The overarching objective of this study was the development, validation and testing of an improved watershed modeling framework that accounts for the effects of spatial heterogeneity on overland flow and erosion processes and it is computationally sound for shallow, overland flows with shock waves. Most of the existing soil erosion models determine fluxes of water and sediment with the assumption of a homogeneous hill. In these models the physical and biogeochemical properties of the heterogeneous hill are spatially averaged, without considering roughness and longitudinal curvature effects as well as differences in the land use/land cover -LU/LC- and soil properties along the hill. This issue was addressed by improving the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP-Original version 2010.1) soil erosion model at the hillslope scale to account for the physics in terms of spatial heterogeneity in flow using a well-established shock-capturing numerical scheme. The improved WEPP model, referred to as "WEPP-Improved" model was (i) validated via detailed field experiments within an experimental plot and (ii) tested via generic simulations at the hillslope scale covering a variety of scenarios in terms of topography, LU/LC and soil type. Results showed that the WEPP-Improved model could effectively simulate the unsteadiness of the flow as well as the required time (lag) for the flow rate to reach equilibrium conditions. However, the model provided only a steady-state sediment transport rate and could capture only the equilibrium conditions. Further, the WEPP-Improved model reflected the effects of curvature, LU/LC and soil type on flow, as the model did not treat the hillslope as a homogeneous unit. Based on the generic simulations, landscape variability resulted to differences in the predicted peak runoff rate, Qpeak, between the WEPP-Improved vs. WEPP-Original models ranging ~ 3 - 62 % (avg. 19 %) due to curvature effects only, ~ 17 - 170 % (avg. ~ 66 %) due to added effects of LU/LC variability and ~ 5 % - 200 % (avg. ~ 52 %) due to added effects of soil type variability. The highest reported differences on the predicted Qpeak between the two models were attributed to the formation of the shock waves; these differences were dominant for the low in magnitude storm event and attenuated for the high event. It is believed that if the physical processes are represented accurately at the hillslope scale using the suggested modeling framework, then by utilizing an appropriate routing scheme of the flow and sediment within the stream network, it will be possible to scale-up the flow/sediment routing from the hillslope to the watershed scale without losing the degree of heterogeneity encapsulated from different hillslopes within the drainage network.

No description available.

Suburban Philadelphia is a densely populated region with a history of urbanization and waterway channelization. Situated within the Delaware River watershed, 70% of the region’s stream segments are impaired, primarily due to excess sediment and nutrients. To improve water quality, the Upstream Suburban Philadelphia Cluster of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) established focus areas within the region for targeted implementation of stormwater control measures and community outreach about stormwater management. The focus areas consisted of upstream headwaters to four streams flowing into the Delaware River. The objective of this study was to determine sediment and nutrient concentrations in first flush overland flow (OLF) in three of the DRWI focus areas. Seven sites were selected for collection of OLF, stream, and rain samples. A total of 228 samples from 24 sample locations across 17 storms were collected from the Pennypack Creek, Jenkintown Creek, and Sandy Run watersheds. Samples were analyzed for nitrate (N), total dissolved phosphorous (TDP), total phosphorous (TP), suspended sediment concentration (SSC), and chloride (Cl), and results were compared to catchment metrics including area and land cover. OLF samples showed a wider variability of sediment, chloride, and nutrient concentrations than stream samples, and the stormwater quality varied between catchments with different land cover composition. Higher N correlated with increased road coverage and landscaping applications in vegetated areas. Lower TDP was linked to increased tree canopy, while higher TP was linked to smaller lot sizes. In the stream samples, higher SSC was linked to increased road coverage and smaller building sizes, and higher Cl was linked to nearby impervious surfaces. SSC was often reduced in the OLF samples after flowing downhill or through vegetated patches. Two bioretention basins were sampled at the inlet and outlet. Both basins experienced a decrease in SSC and N at the outlets, showed marginal to poor efficiency for TDP and TP removal, and provided an increase in Cl in outlet. A review of all collected data suggests that land cover and human activity in these watersheds are greater drivers of stormwater quality than rainfall and weather patterns. The data presented in this report has implications for stormwater control. First, this study provides an understanding of local heterogeneities in the distribution of nutrients, sediment, and chloride in stormwater runoff from seemingly similar watersheds in terms of land use. Second, the presented data can be used in projects and models at the headwater scale and the micro-catchment scale to improve planning and monitoring. / Geology

