Schwerpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit war die Erstellung, Anpassung und Anwendung einer Methode, die es über die Quantifizierung gebildeter OH-Radikale ermöglicht, sowohl den Einfluss verschiedener Materialmodifikationen (physikalisch dotierte Nanokatalysatoren bzw. Biokompositmaterialien) als auch die Auswirkungen von Matrixbestandteilen oder hydrochemischen Randbedingungen auf die photokatalytische Effizienz der Materialien zu untersuchen. Zudem wurde angestrebt, dass sich die Anwendbarkeit der Methode nicht nur auf die Photokatalyse beschränkt, sondern auch auf andere AOPs ausgeweitet werden kann. Des Weiteren wurde über die Umsetzung der Modellspurenstoffe Carbamazepin und Diclofenac die Wirksamkeit der Katalysatormaterialien untersucht. Anhand von Versuchen im Labormaßstab werden unter Anwendung der entsprechenden Methode zur Quantifizierung der OH-Radikale bisherige zugrundeliegende Hypothesen zur photokatalytischen Erzeugung von OH-Radikalen (Einfluss von pH und Oberfläche) überprüft und modifiziert. Dabei werden neue Ansätze zur Oberflächenabhängigkeit der OH-Radikalbildung in AOPs (EAOP Diamantelektrode, UV/VUV), die Effizienz von UV/VUV im Vergleich zu UVA-Photokatalyse, die Anwendung von S-Layer-Proteinen in photokatalytischen Biokompositmaterialien sowie eine photokatalytische Umsetzung von Carbamazepin unter Nutzung neuartiger Katalysatoren und Sonnenlicht untersucht. Mit Hilfe der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse ist es möglich, photokatalytisch aktive Materialien über die OH-Radikalbildungskapazität, als Basisprozess einer photokatalytischen Eliminierung von pharmazeutischen Wirkstoffen aus Wässern, mit Hinblick auf ihre Effizienz und Haltbarkeit zu untersuchen. Daneben bietet das erstellte Konzept zur analytischen Anwendung der OH-Radikalbestimmung neben der Gelegenheit für interessante Vergleiche diverser AOP-Systeme auch die Möglichkeit einer Charakterisierung und Optimierung der einzelnen AOPs. Zudem konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Anwendung von nano-Biokompositmaterialien unter Verwendung von S-Layer-Protein zur Herstellung multifunktionaler photokatalytischer Beschichtungen vielversprechend ist. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit unterstreichen, dass die analytische Erfassung von Transformationsprodukten aus photokatalytischen bzw. oxidativen Umsetzungen im Allgemeinen von großer Bedeutung ist, jedoch allein nicht ausreicht, um hinreichend sichere Aussagen über eine mögliche Gefährdung für Mensch bzw. Ökosystem zu erhalten. / The current work was focused on the preparation, adaption and application of an analytical method for the determination of OH radicals for the comparison of the activity of different photocatalytic materials in relation to the material modification (i.e. physically doped nanomaterials or biocomposite materials) and the composition of the water matrix. Furthermore, the application of the OH radical assay should be extended on other AOPs. The degradation of the model compounds carbamazepine and diclofenac was examined to determine the efficiency of the novel photocatalysts. By using appropriate OH radical assays in laboratory scale experiments, present hypotheses in relation to the photocatalytic formation of OH radicals (i.e. influence of pH or surface) were examined and modified. New approaches on the formation of OH radicals with respect to the surface within AOPs (EAOP diamond electrodes or UV/VUV), the efficiency of UV/VUV in relation to photocatalysis using UVA irradiation, the application of S-layer proteins in biocomposite materials and the photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine applying novel photocatalysts and natural sunlight were examined. Based upon the findings, it was possible to compare photocatalytic materials regarding efficiency and stability by means of the capacity to form OH radicals as the base process for the oxidative degradation of pharmaceutical trace compounds. The analytical concept offers the possibility to compare different AOPs and to characterize or optimize a single AOP. Furthermore, it was shown that the implementation of nanoscale biocomposite materials using S-layer proteins for the preparation of multi-functional coatings for photocatalytic applications is promising. In addition, the current work confirmed that the examination of transformation products of photocatalytic treatment processes or other oxidative reactions is very important. However, the analytical characterization alone is not sufficient to predict potential hazards to human health or the ecosystem with adequate reliability.

