Soil remediation and dynamics hydraulic properties

受污染土地的修复是一个复杂且极具挑战性的科学问题。土壤中的污染物不仅对与其接触的植物、动物和人类构成直接威胁，而且是地下水的严重和持久的污染源。我们确实迫切需要更好地了解污染物在土壤和地下水中的命运和持久性。我们预测土壤污染物行为的能力面临的一个复杂问题和限制是，由于污染物本身的存在及其对土壤性质的影响，流经土壤的水的速度和土壤中储存的水量可能会随着时间的推移而变化。这项研究将增进我们对这些关系的了解，并为更好地预测与我们的土壤和地下水资源相关的风险和威胁提供基础。这项研究将作为一种系统的、高度仪表化的实验室实验相结合的方式进行，旨在研究污染物与土壤中水流之间的联系和反馈，并开发新的数学表达式和模型来更好地预测土壤的行为。最终，这项研究将为改进土壤修复实践和潜在的新的修复方法奠定基础，以开垦受污染的土地和保护地下水资源。在该研究项目中接受培训的八名学生(本科生、硕士和博士)将拥有土壤和地下水污染的高级知识，并将在加拿大环境部门找到工作，该部门对高素质人才的需求大大超过了供应。

The remediation of contaminated lands is a complex and highly challenging scientific problem. Contaminates in soils not only pose a direct threat to the plants, animal, and humans that are in contact with them, but also are a serious and persistent source of contamination for groundwaters. There is a real and pressing need for us to better understand the fate and persistence of contaminants in soils and groundwaters. One of the complicating issues and limitations to our ability to predict the behavior of soil contaminants is that the rate water flows through the soil and the amount of water stored in the soil can change over time due to the presence of the contaminants themselves and their effects on soil properties. This research will advance our knowledge of those relationships and provide the foundation to better predict the risks and threats associated with our soil and groundwater resources. This research will be conducted as a combination of systematic highly instrumented laboratory experiments targeting the linkage and feedback between contaminants and water flow in soils and the development of new mathematical expressions and models to better predict the behaviors. Ultimately this research will lay the foundation for improved soil remediation practices and potentially new remediation methods to reclaim contaminated lands and protect groundwater resources. The eight students (undergraduates, Master's, and PhD) trained in this research program will have advanced knowledge of soil and groundwater contamination and will find employment in Canada's environmental sector which has demands for highly qualified personnel which substantially exceed the supply.