Abstract Best available technology (BAT) should be used for peat extraction runoff purification. One currently used BAT technique is treatment wetland construction on pristine peatland, but under Finnish national strategies, new peat extraction areas should only be established on previously drained peatland and it can be challenging to find natural, intact peatland for treatment wetlands near these areas. This thesis evaluated the function and purification efficiency of treatment wetlands constructed on drained peatland and examined factors that could indicate their purification efficiency. The year-round removal efficiency of treatment wetlands established in drained or pristine peatland areas in a cold climate was also studied. A first study examined the water flow processes in treatment wetlands constructed on drained peatland. In more than 50% of the 20 wetlands studied, the active flow depth was under 20 cm and water distribution was unequal. A second study determined the purification efficiency of treatment wetlands constructed on drained peatland and examined factors indicating removal efficiency. The removal efficiency of suspended solids and inorganic nitrogen was good, but in some wetlands leaching of phosphorus and iron was observed, e.g. due to changes in peat properties, first after drainage and then after rewetting, altering e.g., oxygen conditions in the peat layer. The surface peat content of elements such as phosphorus, iron, aluminum, magnesium, manganese, and calcium can be used as a proxy to assess leaching of phosphorus. A third study examined the year-round purification efficiency of treatment wetlands based on peat extraction load monitoring program values. Seasonal variation in the purification efficiency of constructed wetlands was observed for total nitrogen, ammonium-nitrogen, and chemical oxygen demand (CODMn). Based on these results, it is possible to evaluate the suitability of different drained peatland areas for water purification purposes. Treatment wetlands were shown to generally purify runoff water during winter mainly as well as in other seasons, except for nitrogen and CODMn, but there may be variations between wetlands. / Tiivistelmä Turvetuotannon valumavesien käsittelyssä tulee käyttää parasta saatavilla olevaa käyttökelpoista tekniikkaa, esimerkiksi luonnontilaisille suoalueille rakennettuja pintavalutuskenttiä. Valtakunnallisilla alueidenkäyttöstrategioilla turvetuotantoa ohjataan yhä enemmän jo aiemmin ojitetuille suoalueille. Näiden läheisyydestä ei välttämättä löydy sopivaa ojittamatonta suoaluetta pintavalutuskentän perustamista varten. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten ojitetuille suoalueille rakennetut pintavalutuskentät (kosteikot) toimivat ja puhdistavat valumavesiä sekä mitkä tekijät voivat kuvata niiden toimivuutta. Työssä selvitettiin myös ojittamattomille ja ojitetuille suoalueille rakennettujen pintavalutuskenttien ympärivuotista toimivuutta. Työn ensimmäisessä osassa tutkittiin veden virtausta ojitetulle suoalueille rakennetuilla pintavalutuskentillä. Yli puolella tutkituista pintavalutuskentistä oli havaittavissa, että veden virtauskerros turpeessa oli matala (alle 20 cm) ja vesi jakautui pintavalutuskentälle epätasaisesti. Työn toisessa osassa selvitettiin ojitetuille suoalueille rakennettujen pintavalutuskenttien puhdistustehokkuutta ja sitä indikoivia tekijöitä. Ojitetut pintavalutuskentät puhdistivat hyvin kiintoainetta ja epäorgaanista typpeä, mutta joillakin kohteilla oli havaittavissa fosforin ja raudan huuhtoutumista, mikä johtunee osaltaan kuivatuksen aiheuttamista muutoksista turpeessa ja happiolosuhteiden muutoksista uudelleen vesittämisen jälkeen. Erityisesti fosforin huuhtoumista voitiin alustavasti arvioida pintaturpeen fosfori-, rauta-, alumiini-, magnesium-, mangaani- ja kalsiumpitoisuuksien perusteella. Työn kolmannessa osassa määritettiin olemassa olevan vedenlaatuaineiston avulla pintavalutuskenttien ympärivuotista puhdistustehokkuutta. Selvää vuodenaikaisvaihtelua ei havaittu kokonaistyppeä, ammoniumtyppeä ja kemiallisen hapenkulutuksen (CODMn)-arvoa lukuun ottamatta. Työn tuloksia voidaan käyttää, kun arvioidaan etukäteen ojitettujen suoalueiden soveltuvuutta vedenpuhdistukseen. Kosteikot vaikuttivat pääasiassa typpeä ja CODMn-arvoa lukuun ottamatta olevan yhtä tehokkaita valumavesien puhdistajia myös talvella kuin muina vuodenaikoina, tosin kohteiden välillä oli vaihtelua.

The simple accumulation-based network identification method (ANIM) in a raster Geographic Information System (GIS) posed by O'Callaghan and Mark (1984) has been criticized for producing a spatially uniform drainage density (Tarboton 2002) at the watershed scale. This criticism casts doubt on the use of ANIMs for deriving properties such as overland flow length for nonpoint source pollution models, without calibrating the accumulation threshold value. However, the basic assumption that underlies ANIMs is that convergent topography will yield a more rapid accumulation of cells, and thus, more extensive flow networks, with divergent, or planar terrain yielding sparser networks. Previous studies have focused on networks that are coarser than the hill-slope scale, and have relied upon visual inspection of drainage networks to suggest that ANIMs lack the ability to produce diverse networks. In this study overland flow lengths were calculated on a sub-watershed basis, with standard deviation, and range calculated for sub-watershed populations as a means of quantifying the diversity of overland flow lengths produced by ANIM at the hill slope scale. Linear regression and Spearman ranking analyses were used to determine if the methods represented trends in overland flow length as suggested by manual delineation of contour lines. Three ANIMs were analyzed: the flow accumulation method (O'Callaghan and Mark, 1984), the terrain curvature method (Tarboton, 2000) and the ridge accumulation method (introduced in this study). All three methods were shown to produce non-zero standard deviations and ranges using a single support area threshold, with the terrain curvature method producing the most diverse networks, followed by the ridge accumulation method, and then the flow accumulation method. At an analysis unit size of 20 ha, the terrain curvature method produced a standard deviation that was most similar to those suggested by the contour crenulations, -13.5%, followed by the ridge accumulation method, -21.5%, and the flow accumulation method, -61.6%. The ridge accumulation produced the most similar range, -19.1%, followed by terrain curvature, -24.9%, and flow accumulation, -65.4%. While the flow accumulation networks had a much narrower range of predicted flow lengths, it had the highest Spearman ranking coefficient, Rs=0.722, and linear regression coefficient, R2=0.602. The terrain curvature method was second, Rs=0.641, R2=0.469, and then ridge accumulation, Rs=0.602, R2=0.490. For all methods, as threshold values were varied, areas of dissimilar morphology (as evidenced by the common stream metric stream frequency) experienced changes in overland flow lengths at different rates. This results in an inconsistency in ranking of sub-watersheds at different thresholds. When thresholds were varied to produce average overland flow lengths from 75 m to 150 m, the terrain curvature method showed the lowest incidence of rank change, 16.05%, followed by the ridge accumulation method, 16.73%, then flow accumulation, 25.18%. The results of this investigation suggest that for all three methods, a causal relationship exists between threshold area, underlying morphology, and predicted overland flow length. This causal relationship enables ANIMs to represent contour network trends in overland flow length with a single threshold value, but also results in the introduction of rank change error as threshold values are varied. Calibration of threshold value (varying threshold in order to better match observed overland flow lengths) is an effective means of increasing the accuracy of ANIM predictions, and may be necessary when comparing areas with different stream frequencies. It was shown that the flow accumulation method produces less diverse networks than the terrain curvature and ridge accumulation methods. However, the results of rank and regression analyses suggest that further investigation is required to determine if these more diverse ANIM are in fact more accurate than the flow accumulation method. / Master of Science

Societal developments are associated with land use change, and with urbanization in particular. Urbanization can influence hydrological processes by decreasing evapotranspiration and infiltration as well as by increasing streamflow, peak flow and overland flow. This causes higher risks of flooding. Although several studies have investigated the impacts of urbanization on streamflow over the last decades, less is known about how urbanization affects the hydrological processes in peri-urban areas characterized by a complex mosaic of different land uses. This study aimed to model the impact of land use change, or more specifically urbanization, on the hydrological responses of the small peri-urban Ribeira dos Covões catchment (6.2 km2) located in central Portugal. The catchment has undergone rapid land use change since the mid- 1950s associated with conversion of agricultural fields (decreased from 48 to 4%) into woodland and urban areas, which increased from 44 to 56% and from 8 to 40%, respectively. For the study, the hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE was used. Parameters and data of climate, vegetation and soil types were used as input. There were also land use maps and daily streamflow values available for the hydrological years 2008/09 to 2012/13, which were used to calibrate and validate the model. The statistics from the calibration and validation both indicated that the model simulated the streamflow well. The model was designed to examine both how past land use change might have affected the streamflow, and to investigate the impacts on hydrology if the urban area was to be increased to cover 50% of the catchment. It was not only the importance of the urban cover’s size that was tested, but also the placement of additional urban areas. Three future scenarios were run, all with a 50% urban cover, but distributed differently within the catchment. The study did not indicate that an increase in urbanization leads to higher peak flow or streamflow. Neither could any decrease in infiltration be seen. All three scenarios however gave an increase in overland flow of approximately 10% and a decrease in evapotranspiration by 55%, regardless of where the urban areas were added. The reliability of the models can be enhanced by additional climate, soil and vegetation data. This would improve the results and make them more useful in decision making processes in the planning and management of new urban areas. / Samhällets ständiga utveckling medför förändringar i markanvändning. Utvecklingen och förändringarna är framför allt associerade med urbanisering som kan påverka ett avrinningsområdes hydrologiska processer genom att exempelvis reducera dess evapotranspiration och infiltration samt öka vattenföringen, högsta flödet och ytavrinningen. Det i sin tur ökar risken för översvämning. Trots att många studier har undersökt urbaniseringens inverkan på vattenföring de senaste decennierna saknas viss kunskap om dess påverkan på hydrologin i stadsnära avrinningsområden, kännetecknade av flera olika typer av markanvändning. Denna studie syftade till att modellera hur förändringar i markanvändning, eller mer specifikt urbanisering, påverkar hydrologin i det lilla stadsnära avrinningsområdet Ribeira dos Covões (6,2 km2) i centrala Portugal. Avrinningsområdet har genomgått snabba markanvändningsförändringar sedan mitten av 1950-talet i samband med en omvandling av åkrar (täckningsarean har minskat från 48 till 4 %) till skogsmark och urbaniserade områden, vilkas storlek har ökat från 44 till 56 % respektive 8 till 40 %. För att uppfylla syftet har den hydrologiska modellen MIKE SHE använts. Parametrar avseende klimat samt vegetations- och jordegenskaper användes som indata till modellen. Det fanns också tillgång till en markanvändningskarta över området samt dagliga flödesvärden mellan de hydrologiska åren 2008 och 2013. Dessa användes för att kalibrera och validera modellen. Statistiken för både kalibreringen och valideringen indikerade en fullt acceptabel modell. Modellen var avsedd att undersöka dels hur tidigare förändring i markanvändning kan ha påverkat vattenföringen, dels för att studera effekten på hydrologin om urbaniseringen fortgår tills dess täckning är 50 % av avrinningsområdet. Det var inte bara betydelsen av de urbana ytornas storlek som testades, utan även placeringen av dem. Tre framtidsscenarier togs fram, alla med en urban yta på 50 % fördelad olika inom avrinningsområdet. Studien indikerade inte att ytterligare urbanisering ökar vare sig flödet eller det högsta flödet. Inte heller gav de någon minskning av infiltration. Alla tre scenarierna gav emellertid en ökning av ytavrinningen med cirka 10 % och en minskning av evapotranspirationen med 55 %, oavsett placering av de urbana ytorna. Modellernas tillförlitlighet skulle kunna förbättras med hjälp av ytterligare klimat-, vegetations- och jordindata. Det skulle förbättra resultaten och göra dem användbara i beslutsfattanden vid planering och utveckling av nya urbana områden.

