Search results for "Ground"
showing 10 items of 2432 documents
Geochemical characterization and health risk assessment in two diversified environmental settings (Southern Italy).
2021
An integrated approach using chemical and microbial indicators has been tested in two different sites of the Campania Plain (Southern Italy) with different land use covering and different hydrogeological features in order: (1) to define the water-rock interaction processes, (2) to differentiate sources of pollution in a detailed way (3) to evaluate the degree of water quality in the studied alluvial aquifer and (4) to identify the most worrying elements for human's health. Groundwater have showed a HCO3-Ca signature for both investigated sites, and a progressive enrichment in alkali ions has been highlighted moving from the boundary of the plain toward the coastal areas, due to groundwater …
Phytoscreening as an efficient tool to delineate chlorinated solvent sources at a chlor-alkali facility
2017
Chlorinated ethenes (CE) are among the most common volatile organic compounds (VOC) that contaminate groundwater, currently representing a major source of pollution worldwide. Phytoscreening has been developed and employed through different applications at numerous sites, where it was generally useful for detection of subsurface chlorinated solvents. We aimed at delineating subsurface CE contamination at a chlor-alkali facility using tree core data that we compared with soil data. For this investigation a total of 170 trees from experimental zones was sampled and analyzed for perchloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) concentrations, measured by solid phase microextraction gas chromato…
Pollution of Flooded Arable Soils with Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
2014
Soils that are exposed to floodwaters because of shallow groundwater and periodical wetlands are, to a large extent, exposed to contamination by organic and inorganic compounds. These are mainly compounds that have drifted along with the inflow of heavily laden floodwater and are produced within the soil profile by the anaerobic transformation of organic matter. Heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds are absorbed by the soil of the floodwaters, and moving in the soil profile, they pose a threat to groundwater. What is more, after a flood, they may be absorbed by the crops. This paper focuses on the effects of Odra River (Poland) floods, heavy metals, and PAHs on so…
Mercury levels in sediments of central Mediterranean Sea: a 150+ year record from box-cores recovered in the Strait of Sicily.
2006
To evaluate the degree of anthropogenic mercury pollution, Hg contents have been measured for box-core sediments sampled along three nearshore-offshore transects in the Strait of Sicily and well constrained for their mineralogy, bulk geochemistry and TOC%. Hg values are generally low (from 15 to 70 microg kg(-1)); however, depth profiles clearly display upcore rising concentrations (up to 202 microg kg(-1) near the SE Sicily coast) that are attributed to anthropogenic load. Based on (210)Pb chronology, these trends are more dramatic across the last 20-30 years. Geogenic influence is thought to explain some anomalies related to volcanic emission and geothermal activity. Combined effects due …
Geochemical characterization of surface waters and groundwater resources in the Managua area (Nicaragua, Central America)
2008
This paper reports new geochemical data on dissolved major and minor constituents in surface waters and ground waters collected in the Managua region (Nicaragua), and provides a preliminary characterization of the hydrogeochemical processes governing the natural water evolution in this area. The peculiar geological features of the study site, an active tectonic region (Nicaragua Depression) characterized by active volcanism and thermalism, combined with significant anthropogenic pressure, contribute to a complex evolution of water chemistry, which results from the simultaneous action of several geochemical processes such as evaporation, rock leaching, mixing with saline brines of natural or…
Reduction of Nitrates in Waste Water through the Valorization of Rice Straw: LIFE LIBERNITRATE Project
2018
An improved and more sustainable waste management system is required for successful development of technologies based on renewable sources. Rice straw is submitted to controlled combustion reactions and the produced ashes are chemically treated to produce silica. After a chemical activation step, the activated silica shows potential as an adsorbent agent and will be used to remove the excess of nitrates in groundwater and wells in the area of Alginet (Valencia, Spain), selected as a vulnerable zone within the Nitrates Directive. The demonstration activity aims to have a local impact on municipalities of 200 inhabitants or fewer, decreasing from current nitrate concentrations close to 50 mg/…
Sensitivity Analysis Of Multi-Electrode Arrays For Characterizing The Non-Saturated Zone In Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment
2009
The near-surface environment acts as a filter and buffer for contaminants introduced from the surface by anthropogenic activities. For this reason there is a great need to improve our understanding of the shallow subsurface taking into account the increasing demand for vulnerability maps which illustrates the exposure of aquifers against pollution. These maps are designed to show areas of greatest potential for groundwater contamination on the basis of local subsurface conditions. A shallow, unconfined sand-and-gravel aquifer is highly vulnerable to pollutants because rapid recharge gives little time to contaminants to degrade naturally or be adsorbed before reaching the aquifer. Conversely…
Groundwater Safety by Monitoring Quality Parameters in Transylvania, Romania
2021
This chapter presents the safety of groundwater in Transylvania, Romania by monitoring quality parameters. At first, presents the aspects regarding the importance of groundwater for humankind, the underground water being regarded as a natural, untreated and free source. Drinking water is used in human food that meets a number of physicochemical and microbiological conditions that allow consumption without endangering health. The case study is carried out in a Romanian region (Alba County—Transylvania), the main appreciation indicators of the underground water sources quality being monitored over time. Concentration/pollution levels were determined by physicochemical and microbiological anal…
Lichens as bio-monitors of trace-elements in Central and Eastern France
2003
Lichens (105 samples, mainly P. sulcata and X parietina) have been used to monitor As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in Burgundy and in the East of France. When the industrial environment seemed to justify it, other elements were also looked for, such as Ag, Sn and V. Research was carried out on areas with little or moderate pollution and supplemented by studies on three hot spots with health problems. Record and background concentrations in lichens are presented as well as the ratios between those values. In the case of lead, the concentrations in lichens are compared with the results in blood tests.
Spatial characterization of leachate plume using electrical resistivity tomography in a landfill composed of old and new cells (Belfort, France)
2016
International audience; Located near Belfort (France), the Etueffont landfill was in operation from 1976 to 2002 for the disposal and storage of domestic waste produced by 47,650 inhabitants. The site is comprised of the original landfill site called the old landfill (OL), in operation from 1976 to 1999, and a newer section known as the new cell (NC) which operated from 1999 to 2002. The objective of this study is to determine, using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), the extent of the leachate plume from the OL and to monitor the efficiency of the liner of the NC. The entire Etueffont site was crisscrossed with 21 electrical profile lines which were traced in summer between 2009 and …