Karst aquifers are characterized by highly conductive conduit flow paths embedded in a less conductive fissured and fractured matrix resulting in strong permeability contrasts with structured heterogeneity and anisotropy. Groundwater storage occurs predominantly in the fissured matrix. Hence, most karst models assume quasi steady-state flow in conduits neglecting conduit associated drainable storage (CADS). The concept of CADS considers storage volumes, where karst water is not part of the active flow system but rather hydraulically connected to conduits (for example karstic voids and large fractures). The disregard of conduit storage can be inappropriate when direct water abstraction from karst conduits occurs, e.g. large scale pumping. In such cases, CADS may be relevant. Furthermore, the typical fixed head boundary condition at the karst outlet can be inadequate for water abstraction scenarios because unhampered water inflow is possible. The objective of this paper is to analyze the significance of CADS and flow-limited boundary conditions on the hydraulic behavior of karst aquifers in water abstraction scenarios. To this end, the numerical hybrid model MODFLOW-2005 Conduit Flow Process Mode 1 (CFPM1) is enhanced to account for CADS. Additionally, a fixed-head limited-flow (FHLQ) boundary condition is added that limits inflow from constant head boundaries to a user-defined threshold. The affect and proper functioning of these modifications is demonstrated by simplified model studies. Both enhancements, CAD storage and the FHLQ boundary, are shown to be useful for water abstraction scenarios within karst aquifers. An idealized representation of a large-scale pumping test in a karst conduit is used to demonstrate that the enhanced CFPM1 is potentially able to adequately represent water abstraction processes in both the conduits and the matrix of real karst systems.

Der Einsatz von hydrologischen Modellen zur Unterstützung von Planung und Betrieb von Entwässerungssystemen ist als Stand der Technik anzusehen. Realitätsnahe und sichere Modellergebnisse stellen dabei die Grundlage für eine zielgerichtete Entscheidungsfindung dar. Nur durch eine Kalibrierung können Parameter von konzeptionellen Modellen zur Berechnung des Niederschlag-Abfluss-Prozesses an die Randbedingungen des zu simulierenden technischen oder natürlichen Systems angepasst werden. Auch wenn die Kalibrierung eines Modells entscheidend zur Erhöhung der Realitätsnähe beiträgt, kann diese durch unterschiedliche Faktoren beeinflusst werden. Dies ist darauf zurückzuführen, dass bei hydrologischen Modellen nicht ausschließlich deterministische Gleichungen mit physikalisch basierten Parametern eingesetzt werden. Wesentliche Einflussfaktoren auf die Kalibrierung von urbanhydrologischen Modellen sind die gewählte Modellstruktur, die Eingangsdaten, die Kalibrierdaten, die Auswahl von Kalibrierereignissen sowie die eigentliche Kalibriermethodik. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden die Einflüsse der Kalibrierdaten, der Auswahl von Ereignissen und der Kalibriermethodik auf die Ergebnisse der automatischen Kalibrierung mittels multikriterieller Optimierungsverfahren untersucht.

Urban wet weather discharge impairs the receiving water and sediment quality. Among other factors, particulate matter plays a role. It increases the suspended sediment load of the receiving water and may thus enhance the clogging of the bed sediment which serves as an important river habitat. This thesis investigates how much urban areas may contribute to the fine sediment and associated element load which is retarded by the bed sediment. It is based on an extensive field study. The study area was the Bode River, a mid-sized stream in Central Germany. About 10 km upstream of the river mouth, the sampling campaign took place close to Staßfurt, a town of 20’000. During the sampling campaign, the intrusion of fine sediment into the bed sediment was captured by sediment traps. Furthermore three possible sources of this fine sediment were sampled. Within the Town of Staßfurt, we sampled urban wet weather discharge at three sites to capture urban areas. As second source naturally occurring fine sediment was