Search results for " Groundwater"
showing 10 items of 37 documents
Selenium mobilization in soils due to volcanic derived acid rain: An example from Mt Etna volcano, Sicily
2011
International audience; The significant amounts of selenium (Se) emitted by volcanoes may have important impact on human health due to the narrow range between nutrition requirement and toxic effects for living organisms upon Se exposure. Although soils play a key role in determining the level in food and water and thereby human health, little is known about the behaviour of Se in volcanic soils. In this work we evaluated the Se release during rainwater–soil interaction under controlled conditions using soils collected on the flanks of Etna volcano and synthetic rain. Selenium concentrations in soil leachate solutions displayed a spatial distribution, which cannot be explained by plume depo…
Successful aerobic bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with higher chlorinated phenols by indigenous degrader bacteria
2018
The xenobiotic priority pollutant pentachlorophenol has been used as a timber preservative in a polychlorophenol bulk synthesis product containing also tetrachlorophenol and trichlorophenol. Highly soluble chlorophenol salts have leaked into groundwater, causing severe contamination of large aquifers. Natural attenuation of higher-chlorinated phenols (HCPs: pentachlorophenol + tetrachlorophenol) at historically polluted sites has been inefficient, but a 4-year full scale in situ biostimulation of a chlorophenol-contaminated aquifer by circulation and re-infiltration of aerated groundwater was remarkably successful: pentachlorophenol decreased from 400 μg L−1 to <1 μg L−1 and tetrachlorophen…
Batch Test Evaluation of Four Organic Substrates Suitable for Biological Groundwater Denitrification
2014
Nitrates pollution represents nowadays a serious issue related to the quality of groundwater; continuous growth of industrial-scale agricultures lead to an increase of nitrates content in groundwater in the last years. Several technologies have been validated as capable to promote in situ biological nitrates remediation, such as permeable reactive barriers (PRB), biotrench, biobarriers etc. These technologies are all characterised by the use of organic substrate that act as a slow release carbon source. In free dissolved oxygen absence, such organic carbon is further oxidised, by heterotrophic bacteria naturally present in soil, in compliance to anoxic metabolism by using nitrates bound oxy…
Three-Dimensional Calibration for Routine Analyses of Bromide and Nitrate Ions as Indicators of Groundwater Quality in Coastal Territories
2019
Nitrate and bromide ions are generally considered indicators of anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion, respectively, in the groundwater of coastal territories. The analysis of these species is generally carried out with routine chromatographic analyses which generally afford partially merged or poorly resolved peaks. In the present paper a simple method for the correct evaluation of their concentration in water is reported. This method does not imply utilization of other instruments or technologies, only the mathematical elaboration of the data obtained from routine analysis of standard solutions containing the two species. Standard binary solutions of nitrate and bromide ions at d…
Geochemical characterization of groundwater and submarine discharge in the south-eastern Sicily
2006
Abstract The main results of a hydrogeochemical survey carried out during 2002–2003 along the coast of the south-eastern Sicily, which aimed at geochemical characterization of both groundwater chemistry and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the area are presented. A general frame of chemical processes affecting the studied groundwater and SGD point out that most samples fall within the calcite-anhydrite-dolomite field (CAD). The chemical composition of the samples within the CAD triangle is essentially controlled by calcite, dolomite and gypsum dissolution, which are the main minerals of the carbonate rocks hosting the aquifers. An additional process evidenced in this study is a mixi…
Seepage carbonate mounds in Cenozoic sedimentary sequences from the Las Minas Basin, SE Spain
2016
Abstract A number of carbonate mounds composed of indurate, strongly folded and/or brecciated calcite and dolomite beds occur interstratified in Cenozoic sedimentary sequences from the Las Minas Basin. Part of the fabric of the rock forming the carbonate mounds is composed of laminated to banded dolostone similar to the host rock but showing contrasted lithification. Moreover, the carbonate deposits of the mounds display aggrading neomorphism of dolomite, partial replacement of dolomite by calcite, calcite cementation, and extensive silicification, locally resulting in box-work fabric. Eight main lithofacies were distinguished in the carbonate mound deposits. In some lithofacies, chert is p…
Recommendations for ecotoxicity testing with stygobiotic species in the framework of groundwater environmental risk assessment.
2019
As a consequence of the growing global dependence on groundwater resources, environmental risk assessments (ERA) for groundwater are increasingly required and, with that, ecotoxicological studies with groundwater fauna (stygofauna). However, the literature on the ecotoxicological studies with stygobiotic species (i.e. species that complete their life cycle exclusively in groundwater) has not expanded significantly since the first paper published in this field. The limitations regarding the use of stygobiotic species for ecotoxicological testing are clear and consistent across the globe; stygobiotic species are often 1) naturally present in low numbers, 2) difficult to collect, and 3) diffic…
Biological groundwater denitrification systems: Lab-scale trials aimed at nitrous oxide production and emission assessment
2018
Bio-trenches are a sustainable option for treating nitrate contamination in groundwater. However, a possible side effect of this technology is the production of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that can be found both dissolved in the liquid effluent as well as emitted as off gas. The aim of this study was to analyze NO3 − removal and N2O production in lab-scale column trials. The column contained olive nut as organic carbon media. The experimental study was divided into three phases (I, II and III) each characterized by different inlet NO3 − concentrations (30, 50, 75 mg NO3-N L−1 respectively). Sampling ports deployed along the length of the column allowed to observe the denitrification pro…
Quantifying submarine groundwater discharge in the coastal zone via multiple methods
2006
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is now recognized as an important pathway between land and sea. As such, this flow may contribute to the biogeochemical and other marine budgets of near-shore waters. These discharges typically display significant spatial and temporal variability making assessments difficult. Groundwater seepage is patchy, diffuse, temporally variable, and may involve multiple aquifers. Thus, the measurement of its magnitude and associated chemical fluxes is a challenging enterprise. A joint project of UNESCO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has examined several methods of SGD assessment and carried out a series of five intercomparison experiments in di…
Carbon dioxide degassing from Tuscany and Northern Latium (Italy)
2008
Abstract The CO 2 degassing process from a large area on the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy, probably related to the input into the upper crust of mantle fluids, was investigated in detail through the geochemical study of gas emissions and groundwater. Mass-balance calculations and carbon isotopes show that over 50% of the inorganic carbon in regional groundwater is derived from a deep source highlighting gas−liquid separation processes at depth. The deep carbonate−evaporite regional aquifer acts as the main CO 2 reservoir and when total pressure of the reservoir fluid exceeds hydrostatic pressure, a free gas phase separates from the parent liquid and escapes toward the surface generating…