The erosion and transport of fertile topsoil is a serious problem in the U.S., Australia, China and throughout Europe. It results in extensive environmental damage, reduces soil fertility and productivity, and causes significant environmental loss. It is as big a threat to the future sustainability of global populations as climate change, but receives far less attention. With both chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) and biological pathogens (bacteria, viruses) preferentially sorbing to silt and clay sized soil particles, estimating contaminant fluxes in eroded soil also requires predicting the transported soils particle size distribution. The Hairsine-Rose (HR) erosion model is considered in this thesis as it is one of the very few that is specifically designed to incorporate the effect of particle size distribution, and differentiates between non-cohesive previously eroded soil compared with cohesive un-eroded soil. This thesis develops a new extended erosion model that couples the HR approach with the one-dimensional St Venant equations, and an Exner bed evolution equation to allow for feedback effects from changes in the local bed slope on surface hydraulics and erosion rates to be included. The resulting system of 2I +3 (where I = number of particle size classes) nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations is then solved numerically using a Liska-Wendroff predictor corrector finite difference scheme. Approximate analytical solutions and series expansions are derived to overcome singularities in the numerical solutions arising from either boundary or initial conditions corresponding to a zero flow depth. Three separate practical applications of the extended HR model are then considered in this thesis, (i) flow through vegetative buffer strips, (ii) modelling discharge hysteresis loops and (iii) the growth of antidunes, transportational cyclic steps and travelling wave solutions. It is shown by comparison against published experimental flume data that predictions from the extended model are able to closely match measurements of deposited sediment distribution both upstream and within the vegetative buffer strip. The experiments were conducted with supercritical inflow to the flume which due to the increased drag from the vegetative strip, resulted in a hydraulic jump just upstream of the vegetation. As suspended sediment deposited at the jump, this resulted in the jump slowly migrating upstream. The numerical solutions were also able to predict the position and hydraulic jump and the flow depth throughout the flume, including within the vegetative strip, very well. In the second application, it is found that the extended HR model is the first one that can produce all known types of measured hysteresis loops in sediment discharge outlet data. Five main loop types occur (a) clockwise, (b) counter-clockwise, (c,d) figure 8 of both flow orientations and (e) single curve. It is clearly shown that complicated temporal rainfall patterns or bed geometry are not required to developed complicated hysteresis loops, but it is the spatial distribution of previously eroded sediment that remains for the start of a new erosion event, which primarily governs the form of the hysteresis loop. The role of the evolution of the sediment distribution in the deposited layer therefore controls loop shape and behavior. Erosion models that are based solely on suspended sediment are therefore unable to reproduce these hysteretic loops without a priori imposing a hysteretic relationship on the parameterisations of the erosion source terms. The rather surprising result that the loop shape is also dominated by the suspended concentration of the smallest particle size is shown and discussed. In the third application, a linear stability analysis shows that instabilities, antidunes, will grow and propagate upstream under supercritical flow conditions. Numerical simulations are carried out that confirm the stability analysis and show the development and movement of antidunes. For various initial parameter configurations a series of travelling antidunes, or transportational cyclic steps, separated by hydraulic jumps are shown to develop and evolve to a steady form and wave speed. Two different forms arise whereby (a) the deposited layer completely shields the underlying original cohesive soil so that the cohesive layer plays no role in the speed or shape of the wave profile or (b) the cohesive soil is exposed along the back of the wave such that both the non-cohesive and cohesive layers affect the wave profile. Under (a) the solutions are obtained up to an additive constant as the actual location of the boundary of the cohesive soil is not required, whereas for (b) this constant must be determined in order to find the location on the antidune from where the cohesive soil becomes accessible. For single size class soils the leading order travelling wave equations are fairly straightforward to obtain for both cases (a) and (b). However for multi-size class soils, this becomes much more demanding as up to 2I + 3 parameters must be found iteratively to define the solution as each size class has its own wave profile in suspension and in the antidune.