considered. Therefore we took sediment cores upstream of the Town of Staßfurt. As third source, the impact of the upstream catchment was captured by taking suspended sediment samples. For all sample types, particle-bound element contents were determined to establish element patterns of the receptor and the source sites. The rationale thereby is that the element pattern at the receptor sites results from the element patterns of the sources. Consequently the contribution of the sources can be calculated by mixing models. In the study area, particulate matter from urban areas is distinct from river borne fine sediment due to elevated copper, zinc, nitrogen and phosphorus contents. We conducted an in-depth analysis of this element pattern by a cluster analysis. It revealed that the particle-bound element pattern is source specific whereby nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon are related to sewage and behave differently than most metals such as copper which mainly originate from surface runoff. The degree to which element patterns agree from site to site is limited by the variability encountered within sample sets from individual sites. Thereby the variability of the element pattern depends on the complexity of the catchment. The contribution of urban areas to fine sediment and associated elements which were captured by sediment traps was calculated by a mixing model. Based on this mixing model, about 10% of the fine sediment originate from urban areas. Thereby the impact of the Town of Staßfurt could not be detected leading to the conclusion that upstream urban areas contribute most. Because of the elevated content of e.g. copper and zinc, urban areas contribute up to 40% and thus disproportionally high to particle-associated copper and zinc load. The source apportionment of the fine sediment is little influenced by the elements considered in the mixing model. Different element patterns showed that the median contribution of urban areas ranges from 0 – 20%. This lies within the interquartile range of the initial mixing model. Another result of the measurement campaign ist that sediment traps over-estimated the anthropogenic impact because they did not resemble the surrounding bed sediment. When they were exposed, they were completely free from fine sediment and hence served as sink of suspended sediment. During the sampling campaign, one source was not directly taken into account. It was possible, though, to delineate this source by nonnegative matrix factorization. Within the Town of Staßfurt, a soda ash production site discharges into the Bode River. The nonnegative matrix factorization uncovered that the soda ash production site is a major source of particulate matter and contributes up to 30% of the fine sediment captured by the traps downstream of the Town of Staßfurt. This source dilutes most element contents as it mainly consists of carbonates. This was revealed by studying the element binding according to the BCR extraction scheme. This thesis shows that urban areas may be a major source of particulate matter and especially associated elements retarded by the bed sediment. It shows that the element contents form a viable pattern to calculate how much urban areas contribute to fine sediment by mixing models. The thesis further shows that nonnegative matrix factorization is a viable tool to delineate such a distinct source as soda ash production site. / Misch- und Regenwasserentlastungen beeinträchtigen die Qualität von Vorflutgewässern. Unter anderem gelangt Feinsediment während Entlastungsereignissen in Vorflutgewässer. Dieses erhöht die Fracht an suspendiertem Sediment und verstärkt die Kolmatierung der Gewässersohle. Damit ist das hyporheische Interstitial, das ein wichtiges Fließgewässerhabitat ist, vom Eintrag von Feinsediment betroffen. Diese Arbeit untersucht, wie sehr urbane Flächen zur Feinsedimentfracht und zur Fracht von partikulär gebundenen Elementen beitragen können, die im Bettsediment zurückgehalten werden. Sie beruht auf einer umfangreichen Messkampagne. Das Untersuchungsgebiet dafür war die Bode, ein mittelgroßer Fluss in Mitteldeutschland. Etwa 10 km flussaufwärts der Mündung fand die Messkampagne nahe der Kleinstadt