Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.4
Journals
IJERPH
Special Issues
Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution
ijerph-logo
Submit to IJERPH Review for IJERPH Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 6733

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Litang Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: multiphase flow simulation; groundwater hydrology; surface water-groundwater interaction
Prof. Dr. Wenjing Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Interests: environmental behavior of solute/colloid/virus in porous media; groundwater pollution remediation and risk assessment; development of nano materials and remediation of contaminated sites
Dr. Jin Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Interests: groundwater monitoring; groundwater quality assessment; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yinzhu Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology Survey, CGS, Baoding 071051, China
Interests: groundwater quality; inorganic pollution; isotope hydrogeology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundwater is a vital water supply for humanity. Groundwater provides drinking water entirely or in part for as much as 50% of the global population and accounts for 43% of all of the water used for irrigation (UNESCO, 2012). Under recent intense anthropogenic activities, chemicals and wastes have leaked into the subsurface. Pollution degrades the quality of groundwater and poses a threat to human and ecological health. Groundwater quality and pollution become significant problems. In the past decades, the most serious groundwater quality degradation is paid increasing attention in agricultural regions caused by fertilizer and pesticide use, and also in the areas near industries by heavy metals and organic pollutants. For example, nitrate contamination of groundwater is already significant in agricultural areas. Nowadays, groundwater depletion is gradually recognized worldwide and thus the groundwater flow patterns have been importantly altered under intense groundwater management all over the world. Groundwater quality comprises the physical, chemical, and biological qualities of groundwater. The urgent requirement is to understand the patterns, processes, causes and consequences of groundwater quality under natural and different human-induced environments using modern methods such as sampling, water-chemistry analysis, risk assessment, sources apportionment, coupling of numerical simulation and artificial intelligence. The transports of different pollutants under underground formations are very complex due to the factors such as features of pollutants, and the heterogeneity of aquifer, which requires study from laboratory tests and field experiments. Meanwhile, groundwater pollution and quality control are crucial in maintaining the groundwater environment and continuous efforts should be done to minimize or improve groundwater pollution or quality, respectively.

Prof. Dr. Litang Hu
Prof. Dr. Wenjing Zhang
Dr. Jin Wu
Dr. Yinzhu Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater quality
  • groundwater sampling
  • pollution source
  • source apportionment
  • anthropogenic activities
  • heavy metal
  • microbial pollution
  • nitrogen
  • pollution assessment
  • groundwater pollution remediation
  • groundwater protection policy

