>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Previous studies have shown that the use of chloride mass balance (CMB) method is a suitable and practical approach to estimate groundwater recharge. This enables the prediction of groundwater availability to inform practical strategies for managing groundwater resources. However, such studies have largely applied the chloride mass balance method on national and catchment scales with limited focus on quaternary catchment level (QCL). Neglecting the chloride mass balance method at quaternary catchment level limits practical management and utilization of water resources at quaternary catchment level. The goal of the current study was to prove that 1) the chloride mass balance method should be applied at quaternary catchment level to ensure practical assessment of groundwater availability and that 2) chloride mass balance assessment should be accompanied with supplementary methods for its application in quaternary catchments of similar physiographic and hydrogeologic conditions. To achieve these goals, the present study assessed the application of chloride mass balance method on a pilot scale used alongside rainwater infiltration breakthrough (RIB) and water table fluctuation (WTF) methods to estimate the groundwater recharge as an indicator of groundwater availability. The pilot area (PA) was in the upper Berg River catchment in Western Cape in South Africa. Chloride concentrations were determined in groundwater samples collected from boreholes and rain water in rain gauges in the pilot area. Rainfall and borehole water levels in the pilot area were used in water table fluctuation and rainwater infiltration breakthrough analyses. As quality assurance, the specific yield data obtained from the pumping test were compared to those determined with the linear regression model. This established the reliability of the analysis i.e. the relationship between groundwater level and rainfall. Mean groundwater recharge values calculated using the chloride mass balance, rainwater infiltration breakthrough and water table fluctuation methods were 27.6 %, 23.67 %, and 22.7 % of the total precipitation received in the catchment, respectively. These results indicate that the use of these three methods have potential to estimate groundwater recharge at quaternary level which is the basic unit of water management in South Africa. These findings agree with previous studies conducted in the same catchment that indicate that mean groundwater recharge ranges between 18.6 % and 28 % of the total precipitation. In the future, these methods could be tested in catchments which have physiographic and hydrogeologic conditions similar to those of the current pilot area. / African Union (AU)

Quantitative soil ingestion studies employing a mass balance tracer approach have been used to determine soil ingestion rate for use in human health risk assessments (HHRAs). Past studies have focused on soil ingestion in populations living in urban/suburban environments and the results have been highly variable. Moreover, there is a paucity of reliable quantitative soil ingestion data to support human health risk assessments of other lifestyles that may be predisposed to ingesting soil, such as indigenous populations following traditional lifestyles. Thus, the primary objective of the research was to determine if populations following lifestyles typical of traditional land use practices in rural or wilderness areas ingest more soil than populations living in urban or suburban environments. Further, the research investigated the use of alternative mass balance tracers, specifically isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series, to reduce soil ingestion estimate variability. Mass balance tracer methods were developed and validated in a pilot canine study, and methods using isotope tracers were adapted to permit quantification of sediment ingestion in the benthic fish Moxostoma macrolepidotum (Shorthead Redhorse Sucker). A pilot human soil ingestion study of 7 subjects from an Aboriginal community in British Columbia was conducted over a 3-week period. The mean soil ingestion rate calculated using the daily means of the 4 elemental tracers with the lowest food-to-soil ratios (i.e., Al, Ce, La, Si) was observed to be approximately 74 mg d-1 (standard deviation 91 mg d-1), The median soil ingestion rate was 60 mg d-1, and the 90th percentile was 196 mg d-1. These soil ingestion rate estimates are higher than those currently recommended for HHRAs of adults, and higher than those obtained in most previous studies of adults. However, the estimates are much lower than the earlier qualitative assessments for subsistence lifestyles (i.e., 330-400 mg d-1). The study results also demonstrated that isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series radionuclide are not reliable mass balance tracers for estimating soil ingestion in humans; however, they may be useful for quantifying soil and sediment ingestion in wildlife.

Sulphate-rich wastewater is an increasing concern for industries as LKAB. The water chemistry of the LKAB Kiruna water system is characterized by high alkalinity, high pH (pH 7.5-9.0) and high concentrations of chemical species and soluble minerals. The sulphate content in the water system of Kiruna is associated with the dissolution of calcium sulphate as anhydrite (CaSO4) and gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O). However, the high concentrations of sulphate in the effluents from the LKAB Kiruna operation are unique for iron ore mining.    The aim of the thesis was to study and evaluate the behavior of sulphate in the process water system of the Kiruna concentrator plants. This was done by laboratory grinding (leaching tests), equilibrium calculations with the HSC software and mass balancing of the concentrator KA3 in Kiruna. The highest concentrations of sulphate have been detected in the process water of KA3, hence the focus has been on KA3 regarding sampling, evaluation and comparison. Water treatment technologies for sulphate and the effect of process water on ore processing have not been included in this project.   The laboratory grinding was done using process water and ore from the concentrator KA3. During the experimental work with laboratory grinding the parameters pH, temperature and operating times for primary- and secondary grinding, respectively, were varied. The observations from the experimental work were further confirmed by equilibrium calculations and mass balancing. The following conclusions were drawn.     Anhydrite/gypsum is not leached from the ore during ore processing with process water having concentrations of sulphate already close to the saturation point at approximately 1800 mg/L. If the process water is diluted with water with lower sulphate content, e.g. mine water or a diluted return water from the pond system (e.g. during spring flood), anhydrite/gypsum in ore will be dissolved until the sulphate concentration reaches the saturation point. The ionic strength of the process water controls the saturation point and thus the sulphate concentration. Leaching of anhydrite/gypsum in saturated process water, with respect to sulphate, is not affected by grinding time or adjusted conditions in the process water, such as temperature or pH value.    For further work, it is recommended to investigate the behavior of sulphate in the tailings pond system to increase knowledge of the overall behavior in the water system. In addition, a similar investigation of the behavior of uranium in the process water is recommended in order to face future environmental standards.