Staßfurt statt. Im Rahmen dieser Messkampagne haben wir den Eintrag von Feinsediment in das Bettsediment durch Sedimentkörbe erfasst. Drei Quellen dieses Feinsediments haben wir berücksichtigt. In Staßfurt wurden eine Regen- und zwei Mischwassereinleitungen beprobt, um urbane Flächen zu erfassen. Als zweite Quelle wurde natürlich vorkommendes Feinsediment berücksichtigt. Dafür haben wir Sedimentkerne flussaufwärts von Staßfurt genommen. Als dritte Quelle haben wir das stromaufwärts liegende Einzugsgebiet erfasst, indem wir das suspendierte Sediment beprobt haben. Für alle Proben wurde der Elementgehalt bestimmt, um das Elementmuster des Feinsediments, das ins Bettsediment eingetragen wurde, und der Quellen zu ermitteln. Der Grund für diese Messstrategie war, dass das Elementmuster des Feinsediments in den Körben aus den Elementmustern der Quellen, Regen- bzw. Mischwassereinleitungen, natürlich vorkommendes Feinsediment und suspendiertes Sediment aus dem Einzugsgebiet, resultieren sollte. Damit ist es möglich, den Beitrag über Mischungsmodelle zu berechnen. Im Untersuchungsgebiet unterscheidet sich das Feinsediment, das von urbanen Flächen stammt, von dem flussbürtigen Feinsediment aufgrund erhöhter Kupfer-, Zink-, Stickstoff- und Phosphorgehalte. Wir haben das Elementmuster der urbanen Flächen mit einer Clusteranalyse genauer untersucht. Dies ergab, dass das partikulär gebundene Elementmuster quellenspezifisch ist, wobei sich Stickstoff, Phosphor und Kohlenstoff Abwasser zuordnen lassen, während die meisten Metalle wie Kupfer und Zink hauptsächlich aus dem Oberflächenabfluss stammen. Das Maß, zu dem die Muster von Messpunkt zu Messpunkt übereinstimmen, wird durch die Variabilität beschränkt, die die Proben eines Messpunktes aufweisen. Diese Variabilität hängt dabei von der Komplexität des Einzugsgebiets ab. Über eine Mischungsrechnung konnten wir berechnen, wie viel urbane Flächen zur Fracht von Feinsediment und daran gebundenen Elementen in den Sedimentkörben beitrugen. Im Untersuchungsgebiet stammen etwa 10 % des Feinsediments, das durch die Sedimentkörbe aufgefangen wurde, von urbanen Flächen. Der Beitrag der Stadt Staßfurt konnte dabei aber nicht von dem Beitrag weiter flussaufwärts gelegener urbaner Gebiete getrennt werden. Daraus folgt, dass weiter stromaufwärts liegende Gebiete mehr beitragen als Staßfurt. Wegen des erhöhten Gehalts an z.B. Kupfer und Zink tragen urbane Flächen ca. 40 % und damit überproportional hoch zur partikulär gebundenen Kupfer- und Zinkfracht bei. Für die Berechung des Quellenbeitrags zum Feinsediment spielt es keine große Rolle, welche Elemente in der Mischungsrechnung berücksichtigt werden. Verschiedene Elementmuster ergeben, dass der Medianbeitrag urbaner Flächen zwischen 0 und 20 % liegt. Dies entspricht dem Interquartilsabstand der ursprünglichen Mischungsrechnung. Ein weiteres Resultat der Untersuchungen ist, dass die Sedimentkörbe den anthropogenen Einfluss überschätzten, weil sie das umgebende Bettsediment nicht exakt abbildeten und als Falle funktionierten. Innerhalb Staßfurts gibt es ein Sodawerk, das seine Produktionsabwässer in die Bode einleitet. Während der Messkampagne wurde diese Quelle nicht direkt erfasst. Es war trotzdem möglich, diese Quelle durch nicht-negative Matrix-Faktorisierung zu identifizieren. Die nicht-negative Matrix-Faktorisierung ergab, dass das Abwasser des Sodawerks eine Hauptquelle des Feinsediments der Bode ist. Bis zu 30 % des Feinsediments in den Sedimentkörben flussabwärts von Staßfurt lassen sich dem Sodawerk zuordnen. Dieses Feinsediment besteht hauptsächlich aus Karbonaten und verdünnt die meisten Elementgehalte. Dies wurde deutlich, indem die Elementbindungen nach dem BCR Extraktionsschema untersucht wurden. Diese Arbeit zeigt die Relevanz, die urbane Flächen als Quelle von Feinsediment und daran gebundener Elementfracht haben, die ins Interstitial eingetragen werden. Sie zeigt, dass die Elementgehalte ein Muster bilden, mit dem es möglich ist, über eine Mischungsrechnung zu klären, wie viel urbane Flächen zum Feinsediment beitragen. Die Arbeit zeigt ferner, dass nicht-negative Matrix-Faktorisierung ermöglicht, eine so charakteristische Quelle wie ein Sodawerk zu identifizieren.