As florestas nativas desempenham papel importante nos processos hidrológicoas, como regulação e provisão de água ao longo do ano. As mudanças do uso do solo, e o manejo intensivo das florestas plantadas podem causar efeitos sobre essas funções hidrológicas. As atividades de manejo do solo podem afetar os tipos de mecanismos de geração de escoamento superficial, o escoamento hortoniano, o escoamento superficial de áreas saturadas e o escoamento sub-superficial, o que por consequência afeta a disponibilidade de água em quantidade e qualidade. Diante disso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a geração de escoamento direto em microbacias hidrográficas com coberturas florestais. Sendo que, o segundo capítulo teve como objetivo avaliar o regime hidrológico e os tipos de mecanismos de geração de escoamento superficial em microbacia hidrográfica coberta por floresta nativa e em microbacia hidrográfica coberta por floresta plantada de Pinus spp. Na microbacia com floresta plantada de Pinus spp. a demanda hídrica foi alta, com rendimento hídrico menor que 10%. E mesmo com as atividades de manejo do solo, as propriedades do solo foram mantidas e o escoamento base foi maior e apresentou baixo coeficiente de escoamento. A microbacia coberta por floresta nativa apresentou rendimento hídrico acima de 10%, com índice de escoamento base maior que o escoamento direto, porém apresentou um maior coeficiente de escoamento. O que pode ter ocorrido devido às características físicas e pedológicas da área, relevo íngreme e solo com textura franca. Os resultados de condutividade hidráulica do solo saturado foram maiores que a intensidade da precipitação nas duas microbacias hidrográficas, mostrando que não é para ocorrer escoamento superficial hortoniano. Assim ocorreu predomínio de escoamento direto por meio do mecanismo de escoamento superficial de áreas saturadas. No terceiro capítulo foram avaliadas metodologias de caracterização das áreas variáveis de afluência nas duas microbacias hidrográficas. A metodologia da frequência de saturação se mostrou um método eficaz, em que as áreas variáveis de afluência ocorreram em 18,5% e 13,2%, na microbacia com floresta plantada de Pinus e na microbacia com floresta nativa, respectivamente. Já o método da relação escoamento direto-precipitação subestimou a área variável de afluência na microbacia com floresta plantada de Pinus, mas na microbacia com floresta nativa a quantidade de área foi semelhante. Os resultados demostraram que, mesmo com manejo florestal os processos hidrológicos estão ocorrendo na microbacia com floresta plantada de Pinus. E o planejamento florestal deve considerar ocorrência das áreas saturadas nas áreas de plantio e evitar atividades na época chuvosa e a construção de estradas nessas áreas. / Native forest plays an important role in hydrological process, such as regulation and provision of water, however land-use change, and intensive management of planted forest can modify the hydrological functions. Soil management can affect types of overland flow generation mechanism, the infiltration excess overland flow or Hortonian flow and the saturation excess overland flow, which consequently affects the availability of water in quantity and quality. The objective of this work was to understand the generation of overland flow in catchments with forest cover. In the second chapter, the aim was to characterize hydrologically and to understand the types of overland flow mechanism in a catchment covered by forest plantation of Pinus and in a catchment covered by native forest. In the catchment covered by forest plantation of Pinus, the water demand was high, with water yield lower than 10%. And even with the soil management, the soil properties were maintained, and the base flow was higher, and the flow coefficient was lower. The catchment covered by native forest presented high water yield, with base flow higher than the overland flow, but presented a high flow coefficient. This may have occurred due to the physical and pedological characteristics of the area, such as steep terrain and the frank soil. The soil saturated hydraulic conductivity was higher than the precipitation intensity in the two catchments, showing that the Hortonian overland flow does not occur, thus, to occur the saturation excess overland flow mechanism. In the third chapter, the aim of the work was to evaluate methodologies for characterizing the variable source areas in the two catchments. The saturation frequency methodology showed an effective method, the variable source area occurred in 18,5% of the forest plantation of Pinus catchments area, and 13,2% of the total area of the native forest catchment. The overland flow-precipitation ratio underestimated the saturated areas in the forest plantation of Pinus catchment, however in the native forest catchment the amount of saturated areas was similar. The results showed that the forest management does not affected the hydrological process in the catchment with forest plantation of Pinus. And the forest management planning should consider the occurrence of saturated areas in the planting areas and to avoid activities in the rainy season and the construction of roads in these areas.

Poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) is a group of more than 5000 different substances, of which all consist of a fluorinated carbon chain resulting in a strong bond. Most of these substances are shown to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic for both humans and the environment. Furthermore, PFASs are used in a variety of products such as coatings of textiles, firefighting foam and food packaging, which all pose as potential sources of PFASs in the environment. Present studies have found leachate to be one of the largest sources of PFASs in the environment. Therefore, research on possible removal techniques for PFASs in leachate is required. This study focuses on overland flow areas and their potential to remediate PFASs in leachate. The occurrence of PFASs in incoming and outgoing water was examined at four waste facilities in Sweden, as well as the concentrations in soil and plants upstream and downstream. Water samples were collected once a day for five days. Plant and soil samples were collected once, distributing the samples over the upstream and downstream area and investigating possible mechanisms for PFAS uptake as well as the spatial variation of PFAS uptake.  