Fishpond ecosystems provide many other services besides fish production. One of them is the retention of nutrients and thus ability to change the quality of the through flowing water, thereby ability to influence the overall quality of surface waters. In the case of the fishpond Svět in Třeboň it is also recreation, as the pond is an integral part of the tourism of the town. Water quality in the fishpond and its retention capacity of phosphorus is connected with the fish management and the inflow of nutrients from the catchment basis, especially within a cascade of ponds and densely populated or agricultural regions. This thesis evaluates seasonal (2013, 2015) and long term (2007-2015) trend of water quality of pond Svět in Třeboň in relation to fish management. Furthermore, mass balance was calculated for 2015 and estimated for 2013. The years 2015 and 2013 (the first years of production cycle) varied considerably in amount of annual rainfall. The year 2015 was extremely dry and 2013 very aqueous. Different hydrological conditions caused different seasonal courses in hydrochemistry parameters and its concentrations. The water quality of fishpond Svět is in the most of parameters better in comparison with other production fishponds in the Třeboň region and also the intensity of fish management is...

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Antarctic mass balance is mainly controlled by surface mass balance (SMB, i.e. the net effect of precipitations at the surface of the ice sheet) and ice discharge at its margins, mostly through ice shelves. These floating ice bodies made from ice flowing from the continent to the ocean are buttressed by ice rises (elevation of the sea floor on which ice shelf re-grounds) such as the Derwael Ice Rise (DIR) in Dronning Maud Land (DML). In addition to this role important to consider in the future contribution of Antarctica to sea level rise, ice rises are also “climate dipsticks” helping to reconstruct the climate of the past centuries to millennia at high resolution. Due to their coastal location, they witness the changes happening there more rapidly than inland. Furthermore, their internal stratigraphy forms arches that allow to assess their stability, to date their own formation and therefore, in some cases, to constrain the past extension of the ice sheet at the scale of several millennia. As part of the IceCon project :Constraining ice mass changes in Antarctica, this thesis aimed to drill a 120 m ice core (named IC12 for the IceCon project, 2012) at the divide of the DIR and perform physico-chemical analyses to study its density and its internal annual layering with the aim of reconstructing SMB of the last two centuries. We also recorded a virtual image of the borehole using an optical televiewer (OPTV) to assess the ability of this instrument to reconstruct a density profile and measure vertical strain rates when the logging is repeated in the same borehole after a sufficient period of time (here, 2 years).The results show a general increase in snow accumulation rates (SMB) of 30-40% during the 20th century, particularly marked during the last 20-50 years. SMB variability is governed to a large extent by atmospheric circulation and to a lesser extent by variations in sea ice cover. The vertical velocity profile measured from repeat borehole OPTV was applied to refine SMB correction and the results fall in the error range of the corrections made using a model previously developed to study the DIR’s stability. This thesis also contributed to characterizing the spatial variability of SMB across the DIR by dating internal reflection horizons (IRHs), former surfaces of the DIR buried under subsequent snow layers and detected using radio-echo-sounding, and by measuring the density profile of IC12. SMB is found to be 2.5 times higher on the upwind slope than on the downwind slope due to the orographic effect. This pattern is regularly observed on ice rises in DML and stresses the importance of adopting a sufficient spatial resolution (5 km) in climate models.Finally, the technical developments allowing to rapidly reconstruct a density profile from the OPTV image of a borehole contributed to improving our knowledge of two features of Antarctic ice shelves, namely melt ponds, influencing surface mass balance and subglacial channels, influencing basal mass balance. Specifically, the results show that density is 5 % higher in surface trenches associated with subglacial channels, and that ice below melt ponds can reach the density of bubble-free ice due to melting and refreezing processes, with implications on ice shelf viscosity. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are man-made chemicals. Their unique properties make them beneficial for a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, such as constituents in fire fighting foams, hydraulic oils and food packaging materials.PFAAs have shown to be highly persistent in the environment, and the toxicological potential of long chain PFAA homologues is of a concern. International regulation and voluntary actions by the industry have been implemented and led to reduced primary emissions of PFAAs to the environment. However, the concentrations of some PFAAs in e.g. birds from the Baltic Sea are still very high and of ecotoxicological concern. Measures to reduce the PFAA contamination require an understanding of the sources and how the PFAAs are being transported in the environment.In this licentiate thesis a mass balance was assembled for perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in the Baltic Sea. A one-box model was used including the input pathways river inflow, atmospheric deposition, wastewater discharges and inflow from the North Sea via the Danish Straits, while the loss processes considered were sediment burial, transformation of the chemicals and outflow to the North Sea via the Danish Straits. Additionally, the inventories of the four target PFAAs in the Baltic Sea were estimated. Both chemical fluxes and inventories were estimated using recently published monitoring data (2005-2010).In order to obtain a detailed perspective on the current knowledge regarding PFAAs in the Baltic Sea, challenges and uncertainties in data selection were discussed for the most dominant input pathways. This included WWTP emissions and calculation of emission factors (EFs), atmospheric deposition and riverine inflow.River inflow and atmospheric deposition were the dominant inputs, while wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents made a minor contribution. The input to the Baltic Sea exceeded the output for all 4 PFAAs, suggesting that inputs were higher during 2005-2010 than during the previous 20 years despite efforts to reduce emissions of PFAAs. Comparing the difference between PFAA input and output with the PFAA inventory, the doubling time for the concentration in the Baltic Sea was estimated to be 8-94 yr for PFHxA, 12-16 yr for PFOA, 3-5 yr for PFDA and 4 yr for PFOS. The surplus of the input can be an effect of retention and delayed release of PFAAs from atmospheric deposition in the soils and groundwater of the watershed.The licentiate thesis contributes to a holistic understanding of the major input and output pathways and inventories of PFAAs in the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, it points out current knowledge gaps in our understanding of sources and fate of PFAAs in the aquatic environment. / <p>At the time of the defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript</p>