The primary objective of wastewater treatment is the removal of pollutants to meet given legal effluent standards. To further reduce operators costs additional recovery of resources and energy is desired by industrial and municipal wastewater treatment. Hence the objective in early stage of planning of treatment facilities lies in the identification and evaluation of promising configurations of treatment units. Obviously this early stage of planning may best be supported by software tools to be able to deal with a variety of different treatment configurations. In chemical process engineering various design tools are available that automatically identify feasible process configurations for the purpose to obtain desired products from given educts. In contrast, the adaptation of these design tools for the automatic generation of treatment unit configurations (process chains) to achieve preset effluent standards is hampered by the following three reasons. First, pollutants in wastewater are usually not defined as chemical substances but by compound parameters according to equal properties (e.g. all particulate matter). Consequently the variation of a single compound parameter leads to a change of related parameters (e.g. relation between Chemical Oxygen Demand and Total Suspended Solids). Furthermore, mathematical process models of treatment processes are tailored towards fractions of compound parameters. This hampers the generic representation of these process models which in turn is essential for automatic identification of treatment configurations. Second, treatment technologies for wastewater treatment rely on a variety of chemical, biological, and physical phenomena. Approaches to mathematically describe these phenomena cover a wide range of modeling techniques including stochastic, conceptual or deterministic approaches. Even more the consideration of temporal and spatial resolutions differ. This again hampers a generic representation of process models. Third, the automatic identification of treatment configurations may either be achieved by the use of design rules or by permutation of all possible combinations of units stored within a database of treatment units. The first approach depends on past experience translated into design rules. Hence, no innovative new treatment configurations can be identified. The second approach to identify all possible configurations collapses by extremely high numbers of treatment configurations that cannot be mastered. This is due to the phenomena of combinatorial explosion. It follows therefrom that an appropriate planning algorithm should function without the need of additional design rules and should be able to identify directly feasible configurations while discarding those impractical. This work presents a planning tool for the identification and evaluation of treatment configurations that tackles the before addressed problems. The planning tool comprises two major parts. An external declarative knowledge base and the actual planning tool that includes a goal oriented planning algorithm. The knowledge base describes parameters for wastewater characterization (i.e. material model) and a set of treatment units represented by process models (i.e. process model). The formalization of the knowledge base is achieved by the Web Ontology Language (OWL). The developed data model being the organization structure of the knowledge base describes relations between wastewater parameters and process models to enable for generic representation of process models. Through these parameters for wastewater characterization as well as treatment units can be altered or added to the knowledge base without the requirement to synchronize already included parameter representations or process models. Furthermore the knowledge base describes relations between parameters and properties of water constituents. This allows to track changes of all wastewater parameters which result from modeling of removal efficiency of applied treatment units. So far two generic treatment units have been represented within the knowledge base. These are separation and conversion units. These two raw types have been applied to represent different types of clarifiers and biological treatment units. The developed planning algorithm is based on a Means-Ends Analysis (MEA). This is a goal oriented search algorithm that posts goals from wastewater state and limit value restrictions to select those treatment units only that are likely to solve the treatment problem. Regarding this, all treatment units are qualified according to postconditions that describe the effect of each unit. In addition, units are also characterized by preconditions that state the application range of each unit. The developed planning algorithm furthermore allows for the identification of simple cycles to account for moving bed reactor systems (e.g. functional unit of aeration tank and clarifier). The evaluation of identified treatment configurations is achieved by total estimated cost of each configuration. The planning tool has been tested on five use cases. Some use cases contained multiple sources and sinks. This showed the possibility to identify water reuse capabilities as well as to identify solutions that go beyond end of pipe solutions. Beyond the originated area of application, the planning tool may be used for advanced interrogations. Thereby the knowledge base and planning algorithm may be further developed to address the objectives to identify configurations for any type of material and energy recovery.

There is a great deal of uncertainty in hydrogeological modeling. Overparametrized models increase uncertainty since the information of the observations is distributed through all of the parameters. The present study proposes a new option to reduce this uncertainty. A way to achieve this goal is to select a model which provides good performance with as few calibrated parameters as possible (parsimonious model) and to calibrate it using many sources of information. Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC), proposed by Hirotugu Akaike in 1973, is a statistic-probabilistic criterion based on the Information Theory, which allows us to select a parsimonious model. AIC formulates the problem of parsimonious model selection as an optimization problem across a set of proposed conceptual models. The AIC assessment is relatively new in groundwater modeling and it presents a challenge to apply it with different sources of observations. In this dissertation, important findings in the application of AIC in hydrogeological modeling using different sources of observations are discussed. AIC is tested on ground-water models using three sets of synthetic data: hydraulic pressure, horizontal hydraulic conductivity, and tracer concentration. In the present study, the impact of the following factors is analyzed: number of observations, types of observations and order of calibrated parameters. These analyses reveal not only that the number of observations determine how complex a model can be but also that its diversity allows for further complexity in the parsimonious model. However, a truly parsimonious model was only achieved when the order of calibrated parameters was properly considered. This means that parameters which provide bigger improvements in model fit should be considered first. The approach to obtain a parsimonious model applying AIC with different types of information was successfully applied to an unbiased lysimeter model using two different types of real data: evapotranspiration and seepage water. With this additional independent model assessment it was possible to underpin the general validity of this AIC approach. / Hydrogeologische Modellierung ist von erheblicher Unsicherheit geprägt. Überparametrisierte Modelle erhöhen die Unsicherheit, da gemessene Informationen auf alle Parameter verteilt sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit schlägt einen neuen Ansatz vor, um diese Unsicherheit zu reduzieren. Eine Möglichkeit, um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, besteht darin, ein Modell auszuwählen, das ein gutes Ergebnis mit möglichst wenigen Parametern liefert („parsimonious model“), und es zu kalibrieren, indem viele Informationsquellen genutzt werden. Das 1973 von Hirotugu Akaike vorgeschlagene Informationskriterium, bekannt als Akaike-Informationskriterium (engl. Akaike’s Information Criterion; AIC), ist ein statistisches Wahrscheinlichkeitskriterium basierend auf der Informationstheorie, welches die Auswahl eines Modells mit möglichst wenigen Parametern erlaubt. AIC formuliert das Problem der Entscheidung für ein gering parametrisiertes Modell als ein modellübergreifendes Optimierungsproblem. Die Anwendung von AIC in der Grundwassermodellierung ist relativ neu und stellt eine Herausforderung in der Anwendung verschiedener Messquellen dar. In der vorliegenden Dissertation werden maßgebliche Forschungsergebnisse in der Anwendung des AIC in hydrogeologischer Modellierung unter Anwendung unterschiedlicher Messquellen diskutiert. AIC wird an Grundwassermodellen getestet, bei denen drei synthetische Datensätze angewendet werden: Wasserstand, horizontale hydraulische Leitfähigkeit und Tracer-Konzentration. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert den Einfluss folgender Faktoren: Anzahl der Messungen, Arten der Messungen und Reihenfolge der kalibrierten Parameter. Diese Analysen machen nicht nur deutlich, dass die Anzahl der gemessenen Parameter die Komplexität eines Modells bestimmt, sondern auch, dass seine Diversität weitere Komplexität für gering parametrisierte Modelle erlaubt. Allerdings konnte ein solches Modell nur erreicht werden, wenn eine bestimmte Reihenfolge der kalibrierten Parameter berücksichtigt wurde. Folglich sollten zuerst jene Parameter in Betracht gezogen werden, die deutliche Verbesserungen in der Modellanpassung liefern. Der Ansatz, ein gering parametrisiertes Modell durch die Anwendung des AIC mit unterschiedlichen Informationsarten zu erhalten, wurde erfolgreich auf einen Lysimeterstandort übertragen. Dabei wurden zwei unterschiedliche reale Messwertarten genutzt: Evapotranspiration und Sickerwasser. Mit Hilfe dieser weiteren, unabhängigen Modellbewertung konnte die Gültigkeit dieses AIC-Ansatzes gezeigt werden.

Current research concentrates on ways to investigate and improve water productivity (WP), as agriculture is today’s predominant freshwater consumer, averaging at 70% and reaching up to 93% in some regions. A growing world population will require more food and thus more water for cultivation. Regions that are already affected by physical water scarcity and which depend on irrigation for growing crops will face even greater challenges regarding their water supply. Other problems in such regions are a variable water supply, inefficient irrigation practices, and over-pumping of available groundwater resources with other adverse effects on the ecosystem. To face those challenges, strategies are needed that use the available water resources more efficiently and allow farming in a more sustainable way. This work focused on the management of sensor-based deficit irrigation (DI) systems and improvements of WP through a combined approach of simulation-optimization and irrigation experiments. In order to improve irrigation control, a new sensor called pF-meter was employed, which extended the measurement range of the commonly used tensiometers from pF 2.9 to pF 7. The following research questions were raised: (i) Is this approach a suitable strategy to improve WP; (ii) Is the sensor for irrigation control suitable; (iii) Which crop growth models are suitable to be part of that approach; and (iv) Can the combined application with experiments prove an increase of WP? The stochastic simulation-optimization approach allowed deriving parameter values for an optimal irrigation control for sensor-based full and deficit irrigation strategies. Objective was to achieve high WP with high reliability. Parameters for irrigation control included irrigation thresholds of soil-water potentials because of the working principle behind plant transpiration where pressure gradients are transmitted from the air through the plant and into the root zone. Optimal parameter values for full and deficit irrigation strategies were tested in irrigation experiments in containers in a vegetation hall with drip irrigated maize and compared to schedule-based irrigation strategies with regard to WP and water consumption. Observation data from one of the treatments was used afterwards in a simulation study to systematically investigate the parameters for implementing effective setups of DI systems. The combination of simulation-optimization and irrigation experiments proved to be a suitable approach for investigating and improving WP, as well as for deriving optimal parameter values of different irrigation strategies. This was verified in the irrigation experiment and shown through overall high WP, equally high WP between deficit and full irrigation strategies, and achieved water savings. Irrigation thresholds beyond the measurement range of tensiometers are feasible and applicable. The pF-meter performed satisfactorily and is a promising candidate for irrigation control. Suitable crop models for being part of this approach were found and their properties formulated. Factors that define the behavior of DI systems regarding WP and water consumption were investigated and assessed. This research allowed for drawing the first conclusions about the potential range of operations of sensor-based DI systems for achieving high WP with high reliability through its systematical investigation of such systems. However, this study needs validation and is therefore limited with regard to exact values of derived thresholds.

