Identification of the attenuation potential of a karst aquifer by an artificial dualtracer experiment with caffeine

Hillebrand, Olav; Nödler, Karsten; Licha, Tobias; Sauter, Martin; Geyer, Tobias

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2012.07.032

Cited by 45 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The compounds exhibit different characteristics regarding degradability and consumed amounts as well as periods of application. For instance, triazines or certain pharmaceuticals are known to be persistent, highly mobile in aquatic environments (Tappe et al 2002), and may, therefore, indicate longterm behavior in contrast to biodegradable compounds, such as caffeine, which are only detectable in groundwater episodically (Hillebrand et al 2012a). Some compounds contain temporal information, as they are not constantly used.…”

Section: Evaluation Of Omps As Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Artificial tracer tests are a traditional method for aquifer characterization. These tests are suitable for e.g., the identification of point-point connections and the determination of flow and transport parameters (Field and Pinsky 2000;Hillebrand et al 2012a). However, artificial tracer tests require a suitable injection location and, if applied in a large area or with the focus on long-term studies and low flow velocities, substantial observation efforts (Käss and Behrens 1998;Goldscheider 2008;Licha et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation and application of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) as indicators in karst system characterization

Reh

Licha

Nödler

et al. 2014

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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This study presents chances and challenges associated with the application of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) as indicators in karst system characterization. The methodology and options of possible indications were evaluated based on the interpretation of the spatial distribution of 54 compounds in groundwater in combination with a complex geological setting consisting of multiple aquifer horizons and tectonic faults. A high variety of OMPs are released mainly in an urban area leading to concentrations of several nanograms per liter up to micrograms per liter, which are detectable using a high-performance liquid chromatography with subsequent tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. Since characteristic patterns of spatial distribution were repeatedly observed during a 2-year observation period, important criteria of the aforementioned indicator application are fulfilled. Triazoles, compounds with recent high emission rates, could be successfully applied for the identification of flow directions and the delineation of catchment areas. Concentrations and the number of OMPs are believed to be dependent on properties of covering rock layers. Therefore, OMPs can also be used as a validation tool for vulnerability mapping. Compounds, such as triazines, persistent in the system for more than two decades, demonstrate the interaction between different parts of the aquifer system and the hydraulic characteristics of a tectonic fault zone. Such indicator potentials complement those of artificial tracer tests. Point sources of OMPs and their impact on groundwater could be identified qualitatively. In combination with the interpretation of the geological setting, the distribution of OMPs provides essential information for the development of a conceptual hydrogeological model.

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Section: Evaluation Of Omps As Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation and application of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) as indicators in karst system characterization

Reh

Licha

Nödler

et al. 2014

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…However, the transfer of the results to natural environments is known to be difficult and defective (Buerge et al, 2011) and the most accurate determination is to be found in the environment of interest itself, i.e. in-situ (Hillebrand et al, 2012a;Kunkel and Radke, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, the vulnerability of karst aquifers is often estimated from residence time distributions (Einsiedl et al, 2009;Ozyurt, 2008). However, employing a dualtracer experiment with caffeine (CAF), Hillebrand et al (2012a) demonstrated that even a low residence time within a karst aquifer system can lead to significant attenuation of selected contaminants. Yet, no information was provided, if biodegradation or any other process was responsible for the observed attenuation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multitracer experiment to evaluate the attenuation of selected organic micropollutants in a karst aquifer

Hillebrand

Nödler

Sauter

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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“…The spring is used for drinking water supply of approximately 40 000 people and has an average annual discharge of 0.5 m 3 s −1 . It is a suitable location for distributive karst modeling due to the extensive studies that have been conducted in the area before (e.g., Sauter, 1992;Hillebrand et al, 2012).…”

Section: Field Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of aquifer heterogeneity on karst hydraulics and catchment delineation employing distributive modeling approaches

Oehlmann¹,

Geyer²,

Licha³

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Due to their heterogeneous nature, karst aquifers pose a major challenge for hydrogeological investigations. Important procedures like the delineation of catchment areas for springs are hindered by the unknown locations and hydraulic properties of highly conductive karstic zones.In this work numerical modeling was employed as a tool in delineating catchment areas of several springs within a karst area in southwestern Germany. For this purpose, different distributive modeling approaches were implemented in the finite element simulation software Comsol Multiphysics ® . The investigation focuses on the question to which degree the effect of karstification has to be taken into account for accurately simulating the hydraulic head distribution and the observed spring discharges.The results reveal that the representation of heterogeneities has a large influence on the delineation of the catchment areas. Not only the location of highly conductive elements but also their geometries play a major role for the resulting hydraulic head distribution and thus for catchment area delineation. The size distribution of the karst conduits derived from the numerical models agrees with knowledge from karst genesis. It was thus shown that numerical modeling is a useful tool for catchment delineation in karst aquifers based on results from different field observations.

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Identification of the attenuation potential of a karst aquifer by an artificial dualtracer experiment with caffeine

Cited by 45 publications

References 31 publications

Evaluation and application of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) as indicators in karst system characterization

Evaluation and application of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) as indicators in karst system characterization

Multitracer experiment to evaluate the attenuation of selected organic micropollutants in a karst aquifer

Influence of aquifer heterogeneity on karst hydraulics and catchment delineation employing distributive modeling approaches

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