Spatial and Temporal Nitrate Transport in Deep Heterogeneous Vadose Zone of India’s Alluvial Plain

Abstract Goczałkowice reservoir is one of the main source of drinking water for Upper Silesia Region. In reference to Water Frame Directive matter since 2010 the strategic research project: „Integrated system supporting management and protection of dammed reservoir (ZiZoZap)”, which is being conducted on Goczałkowice reservoir, has been pursued. In the framework of this project complex groundwater monitoring is carried on. One aspect is vadose zone research, conducted to obtain information about changes in chemical composition of infiltrating water and mass transport within this zone. Based on historical data and the structural model of direct catchment of Goczałkowice reservoir location of the vadose zone research site was selected. At the end of November 2012 specially designed lysimeter was installed with 10 MacroRhizon samplers at each lithological variation in unsaturated zone. This lysimeter, together with nested observation wells, located in the direct proximity, create the vadose zone research site which main aim is specifying the amount of nitrate transport in the vertical profile.

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Nitrate transport in the chalk vadose zone in in Picardy (France)

Geological Society London Special Publications ◽

10.1144/sp517-2020-164 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. SP517-2020-164

Author(s):

N. Surdyk ◽

L. Gourcy ◽

V. Bault ◽

N. Baran

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Quality ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Nitrate Concentration ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Transport Time ◽

Major Question ◽

Noticeable Effect ◽

Fertiliser Application ◽

The Impact

AbstractSince the 1980s, nitrate has been shown to be present in soils and the vadose zone of various types of geological materials years after fertiliser application. In chalk where the vadose zone is thick, nitrate storage can be considerable and its transport time toward groundwater can be lengthy.In this context, evaluation of the impact of changes in agricultural practices on groundwater quality remains a major question. Improvement of groundwater quality can in certain cases be greatly delayed after the implementation of environmental agricultural practices.The principal objective of this study is to improve our knowledge of when changes in agricultural practices will have a noticeable effect on groundwater quality.To meet this objective, nitrate concentration profiles were performed in agricultural plots in Picardy (France). A crop marker event was used to calculate the transport velocity of water and associated solutes. This method is useful when other tracers (as tritium or chlorine) cannot be used. Estimated velocities range from 0.51 to 0.54 m/year; these values are similar to those described in similar chalk aquifers.

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Real-time monitoring of nitrate transport in the deep vadose zone under a crop field – implications for groundwater protection

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-20-3099-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 3099-3108 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Tuvia Turkeltaub ◽

Daniel Kurtzman ◽

Ofer Dahan

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Water Table ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Land Surface ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Root Zone ◽

Isotopic Signature ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Mass Migration ◽

Crop Field

Abstract. Nitrate is considered the most common non-point pollutant in groundwater. It is often attributed to agricultural management, when excess application of nitrogen fertilizer leaches below the root zone and is eventually transported as nitrate through the unsaturated zone to the water table. A lag time of years to decades between processes occurring in the root zone and their final imprint on groundwater quality prevents proper decision-making on land use and groundwater-resource management. This study implemented the vadose-zone monitoring system (VMS) under a commercial crop field. Data obtained by the VMS for 6 years allowed, for the first time known to us, a unique detailed tracking of water percolation and nitrate migration from the surface through the entire vadose zone to the water table at 18.5 m depth. A nitrate concentration time series, which varied with time and depth, revealed – in real time – a major pulse of nitrate mass propagating down through the vadose zone from the root zone toward the water table. Analysis of stable nitrate isotopes indicated that manure is the prevalent source of nitrate in the deep vadose zone and that nitrogen transformation processes have little effect on nitrate isotopic signature. The total nitrogen mass calculations emphasized the nitrate mass migration towards the water table. Furthermore, the simulated pore-water velocity through analytical solution of the convection–dispersion equation shows that nitrate migration time from land surface to groundwater is relatively rapid, approximately 5.9 years. Ultimately, agricultural land uses, which are constrained to high nitrogen application rates and coarse soil texture, are prone to inducing substantial nitrate leaching.

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Richards Equation-Based Modeling to Estimate Flow and Nitrate Transport in a Deep Alluvial Vadose Zone

Vadose Zone Journal ◽

10.2136/vzj2011.0145 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. vzj2011.0145 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Farag E. Botros ◽

Yuksel S. Onsoy ◽

Timothy R. Ginn ◽

Thomas Harter

Keyword(s):

Vadose Zone ◽

Richards Equation ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Estimate Flow

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Distribution of Metals in Vadose Zone of the Alluvial Plain in a Mining Creek Inferred from Geochemical, Mineralogical and Geophysical Studies: The Beal Wadi Case (Cartagena–La Union Mining District, SE Spain)

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/s11270-011-0768-y ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 221 (1-4) ◽

pp. 45-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Oscar Gonzalez-Fernandez ◽

