The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Albert Brangarí - Svalbard

Albert Brangarí

Researcher

Albert Brangarí - Svalbard

Vadose zone oxygen (O2) dynamics during drying and wetting cycles : An artificial recharge laboratory experiment

Author

  • Tanushree Dutta
  • Albert C. Brangarí
  • Daniel Fernandez-Garcia
  • Simonetta Rubol
  • Joel Tirado-Conde
  • Xavier Sanchez-Vila

Summary, in English

Vadose zone oxygen dynamics control all subsurface redox reactions and play a decisive role in maintaining groundwater quality. Although drying and wetting events are common in artificial recharge, their effects on subsurface oxygen distribution are poorly documented. We monitored oxygen concentration in the unsaturated zone in a mid-scale (1 m high) laboratory soil lysimeter, which was subjected to short wetting and drying cycles that simulated a highly permeable shallow aquifer recharged by river water. Ten cycles of varying duration were performed for a period of 85 days. Measurements of oxygen in the liquid and the gas phases were recorded every 20 s using non-invasive optical fibers (PreSens). The results provided high-resolution (in time) oxygen concentration maps. The infiltration rate revealed a decreasing trend during wetting cycles associated with biological clogging. Such a decrease with time was accompanied by a depletion of O2 concentration, occurring within the first few hours of the infiltration. During drying, O2 concentrations recovered rapidly at all depths owing to air flushing, resulting in a stratified vertical profile consistent with the biological consumption of O2 along the air infiltration path. Furthermore, drying periods caused a potential recovery of the infiltration capacity while preserving the soil biological activity. Scraping also led to the recovery of the infiltration capacity of the soil but was less effective than drying. Our experiment suggests that the small-scale heterogeneity played a key role in accurately mapping pore-scale O2 concentrations and should be considered in modeling O2 fluxes of unsaturated soils under natural or managed recharge conditions

Publishing year

2015-05-02

Language

English

Pages

151-159

Publication/Series

Journal of Hydrology

Volume

527

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Soil Science

Keywords

  • Oxygen concentration dynamics
  • Precision sensing
  • Managed Aquifer Recharge
  • Infiltration
  • Drying–wetting cycles
  • Biological processes

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0022-1694