Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Groundwater Systems and Pollution

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 October 2023) | Viewed by 3019

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xubo Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Environmental Studies and State Key Lab of Biogeological Geology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Interests: hydrogeochemistry; hydrology; groundwater contamination
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Chengcheng Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Environmental Studies and State Key Lab of Biogeological Geology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Interests: bio-hydrogeochemistry; environmental hydrology; groundwater contamination
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundwater plays a critical role globally in human consumption, habitat maintenance, and human society development, as well as in the sustenance of streams, lakes, wetlands, and aquatic communities. Over the years, the triple effects of global climate change, anthropogenic activities, and poor groundwater management have resulted in the growing importance of groundwater, which has moved groundwater research to the forefront of the geosciences. It is a priority to understand groundwater systems, which comprise the subsurface water, the geologic media containing the water, flow boundaries, as well as recharge and discharges, to better evaluate groundwater. In the changing environment of past decades (e.g., global climatic changes, changes in land use patterns, growing population, increasing pressure on existing water supplies and varieties of anthropogenic activities), groundwater pollution has been developing at an alarming frequency and posing a major health risk for many people worldwide. Therefore, there is a need to advance knowledge for understanding the groundwater system and pollution to achieve the sustainability of groundwater resources.

Prof. Dr. Xubo Gao
Dr. Chengcheng Li
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
hydrodynamic field
hydrogeochemical field
pollution
changing environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 18922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals and Nitrates Associated with Oral and Dermal Groundwater Exposure: The Poirino Plateau Case Study (NW Italy)

by Daniele Cocca, Manuela Lasagna, Enrico Destefanis, Chiara Bottasso and Domenico Antonio De Luca

Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010222 - 26 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 573

Abstract

The Poirino Plateau (northwestern Italy) presents high contamination of the shallow aquifer due to intense agricultural practices and industrial activities. Many inhabitants have exploited shallow wells for personal purposes, coming into contact with contaminants. The aims of this study were to characterize groundwater contamination by heavy metals and nitrates, assess the noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks for oral and dermal exposure in different receptor groups (children, adults, workers) and compare the noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risk results with the regulatory limits and, therefore, if the actual regulatory limits are able to detect all potential situations of risk. For this purpose, 18 monitoring wells were collected in July 2022, and chemical–physical parameters and heavy metals were detected. The chemical data confirm a relevant anthropogenic contamination by nitrate and heavy metals. The estimated health risks are much higher in children, for oral exposure rather than dermal exposure for all the substances. The comparison between the results of the human health risk assessment and those in respect of threshold values confirms the existence of a transition condition. This condition, with concentrations below regulatory limits and above the noncarcinogenic or carcinogenic limits, reveals that the regulatory limits are not able to identify all the potential risk situations for the population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Systems and Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 5669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lab Investigation Using a Box Model and Image Analysis of a Contaminant Back-Diffusion Process from Low-Permeability Layers

by Paolo Viotti, Antonella Luciano, Giuseppe Mancini and Fabio Tatti

Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16950; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416950 - 18 Dec 2023

Viewed by 627

Abstract

Contaminants stored in low-permeability soils can continue to threaten the adjacent groundwater system even after the aquifer is considered remediated. The redistribution of contaminants from low-to-high-permeability aquifer zones (Back-Diffusion) can generate a long-term plume tail, commonly considered one of the main obstacles to effective groundwater remediation. In this paper, a laboratory test was performed to reproduce the redistribution process from low-permeability silt lenses (k ≈ 1 × 10⁻⁷ m/s) to high-permeability sand aquifers (k ≈ 1 × 10⁻³ m/s). The target of the experimental and numerical approach was finalized to verify what influence the shape and position of the lenses could have, with respect to the bulk flow, on the time necessary to complete the depletion of the dissolved substances present in the lenses. For this purpose, an image analysis procedure was used to estimate the diffusive flux of contaminants released by these low-permeability zones in different boundary conditions. The results obtained in the laboratory test were used to calibrate a numerical model implemented to simulate the Back-Diffusion process. Once calibrated, the numerical model was used to simulate further scenarios to evaluate the influence of the location and shape of the low-permeability lenses on the time necessary to diminish its contaminant content when subjected to a steady-state flow. The numerical model was also used to investigate the effect of different groundwater velocities on the depletion time of the process. The results show that the shape and position of the lens have an important impact on the time necessary to empty the lens, and an increase in the velocity field in the bulk medium (flow rate rising from 1.6 l/h to 2.5 l/h) does not correspond to diminishing total depletion times, as the process is mainly governed by diffusive transport inside the lens. This appears to be significant when the remediation approach relies on pumping technology. Future research will verify the behavior of the released plume in a strongly heterogeneous porous medium. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Systems and Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 3496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vulnerability and Risk of Contamination of the Varaždin Aquifer System, NW Croatia

by Ozren Larva, Željka Brkić and Tamara Marković

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16502; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316502 - 2 Dec 2023

Viewed by 606

Abstract

This paper presents the first study that assesses the vulnerability and risk of contamination of groundwater in the Varaždin aquifer system. The alluvial aquifer system is mostly unconfined with favorable hydrogeological features. Out of three wellfields, two still operate at full capacity, while the Varaždin wellfield, once the major source of drinking water, has been abandoned due to high concentrations of nitrates in the groundwater. Index-based methods are employed to assess groundwater vulnerability—two DRASTIC-based methods, standard and P-DRASTIC; two SINTACS-based methods, with normal and severe weighting strings; and the GOD method. Hazard is evaluated according to recommendations from the EU COST 620 action, while the risk intensity of the resource is calculated using the results of vulnerability and hazard assessments. The results reveal that for all vulnerability models, the resulting maps have a similar distribution pattern of vulnerability classes, with the high vulnerability class prevailing. However, notwithstanding the generally high groundwater vulnerability, a moderate resource contamination risk prevails as a consequence of a dominantly low hazard index. The validation of the groundwater vulnerability models demonstrates a weak correlation between the vulnerability indices and mean nitrate concentrations in groundwater. Conversely, a significantly higher correlation coefficient (0.58) is obtained when the groundwater vulnerability index is replaced by the resource risk intensity index, indicating that the results of resource risk intensity assessments are superior to groundwater vulnerability results in predicting the level of groundwater contamination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Systems and Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Sea Water Exchange Processes to Monsoons in Jiaozhou Bay, China

by Zhenhuan Tian, Jinghao Shi, Yuanyuan Liu, Wei Wang, Chunhua Liu, Fangfang Li and Yanqin Shao

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15198; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115198 - 24 Oct 2023

Viewed by 723

Abstract

The self-purification capacity of semi-closed bays is closely related to the exchange process of open sea water. In recent years, with the enhancement of human development activities, environmental problems such as eutrophication, weak hydrodynamics, and poor water exchange capacity have appeared in the bays. In this paper, the water exchange time and flow field in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB) were investigated using the environmental fluid dynamics code with a coupled dye module. Specifically, Jiaozhou Bay was divided into seven zones to explore the effect mechanism of a monsoon on the water exchange process. A detailed analysis was performed on the current water exchange status in the highly polluted northeastern region of the bay and its influence on the surrounding areas. Based on the definition of the average residence time and considering the effect of the tracer release moment, the distribution of the water exchange time in the bay under three circumstances was obtained. Results showed that the timing of the tracer release exerted minimal influence on the average residence time. The water exchange process was influenced by a combination of astronomical and meteorological factors. The overall exchange capacity of the bay was strongest under the impact of a winter monsoon and tides, followed by a summer monsoon and tides, and the weakest exchange occurred under the influence of tides alone. Moreover, both summer and winter monsoons greatly facilitated water exchange in the heavily polluted northeastern region. However, pollutants from this region had a significant impact on surrounding areas during a summer monsoon. Changes in the structure and intensity of residual flow fields were the primary causes of exchange rate discrepancies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Systems and Pollution)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Groundwater Systems and Pollution

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI