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An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows

Computer models dedicated to the validation of groundwater contamination risk in the rural environment, namely the risk of contamination by nitrate leachates from agriculture fertilizers, are frequently based on direct comparison of risky areas (e.g., cropland, pastures used for livestock production...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Pacheco, F.A.L., Martins, L.M.O., Quininha, M., Oliveira, A.S., Sanches Fernandes, L.F.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6249407/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30505698
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2018.11.002
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author Pacheco, F.A.L.
Martins, L.M.O.
Quininha, M.
Oliveira, A.S.
Sanches Fernandes, L.F.
author_facet Pacheco, F.A.L.
Martins, L.M.O.
Quininha, M.
Oliveira, A.S.
Sanches Fernandes, L.F.
author_sort Pacheco, F.A.L.
collection PubMed
description Computer models dedicated to the validation of groundwater contamination risk in the rural environment, namely the risk of contamination by nitrate leachates from agriculture fertilizers, are frequently based on direct comparison of risky areas (e.g., cropland, pastures used for livestock production) and spatial distributions of contaminant (nitrate) plumes. These methods are fated to fail where lateral flows dominate in the landscape (mountainous catchments) displacing the nitrate plumes downhill and from the risky spots. In these cases, there is no connection between the spatial location of risky areas and nitrate plumes, unless the two locations can be linked by a contaminant transport model. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to introduce a method whereby spatio-temporal links can be demonstrated between risky areas (contaminant sources), actual nitrate plumes (contaminant sinks) and modeled nitrate distributions at specific groundwater travel times, thereby validating the risk assessment. The method assembles a couple of well known algorithms, namely the DRASTIC model [1,2] and the Processing Modflow software (https://www.simcore.com), but their combination as risk validation method is original and proved efficient in its initial application, the companion paper of Pacheco et al. [3].
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spelling pubmed-62494072018-11-30 An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows Pacheco, F.A.L. Martins, L.M.O. Quininha, M. Oliveira, A.S. Sanches Fernandes, L.F. MethodsX Environmental Science Computer models dedicated to the validation of groundwater contamination risk in the rural environment, namely the risk of contamination by nitrate leachates from agriculture fertilizers, are frequently based on direct comparison of risky areas (e.g., cropland, pastures used for livestock production) and spatial distributions of contaminant (nitrate) plumes. These methods are fated to fail where lateral flows dominate in the landscape (mountainous catchments) displacing the nitrate plumes downhill and from the risky spots. In these cases, there is no connection between the spatial location of risky areas and nitrate plumes, unless the two locations can be linked by a contaminant transport model. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to introduce a method whereby spatio-temporal links can be demonstrated between risky areas (contaminant sources), actual nitrate plumes (contaminant sinks) and modeled nitrate distributions at specific groundwater travel times, thereby validating the risk assessment. The method assembles a couple of well known algorithms, namely the DRASTIC model [1,2] and the Processing Modflow software (https://www.simcore.com), but their combination as risk validation method is original and proved efficient in its initial application, the companion paper of Pacheco et al. [3]. Elsevier 2018-11-07 /pmc/articles/PMC6249407/ /pubmed/30505698 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2018.11.002 Text en © 2018 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Environmental Science
Pacheco, F.A.L.
Martins, L.M.O.
Quininha, M.
Oliveira, A.S.
Sanches Fernandes, L.F.
An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title_full An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title_fullStr An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title_full_unstemmed An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title_short An approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
title_sort approach to validate groundwater contamination risk in rural mountainous catchments: the role of lateral groundwater flows
topic Environmental Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6249407/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30505698
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2018.11.002
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