Comments on “Two-dimensional concentration distribution for mixing-controlled bioreactive transport in steady-state” by O.A. Cirpka and A.J. Valocchi

In this comment we present a re-analysis of the analytical solution presented by Cirpka and Valocchi for steady-state concentrations of dissolved bioreactive compounds and bacterial biomass in porous media. We discuss the validity range of the analytical solution. In particular, the criterion used to determine the sustainability of biomass is revisited. This re-analysis shows that the ω$\omega$ criterion used by Cirpka and Valocchi is only a necessary but not a sufficient criterion to determine the bioreactive zones. As a consequence, the analytical solution does not provide the exact distribution of compounds throughout the domain, but can serve as upper or lower boundaries for species concentrations at a given location. These conclusions are supported by the simulation results obtained from an established reactive transport model.     

A sensitivity analysis of Hortonian flow

We present a sensitivity analysis for infiltration excess (Hortonian) overland flow based on a classic laboratory experiment by Smith and Woolhiser [Smith RE, Woolhiser DA. Overland flow on an infiltrating surface. Water Resour Res 1971;7(4):899–913]. The model components of the compartment approach are comprised of a diffusive wave approximation to the Saint–Venant equations for overland flow, a Richards model for flow in the variably saturated zone, and an interface coupling concept that combines the two components. In the coupling scheme a hydraulic interface is introduced to allow the definition of an exchange flux between the surface and the unsaturated zone. The effects of friction processes, soil capillarity, hydraulic interface, and vertical soil discretization on both infiltration and runoff prediction are investigated in detail. The corresponding sensitivity analysis is conducted using a small-perturbation method. As a result the importance of the hydraulic processes and related parameters are evaluated for the coupled hydrosystem.     

Using global node-based velocity in random walk particle tracking in variably saturated porous media: application to contaminant leaching from road constructions

Precise and efficient numerical simulation of transport processes in subsurface systems is a prerequisite for many site investigation or remediation studies. Random walk particle tracking (RWPT) methods have been introduced in the past to overcome numerical difficulties when simulating propagation processes in porous media such as advection-dominated mass transport. Crucial for the precision of RWPT methods is the accuracy of the numerically calculated ground water velocity field. In this paper, a global node-based method for velocity calculation is used, which was originally proposed by Yeh (Water Resour Res 7:1216–1225, 1981). This method is improved in three ways: (1) extension to unstructured grids, (2) significant enhancement of computational efficiency, and (3) extension to saturated (groundwater) as well as unsaturated systems (soil water). The novel RWPT method is tested with numerical benchmark examples from the literature and used in two field scale applications of contaminant transport in saturated and unsaturated ground water. To evaluate advective transport of the model, the accuracy of the velocity field is demonstrated by comparing several published results of particle pathlines or streamlines. Given the chosen test problem, the global node-based velocity estimation is found to be as accurate as the CK method (Cordes and Kinzelbach in Water Resour Res 28(11):2903–2911, 1992) but less accurate than the mixed or mixed-hybrid finite element methods for flow in highly heterogeneous media. To evaluate advective–diffusive transport, a transport problem studied by Hassan and Mohamed (J Hydrol 275(3–4):242–260, 2003) is investigated here and evaluated using different numbers of particles. The results indicate that the number of particles required for the given problem is decreased using the proposed method by about two orders of magnitude without losing accuracy of the concentration contours as compared to the published numbers.     

Forest Beliefs in an Urbanizing World: Views on and Usage of Forest Areas Among Persons with and Without a Migration Biography in Germany and Sweden

Previous studies have shown that environmental values of inhabitants of urban areas differ to some extent from those of people living in rural contexts. In the light of increasing urbanization, it is sometimes argued that these differences are becoming even greater, as people are becoming more and more alienated from nature. In the context of a larger survey study on beliefs about forests and forest management among the general public in Germany and Sweden, the influences of people’s migration biographies on their patterns of forest usage, their environmental concerns about forests, and the expectations and values they ascribe to forests are explored. While previous findings on differences between urban and rural populations are confirmed, we also find variation within these groups depending on their history of moving between the two spatial categories. This study thus adds a dynamic aspect to the discussion on the urban–rural perspective on beliefs about forests.     

The East African Rift System and the impact of orographic changes on regional climate and the resulting aridification

Several proxy data indicate an aridification of the East African climate during the Neogene, which might be influenced by the orographic changes of the East African Rift System (EARS) induced by tectonic forcing during the last 20 million years. To investigate the impact of the orography and especially of the rifts, the regional climate model CCLM is used, covering the EARS with Lake Victoria in the centre of the model domain. CCLM is driven by the ERA-Interim reanalysis and applied with a double-nesting method resulting in a very high spatial resolution of 7 km. The resolution clearly shows the shoulders and rifts of the western and eastern branch of the EARS and the Rwenzoris within the western branch. To analyse the orographic influence on climate, a new technique of modifying the orography is used in this sensitivity study. The shoulders of the branches are lowered and the rifts are elevated, resulting in a smoothed orography structure with less altitude difference between the shoulders and rifts. The changes in 2 m-temperature are very local and associated with the changes in the orography. The vertically integrated moisture transport is characterised by less vortices, and its zonal component is increased over the branches. The resulting amount of precipitation is mainly decreased west of the western branch and increased in the rift of the western branch. In the eastern branch, however, the changes in the amount of precipitation are not significant. The changes in the precipitation and temperature patterns lead to a shift of biomes towards a vegetation coverage characterised by more humid conditions in the northern part of the model domain and more arid conditions in the South. Thus, the aridification found in the proxy data can be attributed to the orographic changes of the rifts only in the northern model domain.     

Molecular investigations into pollutant impact on roundnose grenadier (C. rupestris) and transplanted common mussel (M. edulis) in Skagerrak, the North Sea

The use of a suite of different biochemical markers in the deep sea fish Roundnose grenadier and caged common mussels, and analyses of contaminant levels in the mussels, indicate that Skagerrak are more polluted than waters around the Faroe Islands. In Roundnose, induction of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) is consistent with increased benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase (BPH) in mussels and elevated levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mussels and sediment from Skagerrak. This evidence of a large-scale environmental impact of pollutants should lead to further efforts to decrease transport into, and deposition of, waste compounds in the Skagerrak area.     

Indication of thiols in black sea deep water

Potentiometric titrations of deep Black Sea water give reasonably precise values of sulphide in the concentration range 30–300 μmol l⁻¹ and a strong indication of thiols in the concentration range 10–30 μmol l⁻¹. Organic analysis of Black Sea water should therefore include the search for compounds containing SH groups. A simple stoichiometric model indicates that sulphur-containing proteins might be the main source of thiols after hydrolysis and deamination. The alkalinity and total sulphide are simply related by A_t = 3287 ± 30 + (3.84 ± 0.10) [H₂ S]_t μmol kg⁻¹. The slope of 3.84 instead of the stoichiometric slope of 2.31 indicates a lack of reduced sulphate in the form of hydrogen sulphide.