposed in which a test structure is allowed to undergo its degradation in real time yet it is not physically damaged, thus allowing it to be reused. The underlying concept is that of active structural control. Considerable research and development of active structural control in civil engineering has taken place relative to responsive control of structures against damaging environmental loads. While the use of active control systems to simulate damage in an experimental setting as proposed in this paper appears to be new, much of the existing knowledge base in active structural control is directly applicable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Space-time variations of river water chemistry in RF southern Far East

Concentrations and seasonal variations of water chemistry, including dissolved and particulate forms of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, and Ni in rivers of Primorskii Krai are determined. It is shown that, unlike the macrocomposition, the effect of hydrological regime on the concentration of dissolved metal forms is controversial and depends on anthropogenic load, watershed landscapes, and pH variations. Elevated concentrations of dissolved metal forms are recorded in the beginning of spring flood and during low-water period. Beyond the limits of local impact of wastewater, the concentrations of dissolved forms of Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, and Cd in river waters of the region insignificantly differ from the clearest rivers of the World.     

Implications of ground water chemistry and flow patterns for earthquake studies

Ground water can facilitate earthquake development and respond physically and chemically to tectonism. Thus, an understanding of ground water circulation in seismically active regions is important for earthquake prediction. To investigate the roles of ground water in the development and prediction of earthquakes, geological and hydrogeological monitoring was conducted in a seismogenic area in the Yanhuai Basin, China. This study used isotopic and hydrogeochemical methods to characterize ground water samples from six hot springs and two cold springs. The hydrochemical data and associated geological and geophysical data were used to identify possible relations between ground water circulation and seismically active structural features. The data for delta18O, deltaD, tritium, and 14C indicate ground water from hot springs is of meteoric origin with subsurface residence times of 50 to 30,320 years. The reservoir temperature and circulation depths of the hot ground water are 57 degrees C to 160 degrees C and 1600 to 5000 m, respectively, as estimated by quartz and chalcedony geothermometers and the geothermal gradient. Various possible origins of noble gases dissolved in the ground water also were evaluated, indicating mantle and deep crust sources consistent with tectonically active segments. A hard intercalated stratum, where small to moderate earthquakes frequently originate, is present between a deep (10 to 20 km), high-electrical conductivity layer and the zone of active ground water circulation. The ground water anomalies are closely related to the structural peculiarity of each monitoring point. These results could have implications for ground water and seismic studies in other seismogenic areas.     

Occurrence forms of metals in natural waters depending on water chemistry

The results of experimental studies of the composition and specific features of humic substance isolated from typical soils of natural zones are given. The stability constants of metal complexes with humic substance are evaluated. The obtained experimental data are used to calculate the occurrence forms of metals in natural waters in the zones of taiga, forests, and steppes. The occurrence forms of metals are shown to be determined by the general chemistry of natural waters rather than stability constants of complexes with organic matter.     

Assessing background ground water chemistry beneath a new unsewered subdivision

Previous site-specific studies designed to assess the impacts of unsewered subdivisions on ground water quality have relied on upgradient monitoring wells or very limited background data to characterize conditions prior to development. In this study, an extensive monitoring program was designed to document ground water conditions prior to construction of a rural subdivision in south-central Wisconsin. Previous agricultural land use has impacted ground water quality; concentrations of chloride, nitrate-nitrogen, and atrazine ranged from below the level of detection to 296 mg/L, 36 mg/L, and 0.8 microg/L, respectively, and were highly variable from well to well and through time. Seasonal variations in recharge, surface topography, aquifer heterogeneities, surficial loading patterns, and well casing depth explain observed variations in ground water chemistry. This variability would not have been detected if background conditions were determined from only a few monitoring wells or inferred from wells located upgradient of the subdivision site. This project demonstrates the importance of characterizing both ground water quality and chemical variability prior to land-use change to detect any changes once homes are constructed.