Luis Rivero ◽

Ignacio Queralt ◽

Manuel Viladevall

Keyword(s):

Vadose Zone ◽

Alluvial Plain ◽

Mining District ◽

Se Spain

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Recharge and Nitrate Transport Through the Deep Vadose Zone of the Loess Plateau: A Regional‐Scale Model Investigation

Water Resources Research ◽

10.1029/2017wr022190 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 54 (7) ◽

pp. 4332-4346 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Tuvia Turkeltaub ◽

Xiaoxu Jia ◽

Yuanjun Zhu ◽

Ming‐An Shao ◽

Andrew Binley

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Model Investigation ◽

Scale Model ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

The Loess Plateau

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Treated Wastewater and Nitrate Transport Beneath Irrigated Fields near Dodge City, Kansas

Current Research in Earth Sciences ◽

10.17161/cres.v0i258.11855 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 1-31

Author(s):

Marios Sophocleous ◽

Margaret A. Townsend ◽

Fred Vocasek ◽

Liwang Ma ◽

Ashok KC

Keyword(s):

Ground Water ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Transport Processes ◽

Treated Wastewater ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Silty Clay ◽

Macropore Flow ◽

Nitrate N ◽

Study Sites ◽

Crop Irrigation

Use of secondary-treated municipal wastewater for crop irrigation south of Dodge City, Kansas, where the soils are mainly of silty clay loam texture, has raised a concern that it has resulted in high nitrate-nitrogen concentrations (10-50 mg/kg) in the soil and deeper vadose zone, and also in the underlying deep (20-45 m) ground water. The goal of this field-monitoring project was to assess how and under what circumstances nitrogen (N) nutrients under cultivated corn that is irrigated with this treated wastewater can reach the deep ground water of the underlying High Plains aquifer, and what can realistically be done to minimize this problem. We collected 15.2-m-deep cores for physical and chemical properties characterization; installed neutron moisture-probe access tubes and suction lysimeters for periodic measurements; sampled area monitoring, irrigation, and domestic wells; performed dye-tracer experiments to examine soil preferential-flow processes through macropores; and obtained climatic, crop, irrigation, and N-application rate records. These data and additional information were used in the comprehensive Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) to identify key parameters and processes that influence N losses in the study area. We demonstrated that nitrate-N transport processes result in significant accumulations of N in the thick vadose zone. We also showed that nitrate-N in the underlying ground water is increasing with time and that the source of the nitrate is from the wastewater applications. RZWQM2 simulations indicated that macropore flow is generated particularly during heavy rainfall events, but during our 2005-06 simulations the total macropore flow was only about 3% of precipitation for one of two investigated sites, whereas it was more than 13% for the other site. Our calibrated model for the two wastewater-irrigated study sites indicated that reducing current levels of corn N fertilization by half or more to the level of 170 kg/ha substantially increases N-use efficiency and achieves near-maximum crop yield. Combining such measures with a crop rotation that includes alfalfa should further reduce the amounts of residual N in the soil, as indicated in one of the study sites that had alfalfa in past crop rotations.

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Real-time monitoring of nitrate transport in deep vadose zone under a crop field – implications for groundwater protection

10.5194/hess-2016-63 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

T. Turkeltaub ◽

D. Kurtzman ◽

O. Dahan

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Water Table ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Root Zone ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Natural Soil ◽

Agricultural Field ◽

Table Analysis ◽

Concentration Time Series

Abstract. Nitrate is considered the most common non-point pollutant in groundwater. It is often attributed to agricultural management, when excess application of nitrogen fertilizer leaches below the root zone and is eventually transported as nitrate through the unsaturated zone to the water table. A lag time of years to decades between processes occurring in the root zone and their final imprint on groundwater quality prevents proper decision-making on land use and groundwater-resource management. In this study, water flow and solute transport through the deep vadose zone underlying an agricultural field were monitored using a vadose-zone monitoring system (VMS). Data obtained by the VMS over a period of 6 years allowed detailed tracking of water percolation and nitrate migration from the surface through the entire deep vadose zone to the water table at 18 m depth. The temporal variations in the vadose zone sediment water content were used to evaluate the link between rain patterns and water fluxes. A nitrate concentration time series, which varied with time and depth, revealed – in real time – a major pulse of nitrate mass propagating down through the vadose zone from the root zone toward the water table. Analysis of stable nitrate isotopes indicated that manure is the prevalent source of nitrate in the deep vadose zone, and these isotopes were barely affected by natural soil or industrial nitrogen components. Total nitrate mass estimations and simulated pore-water velocity using the analytical solution of the convection–dispersion equation indicated dominance of nitrate vertical transport, and excluded the possibility of lateral nitrate input. Accordingly, prevention of groundwater pollution from surface sources such as agriculture has to include effective and continuous monitoring of the entire vadose zone.

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