NIZZETTO, Luca, Dan BUTTERFIELD, Martyn FUTTER, Yan LIN, Ian ALLAN and Thorjorn LARSSEN. Assessment of contaminant fate in catchments using a novel integrated hydrobiogeochemical-multimedia fate model. Science of the Total Environment. AMSTERDAM: Elsevier, vol. 544, February, p. 553-563. ISSN 0048-9697. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.087. 2016.
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Basic information
Original name Assessment of contaminant fate in catchments using a novel integrated hydrobiogeochemical-multimedia fate model
Authors NIZZETTO, Luca (380 Italy, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Dan BUTTERFIELD (578 Norway), Martyn FUTTER (752 Sweden), Yan LIN (578 Norway), Ian ALLAN (578 Norway) and Thorjorn LARSSEN (578 Norway).
Edition Science of the Total Environment, AMSTERDAM, Elsevier, 2016, 0048-9697.
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Article in a journal
Field of Study 30304 Public and environmental health
Country of publisher Netherlands
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
WWW URL
Impact factor Impact factor: 4.900
RIV identification code RIV/00216224:14310/16:00089985
Organization unit Faculty of Science
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.087
UT WoS 000369491500060
Keywords in English Chemical fate; Model; Catchment; Biogeochemistry; Pollution; Hydrology
Tags AKR, rivok
Tags International impact, Reviewed
Changed by Changed by: Ing. Andrea Mikešková, učo 137293. Changed: 30/3/2017 10:56.
Abstract
Models for pollution exposure assessment typically adopt an overly simplistic representation of geography, climate and biogeochemical processes. This strategy is unsatisfactory when high temporal resolution simulations for sub-regional spatial domains are performed, in which parameters defining scenarios can vary interdependently in space and time. This is, for example, the case when assessing the influence of biogeochemical processing on contaminant fate. Here we present INCA-Contaminants, the Integrated Catchments model for Contaminants; a new model that simultaneously and realistically solves mass balances of water, carbon, sediments and contaminants in the soil-stream-sediment system of catchments and their river networks as a function of climate, land use/management and contaminant properties. When forced with realistic climate and contaminant input data, the model was able to predict polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations in multiple segments of a river network in a complex landscape. We analyzed model output sensitivity to a number of hydro-biogeochemical parameters. The rate of soil organic matter mineralization was the most sensitive parameter controlling PCBs levels in river water, supporting the hypothesis that organic matter turnover rates will influence remobilization of previously deposited PCBs which had accumulated in soil organic matrix. The model was also used to project the long term fate of PCB 101 under two climate scenarios. Catchment diffuse run-off and riverine transport were the major pathways of contaminant re-mobilization. Simulations show that during the next decade the investigated boreal catchment will shift from being a net atmospheric PCB sink to a net source for air and water, with future climate perturbation having little influence on this trend. Our results highlight the importance of using credible hydro-biogeochemical simulations when modeling the fate of hydrophobic contaminants.
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