FOR 831: Dynamic Capillary Fringes - A Multidisciplinary Approach

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Capillary fringes are highly dynamic zones at the interface between water-saturated aquifer and vadose zone, where steep biogeochemical gradients and thus high bioactivities are expected. Since the accessibility of this dynamic region in the field is very limited, well controlled bench and larger scale laboratory experiments to elucidate physical (flow, diffusion, dispersion), geochemical (dissolution/precipitation) and biological (metabolism, excretion, biofilm formation) processes in the capillary fringe and their interaction under transient conditions are planned. The focus will be on the reactive transport of organic and inorganic pollutants and on the influence of suspended groundwater bacteria, biofilms and metabolic products on mass transfer and turnover processes. Emphasis is directed on innovative high resolution (time and space) sensors and on spectroscopic tools for quantification of concentration gradients.