A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams. The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.

This study was conducted at the mountainous catchment part of Batinah Region of the Sultanate of Oman called Al-Awabi watershed which is about 260km2 in area with about 40 Km long Wadi main channel. The study paper presents a proposed modeling approach and possible scenario analysis which uses 1D - hydraulic modeling for flood routing analysis; and the main tasks of this study work are (1) Model setup for Al-Awabi watershed area, (2) Sensitivity Analysis, and (3) Scenario Analysis on impacts of rainfall characteristics and transmission losses. The model was set for the lower 24 Km long of Al-Awabi main channel (Figure 13). Channel cross-sections were the main input to the 1D-Hydraulic Model used for the analysis of flash flood routing of the Al-Awabi watershed. As field measurements of the Wadi channel cross-sections are labor intensive and expensive activities, availability of measured channel cross-sections is barely found in this study area region of Batinah, Oman; thereby making it difficult to simulate the flood water level and discharge using MIKE 11 HD. Hence, a methodology for extracting the channel cross-sections from ASTER DEM (27mX27m) and Google Earth map were used in this study area. The performance of the model setup was assessed so as to simulate the flash flood routing analysis at different cross-sections of the modeled reach. And from this study, although there were major gap and problems in data as well as in the prevailing topography, slope and other Hydro Dynamic parameters, it was concluded that the 1D-Hydraulic Modelling utilized for flood routing analysis work can be applied for the Al-Awabi watershed. And from the simulated model results, it was observed that the model was sensitive to the type of Boundary Condition chosen and taken, channel cross sections and its roughness coefficient utilized throughout the model reach.

Nowadays society strongly depends on its available resources and the long term stability of the surrounding ecosystem. Numerical modelling has become a general standard for evaluating past, current or future system states for a large number of applications supporting decision makers in proper management. In order to ensure the correct representation of the investigated processes and results of a simulation, verification examples (benchmarks), that are based on observation data or analytical solutions, are utilized to evaluate the numerical modelling tool. In many parts of the world, groundwater is an important resource for freshwater. While it is not only limited in quantity, subsurface water bodies are often in danger of contamination from various natural or anthropogenic sources. Especially in arid regions, marine saltwater intrusion poses a major threat to groundwater aquifers which mostly are the exclusive source of freshwater in these dry climates. In contrast to common numerical groundwater modelling, density-driven flow and mass transport have to be considered as vital processes in the system and in scenario simulations for fresh-saltwater interactions. In the beginning of this thesis, the capabilities of the modelling tool OpenGeoSys are verified with selected benchmarks to represent the relevant non-linear process coupling. Afterwards, variable-density application and process studies on different scales are presented. Application studies comprehend regional groundwater modelling of a coastal aquifer system extensively used for agricultural irrigation, as well as hydro-geological model development and parametrization. In two process studies, firstly, a novel method to model gelation of a solute in porous media is developed and verified on small scale laboratory observation data, and secondly, investigations of thermohaline double-diffusive Rayleigh regimes on medium scale are carried out. With the growing world population and, thus, increasing pressure on non-renewable resources, intelligent management strategies intensify demand for potent simulation tools and development of novel methods. In that way, this thesis highlights not only OpenGeoSys’ potential of density-dependent process modelling, but the comprehensive importance of variable-density flow and transport processes connecting, both, avant-garde scientific research, and real-world application challenges.