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第22427号 / 工博第4688号 / 新制||工||1732(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市環境工学専攻 / (主査)教授 高岡 昌輝, 教授 酒井 伸一, 准教授 大下 和徹 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Stormwater runoff may contain high levels of pollutants and is regulated by the Federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Stormwater bioretention (BR) systems are often used to satisfy these regulations. BR systems collect accumulated runoff that leaches into groundwater. A greenhouse study evaluated nutrient and metal removal among plant species that are typically found growing in BR systems. A field demonstration study assessed citric acid enhanced metal bioaccumulation potential under typical BR system conditions. The greenhouse experiment examined pollutant retention, and bioaccumulation potential for six plant species undergoing three hydraulic and pollutant loads. Results verified there was 98% recovery of total phosphorous over the study period. Biomass increased with higher hydraulic and pollutant loads for all species. Phragmites australis, Carex praegracilis, and Carex microptera took up significantly more total phosphorous and nitrogen mass into shoots than Typha latifolia, Scirpus valid us, and Scirpus acutus. This study also found that 89% of applied metals were removed within the top 27 em of soil in all treatments. Similar results were found regarding copper, lead, and zinc concentrations and bioaccumulation. Carex praegracilis, and Carex microptera exhibited higher metal distribution in plant tissue and exfiltrate, and lower distribution in the soil media than the other species. This indicated species differences in biological and chemical processes taking place within the simulated BRsystems. The field experiment investigated citric acid enhanced metal bioaccumulation potential among three different plant species under representative BR conditions. Citric acid significantly increased metal concentrations in the soil pore water for the planted treatments, but this did not result in increased metal uptake into plant tissue. However, notable differences were found among species, where Carex microptera accumulated more AI, Cr, Cu, and Fe in the above ground tissue than Helianthus maximiliani and Typha /atifolia (except for Cu in Helianthus). These results provide greater insight into the biological and chemical process that affect transport, uptake and translocation of nutrients and metals, and confirm the importance of species selection in BR systems to optimize nutrient and metal retention and recovery from stormwater runoff to minimize subsequent groundwater pollutant loading.

Introduction (and purpose): At every construction project there is a lot of soil moved around and managed. Mass management is an important topic which affect every project. Mass balance is what is tried to achieve. If mass balance is achieved no masses is bought or transferred from the project. If a project has deficit mass, they need to buy soil from outside of the project and move it with trucks. These transports are usually quite long which means it gets cost inefficient. It also has a negative impact on the climate. If there is excess mass within the project soil needs to be removed with trucks. Municipality sees on contaminated soil in different ways depending on where in Sweden it is placed. This can also affect the length on transports of soil.The purpose of the report is to find a solution of how construction company can do mass management together to find mass balance from a bigger perspective instead of the specific project. Method: The study will be of a qualitative character and been executed with semi- structured interviews and literature search to answer the studies questions. The interviews have been implemented with land contractors in Jönköping. Results and analysis: The study shows that there is some lack in the regulation regarding secondary masses. All municipalities have their own regulation which means that there are different problems depending on where you are located. It takes a long process to reuse masses today which not is economically favorable. The study highlight deficiency that exists today and show suggestions for a more effective mass management. Study shows also that there is an interest for a collective platform where you can buy and sell secondary masses. In that way companies and municipalities can cooperate for a mutual mass management by buying and selling masses from each other. Discussion: Through interviews with contractors in the industry the questioning has been confirmed. The result is based on solution and suggestions which can promote a circular mass management. To answer the questions the study is based on different impression, opinions and aspects.