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 3636 KiB  
Article
Identification and Risk Assessment of Priority Control Organic Pollutants in Groundwater in the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang, P.R. China
by Zhi Tu, Yinzhu Zhou, Jinlong Zhou, Shuangbao Han, Jinwei Liu, Jiangtao Liu, Ying Sun and Fangyuan Yang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2051; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032051 - 22 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1605
Abstract
The Junggar Basin in Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, where the groundwater is a significant resource and has important ecological functions. The introduction of harmful organic pollutants into groundwater from increasing human activities and rapid socioeconomic development may lead to [...] Read more.
The Junggar Basin in Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, where the groundwater is a significant resource and has important ecological functions. The introduction of harmful organic pollutants into groundwater from increasing human activities and rapid socioeconomic development may lead to groundwater pollution at various levels. Therefore, to develop an effective regulatory framework, establishing a list of priority control organic pollutants (PCOPs) is in urgent need. In this study, a method of ranking the priority of pollutants based on their prevalence (Pv), occurrence (O) and persistent bioaccumulative toxicity (PBT) has been developed. PvOPBT in the environment was applied in the screening of PCOPs among 34 organic pollutants and the risk assessment of screened PCOPs in groundwater in the Junggar Basin. The results show that the PCOPs in groundwater were benzo[a]pyrene, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloromethane and DDT. Among the pollutants, benzo[a]pyrene, 1,2-dichloroethane and DDT showed high potential ecological risk, whilst trichloromethane represented low potential ecological risk. With the exception of benzo[a]pyrene, which had high potential health risks, the other screened PCOPs had low potential health risks. Unlike the scatter distribution of groundwater benzo[a]pyrene, the 1,2-dichloroethane and trichloromethane in groundwater were mainly concentrated in the central part of the southern margin and the northern margin of the Junggar Basin, while the DDT in groundwater was only distributed in Jinghe County (in the southwest) and Beitun City (in the north). Industrial and agricultural activities were the main controlling factors that affected the distribution of PCOPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 9104 KiB  
Article
Coal Mining Activities Driving the Changes in Microbial Community and Hydrochemical Characteristics of Underground Mine Water
by Li Zhang, Zhimin Xu, Yajun Sun, Yating Gao and Lulu Zhu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13359; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013359 - 16 Oct 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1457
Abstract
Coal mining can cause groundwater pollution, and microorganism may reflect/affect its hydrochemical characteristics, yet little is known about the microorganism’s distribution characteristics and its influence on the formation and evolution of mine water quality in underground coal mines. Here, we investigated the hydrochemical [...] Read more.
Coal mining can cause groundwater pollution, and microorganism may reflect/affect its hydrochemical characteristics, yet little is known about the microorganism’s distribution characteristics and its influence on the formation and evolution of mine water quality in underground coal mines. Here, we investigated the hydrochemical characteristics and microbial communities of six typical zones in a typical North China coalfield. The results showed that hydrochemical compositions and microbial communities of the water samples displayed apparent zone-specific patterns. The microbial community diversity of the six zones followed the order of surface waters > coal roadways > water sumps ≈ rock roadways ≈ goafs > groundwater aquifers. The microbial communities corresponded to the redox sensitive indices’ levels. Coal roadways and goafs were the critical zones of groundwater pollution prevention and control. During tunneling in the panel, pyrite was oxidized by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria leading to SO42− increase. With the closure of the panel and formation of the goaf, SO42− increased rapidly for a short period. However, with the time since goaf closure, sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., c_Thermodesulfovibrionia, Desulfobacterium_catecholicum, etc.) proportion increased significantly, leading to SO42− concentration’s decrease by 42% over 12 years, indicating the long-term closed goafs had a certain self-purification ability. These findings would benefit mine water pollution prevention and control by district. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 1870 KiB  
Article
Health Risk Assessment during In Situ Remediation of Cr(VI)-Contaminated Groundwater by Permeable Reactive Barriers: A Field-Scale Study
by Wenjing Zhang, Yifan Zhu, Ruiting Gu, Zhentian Liang, Wenyan Xu and Muhammad Yousuf Jat Baloch
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13079; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013079 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1392
Abstract
The presence of residual Cr(VI) in soils causes groundwater contamination in aquifers, affecting the health of exposed populations. Initially, permeable reactive barriers(PRB) effectively removed Cr(VI) from groundwater. However, as PRB clogging increased and Cr(VI) was released from upstream soils, the contamination plume continued [...] Read more.
The presence of residual Cr(VI) in soils causes groundwater contamination in aquifers, affecting the health of exposed populations. Initially, permeable reactive barriers(PRB) effectively removed Cr(VI) from groundwater. However, as PRB clogging increased and Cr(VI) was released from upstream soils, the contamination plume continued to spread downstream. By 2020, the level of contamination in the downstream was nearly identical to that in the upstream. The study results show that during normal operation, the PRB can successfully remove Cr(VI) from contaminated groundwater and reduce the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to humans from the downstream side of groundwater. However, the remediated groundwater still poses an unacceptable risk to human health. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the concentration of the pollutant was the most sensitive parameter and interacted significantly with other factors. Ultimately, it was determined that the residual Cr(VI) in the soil of the study region continues to contaminate the groundwater and constitutes a serious health danger to residents in the vicinity. As remediated groundwater still poses a severe threat to human health, PRB may not be as effective as people believe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 5643 KiB  
Article
The Influence Research on Nitrogen Transport and Reaction in the Hyporheic Zone with an In-Stream Structure
by Ruikang Sun, Jiawei Dong, Yi Li, Panwen Li, Yaning Liu, Ying Liu and Jinghong Feng
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912695 - 04 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1056
Abstract
The hyporheic zone (HZ) is important for river ecological restoration as the main zone with nitrogen biochemical processes. The engineering of river ecological restoration can significantly change the hydrodynamics, as well as solute transport and reaction processes, but it is still not fully [...] Read more.
The hyporheic zone (HZ) is important for river ecological restoration as the main zone with nitrogen biochemical processes. The engineering of river ecological restoration can significantly change the hydrodynamics, as well as solute transport and reaction processes, but it is still not fully understood. In this study, nitrogen transport and reaction processes were analyzed in the HZ with an in-stream weir structure. An HZ model was built, and three reactions were considered with different design parameters of the weir structure and different permeability characteristics of porous media. The results show that a structure with a greater height on the overlying surface water enables the species to break through deeper porous media. It promotes the mean spatial reaction rates of nitrification and denitrification and results in increased net denitrification in most cases. In addition, increasing the burial depth of the structure leads to the same variation trends in the mean spatial reaction rates as increasing the structure height. Larger permeability coefficients in porous media can enhance flow exchange and increase mean spatial reaction rates. The results can help deepen the understanding of nitrogen transport and transformation in the HZ and optimize the design parameters and location of the in-stream structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop