In this study the origin, behaviour and fate of anthropogenic Pb in sandy roadside soils were assessed by measuring soil characteristics, Pb isotope composition and content. In 1991 and 2003 samples were taken at different depth intervals at approximately 8 and 75 m from two highways in The Netherlands. The Pb isotope composition of the litter layer ((206)Pb/(207)Pb=1.12-1.14) differs from the ...

Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Papers published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions are under open-access review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Groundwater compartmentalisation: a geochemical analysis of the structural controls on the subdivision of a major aquifer, Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Bac...

In coastal areas groundwater quality may be degraded by intrusion of salt sea water into freshwater aquifers. The salinity of the groundwater changes its physical properties: an increase in salinity increases both the density and viscosity of the groundwater. These density differences are the primary driving force that allows salt water to move into the coastal aquifer, forming a salt water “we...

Variability of groundwater quality parameters is linked to various processes such as weathering, organic matter degradation, aerobic respiration, iron reduction, mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange and mixing of salt water with fresh water. Multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied to the ...

Groundwater and sediment samples (~1 m depth) at sites representative of different groundwater pathways were collected to determine the aqueous speciation of sulfur and the fractionation of sulfur isotopes in aqueous and solid phases. In addition, selected sediment samples at 5 depths (from oxic to anoxic layers) were collected to investigate the processes controlling sulfur biogeochemistry in ...

In the deltaic plain of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra rivers, arsenic concentrations in groundwater commonly exceed regulatory limits (50 μg l) because FeOOH is microbially reduced and releases its sorbed load of arsenic to groundwater. Neither pyrite oxidation nor competitive exchange with fertilizer-phosphate contribute to arsenic pollution. The most intense reduction, and so severest polluti...

Crystalline aquifers of semi-arid southern India represent a vital water resource for farming communities. A field study is described that characterizes the hydrodynamic functioning of intensively exploited crystalline aquifers at local scale based on detailed well monitoring during one hydrological year. The main results show large water-table fluctuations caused by monsoon recharge and pumpin...