The samples were then analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) at a commercial laboratory (Eurofins). The analysis showed a significant increase in the concentration of PFAS11 in the leachate after the overland flow area at one of the facilities. At the other three facilities, the analysis presented no significant changes in PFAS11 concentrations. Concentrations of all 11 PFASs were detected in the leachate at three out of four facilities. PFCAs were the dominating group. Furthermore, all 11 PFASs were detected in the majority of the soil samples, where PFOS was the dominating substance due to its relatively long carbon chain and high distribution coefficient. Plant samples from the facilities had high concentrations of PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA and 6:2 FTS, which may be explained by their short carbon chain and hydrophilic features. This study also showed a significant variation in emissions of PFASs between the facilities. However, relatively high emissions of PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA and PFOA were detected at all facilities. An estimation of overland flow areas as a removal technique for PFASs in leachate, by harvesting the plant biomass, showed a potential removal of 0,03-0,3 %, which does not motivate an expansion of the current overland flow areas at these facilities. / Poly- och perfluorerade alkylsubstanser (PFAS) är en grupp på över 5000 olikaämnen. Gemensamt för alla PFAS är att de består av en fluorerad kolkedja, vilket ger upphov till en mycket stark bindning. Alla dessa ämnen är mer eller mindre persistenta, bioackumulerande och toxiska för människor och miljön. De når miljön från flera olika källor, så som exempelvis impregnering i textilprodukter, brandsläckningsskum och livsmedelsförpackningar. Studier har visat att lakvatten kan vara en av de största källorna till PFAS i miljön idag, vilket motiverar en undersökning av reningsmöjligheter för PFAS i lakvatten. I denna studie har översilningsytors potential som reningsmetod för PFAS i lakvatten undersökts. Provtagning har skett vid fyra avfallsanläggningar i Sverige, där inkommande samt utgående vatten vid översilningsytan har provtagits. Vattenproverna togs som ett samlingsprov över fem dagar. Även växt- och jordprov har tagits som samlingsprov vid inlopp respektive utlopp vid ytan vid ett tillfälle, för att undersöka var och hur avskiljningen av PFAS sker.  Proverna har sedan analyserats med Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) vid ett kommersiellt laboratorium (Eurofins). Resultatet av denna analys visade på en tydlig ökning av PFAS11 i lakvattnet efter översilningsytorna vid en av anläggningarna. Vid de tre resterande anläggningarna detekterades ingen tydlig skillnad. Vid tre av fyra avfallsanläggningar detekterades halter av samtliga 11 PFAS i lakvattnet, där PFCA-ämnen var den dominerande gruppen. I majoriteten av jordproverna från anläggningarna hittades halter av samtliga 11 PFAS. Samtliga jordprov domineras av PFOS. Detta förklaras av dess långa kolkedja och höga Kd-värde (fördelningskoefficient), vilket gör att PFOS ackumuleras i jord. Analysen av växtprov från anläggningarna visar på höga halter PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA och 6:2 FTS, vilket kan förklaras av deras korta kolkedja, vilket gör dem mer hydrofila och därmed mer mobila i växter. I studien visades även att stora variationer i utsläppta mängder PFAS finns mellan olika avfallsanläggningar. Ett relativt högt massflöde av PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA och PFOA kunde dock ses vid samtliga anläggningar. En uppskattning av översilningsytornas potential att rena lakvatten från PFAS genom skörd av biomassa visar på en potentiell avskiljning på 0,03-0,3 %, vilket ej motiverar en uppskalning av anläggningarnas översilningsytor.

<p>The coupled transport of water and heat, involving freezing and thawing, in the road structure and its immediate environment is important to consider for optimal design and maintenance of roads and when assessing solute transport, of e.g. de-icing salt, from roads. The objective of this study was to develop mechanistic models, and measurement techniques, suitable to describe and understand water flow and heat flux in road structures exposed to a cold climate. </p><p>Freezing and thawing was accounted for by implementing new routines in two numerical models (HYDRUS1D/2D). The sensitivity of the model output to changes in parameter values and operational hydrological data was investigated by uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The effect of rainfall event characteristics and asphalt fractures on the subsurface flow pattern was investigated by scenario modelling. The performance of water content reflectometers (WCR), measuring water content, was evaluated using measurements in two road structure materials. A numerical model was used to simulate WCR sensor response. The freezing/thawing routines were stable and provided results in agreement with laboratory measurements. Frost depth, thawing period, and freezing-induced water redistribution in a model road was greatly affected by groundwater level and type of subgrade. The simulated subsurface flow patterns corresponded well with published field observations. A new method was successful in enabling the application of time domain reflectometer (TDR) calibration equations to WCR output. The observed distortion in sampling volume for one of the road materials could be explained by the WCR sensor numerical model. Soil physical, hydrological, and hydraulic modules proved successful in simulating the coupled transport of water and heat in and on the road structure. It was demonstrated in this thesis that numerical models can improve the interpretation and explanation of measurements. The HYDRUS model was an accurate and pedagogical tool, clearly useful in road design and management.</p>