Remediation of groundwater contamination in unconsolidated aquifers by dissolved hydrophobic compounds (HOC) requires detailed information on the sorption parameters present in the sediments. Equilibrium sorption isotherms were measured for phenanthrene for a wide variety of lithocomponents (constituents of sand and gravel sediments) and unweathered rock fragments (limestones and sandstones). The lithocomponents were separated based on macroscopic appearance of different lithologies (e.g. limestones, sandstones, shales, mudstones, and igneous rocks) and characterized in terms of organic carbon content and specific surface area. In addition the organic matter (OM) was characterized using coal petrography methods (white and UV light microscopy). As confirmed by heat-treated samples sorption was solely due to OM. Organic carbon normalized sorption coefficients (K OC) varied by almost 3 orders of magnitude among the samples investigated. The different origin and maturity of isolated organic matter (organic facies) is believed to be responsible. For example, extremely high K OC values were found for particulate organic matter such as charcoal and coal particles which were preserved within the sandstone and limestone grains. In a second paper we report data on sorption kinetics of the samples used in this study ().

Most aquifer materials are heterogeneous in terms of grain size distribution and petrography. To understand sorption kinetics, homogeneous subfractions, either separated from heterogeneous sands and gravels (lithocomponents) or fragments of fresh rocks, have to be studied. In this paper we present data on long-term sorption kinetics of phenanthrene for homogeneous samples consisting of one type of lithocomponents or fresh rock fragments in different grain sizes. Diffusion rate constants were determined in batch experiments using a numerical model for retarded intraparticle pore diffusion and correlated to grain size and intraparticle porosity of the lithocomponents. Sorption isotherms were nonlinear for all samples investigated (Kleineidam et al. ()). The numerical model described the sorption kinetics very well for coarse sand and gravels. Tortuosity factors, which were obtained as final fitting factors, agreed with Archie's law predictions based on the intraparticle porosity. The dependency of sorptive uptake on grain size revealed that for smaller grains intrasorbent diffusion may become significant. This is attributed to relatively large particulate organic matter (POM) within the sedimentary rock fragments. Specifically, charcoal and coal particles, which were found in some of the sandstones, controlled the sorptive uptake rates.

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The vestibulo-ocular reflex maintains gaze stabilization during angular or linear head accelerations, allowing adequate dynamic visual acuity. In case of bilateral vestibular hypofunction, patients use saccades to compensate for the reduced vestibulo-ocular reflex function, with covert saccades occurring even during the head displacement. In this study, we questioned whether covert saccades help maintain dynamic visual acuity, and evaluated which characteristic of these saccades are the most relevant to improve visual function. We prospectively included 18 patients with chronic bilateral vestibular hypofunction. Subjects underwent evaluation of dynamic visual acuity in the horizontal plane as well as video recording of their head and eye positions during horizontal head impulse tests in both directions (36 ears tested). Frequency, latency, consistency of covert saccade initiation, and gain of covert saccades as well as residual vestibulo-ocular reflex gain were calculated. We found no correlation between residual vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and dynamic visual acuity. Dynamic visual acuity performance was however positively correlated with the frequency and gain of covert saccades and negatively correlated with covert saccade latency. There was no correlation between consistency of covert saccade initiation and dynamic visual acuity. Even though gaze stabilization in space during covert saccades might be of very short duration, these refixation saccades seem to improve vision in patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction during angular head impulses. These findings emphasize the need for specific rehabilitation technics that favor the triggering of covert saccades. The physiological origin of covert saccades is discussed.

Increasing numbers of organic micropollutants are emitted into rivers via municipal wastewaters. Due to their persistence many pollutants pass wastewater treatment plants without substantial removal. Transport and fate of pollutants in receiving waters and export to downstream ecosystems is not well understood. In particular, a better knowledge of processes governing their environmental behavior is needed. Although a lot of data are available concerning the ubiquitous presence of micropollutants in rivers, accurate data on transport and removal rates are lacking. In this paper, a mass balance approach is presented, which is based on the Lagrangian sampling scheme, but extended to account for precise transport velocities and mixing along river stretches. The calculated mass balances allow accurate quantification of pollutants' reactivity along river segments. This is demonstrated for representative members of important groups of micropollutants, e.g. pharmaceuticals, musk fragrances, flame retardants, and pesticides. A model-aided analysis of the measured data series gives insight into the temporal dynamics of removal processes. The occurrence of different removal mechanisms such as photooxidation, microbial degradation, and volatilization is discussed. The results demonstrate, that removal processes are highly variable in time and space and this has to be considered for future studies. The high precision sampling scheme presented could be a powerful tool for quantifying removal processes under different boundary conditions and in river segments with contrasting properties.

Transport of hydrophobic pollutants in rivers such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals is often facilitated by suspended sediment particles, which are typically mobilized during high discharge events. Suspended sediments thus represent a means of transport for particle related pollutants within river reaches and may represent a suitable proxy for average pollutant concentrations estimation in a river reach or catchment. In this study, multiple high discharge/turbidity events were sampled at high temporal resolution in the Globaqua River Basins Sava (Slovenia, Serbia), Adige (Italy), and Evrotas (Greece) and analysed for persistent organic pollutants such as PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) or PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and heavy metals. For comparison, river bed sediment samples were analysed as well. Further, results are compared to previous studies in contrasting catchments in Germany, Iran, Spain, and beyond. Overall results show that loadings of suspended sediments with pollutants are catchment-specific and relatively stable over time at a given location. For PAHs, loadings on suspended particles mainly correlate to urban pressures (potentially diluted by sediment mass fluxes) in the rivers, whereas metal concentrations mainly display a geogenic origin. By cross-comparison with known urban pressure/sediment yield relationships (e.g. for PAHs) or soil background values (for metals) anthropogenic impact - e.g. caused by industrial activities - may be identified. Sampling of suspended sediments gives much more reliable results compared to sediment grab samples which typically show a more heterogeneous contaminant distribution. Based on mean annual suspended sediment concentrations and distribution coefficients of pollutants the fraction of particle facilitated transport versus dissolved fluxes can be calculated.