Assessing the impacts of climate change on the performance of engineered geobarriers in the Biotron

评估气候变化对 Biotron 工程地质屏障性能的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-05089
• 负责人: Yanful, Ernest
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=613347
• 关键词: Assessing; impacts; climate; change; performance

A number of studies have concluded that the Earth is getting warmer mostly because of increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from anthropogenic activities, especially by industry. Various forecasts made by the International Panel on Climate Change suggest the Earth’s temperature could rise by 1.8-4.6 °? by the end of this century. A warming climate in Canada could have negative impacts on water quantity and quality across the country. For example, climate models are predicting a 3-7oC rise in winter temperatures and a 4-8oC rise in summer temperatures in southwestern Ontario by the end of the century. The assessment of a waste containment system’s vulnerability to climate change involves hazards identification and characterization of the system’s exposure to an identified hazard, such as precipitation changes that could degrade components of the containment system (e.g.landfill covers). It is therefore important to assess the effects of precipitation changes on containment systems in order to develop adaptation strategies. The goal of the research program is to investigate the performance of selected engineered soil barriers used for waste containment (geobarriers) under a continuum of normal and climate change temperatures and precipitations in three geographical and climatic regions of the world: temperate climate (London, Ontario, Canada), Arctic climate (Murmansk, Northwest Russia), and humid, tropical savanna (Accra, Ghana). Over the long term, the program seeks to compare values of laboratory measured  hydromechanical, transport and sorption parameters for covers and liners under normal and climate climate conditions to those obtained on natural analogues. The study will involve sampling of uncontaminated natural clay and other soils from landfill areas in London, ON and Accra, Ghana, and iron oxides from the Kola Peninsula area of Northwest Russia for characterization and testing at Western University, Canada. The soils will be packed in large, instrumented columns (0.65 m3 or 22.5 ft3) to simulate landfill covers and liners and permeable reactive barriers subjected to sequential freeze-thaw and wet-dry cycles under normal and climate change temperatures and precipitations in a two-level climate chamber at The Biotron, Western University. The upper level can simulate ground air temperature, while the lower level can be set at the temperature in the ground. Both levels of the chamber can simulate a +40 °C to -40 °C temperature range. The effect of plant (grass) root growth on the soil covers will also be studied. The ultimate goal of the program is to develop a methodology for incorporating climate change impacts into the design of future waste containment systems or retrofit existing systems to endure climate change. The five-year program will train 13 highly qualified personnel: four doctoral, three master’s and five undergraduate students and one postdoctoral fellow.

许多研究得出结论，地球正在变暖，主要是因为人类活动，特别是工业活动导致的温室气体排放增加。国际气候变化专门委员会的各种预测表明，地球温度可能上升1.8-4.6°？到本世纪末。加拿大气候变暖可能会对全国的水量和水质产生负面影响。例如，气候模型预测，到本世纪末，安大略省西南部的冬季气温将上升3-7摄氏度，夏季气温将上升4-8摄氏度。评估废物遏制系统对气候变化的脆弱性涉及确定危险，并确定该系统暴露在已确定的危险中的特征，例如可能使废物遏制系统的组成部分退化的降水变化(例如，垃圾填埋场覆盖)。因此，重要的是评估降水变化对遏制系统的影响，以便制定适应战略。该研究计划的目标是调查在世界三个地理和气候地区：温带气候(加拿大安大略省伦敦)、北极气候(俄罗斯西北部摩尔曼斯克)和潮湿热带稀树草原(加纳阿克拉)常温和气候变化温度和降水量连续统一体下，用于废物遏制的选定工程土壤屏障(土障)的性能。从长远来看，该计划寻求将实验室测量的盖子和衬垫在正常和气候条件下的流体机械、运输和吸附参数的值与在自然模拟条件下获得的值进行比较。 这项研究将包括从伦敦、安大略省和加纳阿克拉的垃圾填埋区采集未受污染的天然粘土和其他土壤，以及来自俄罗斯西北部科拉半岛地区的氧化铁，以便在加拿大西部大学进行表征和测试。土壤将被填充在大型仪表柱(0.65立方米或22.5英尺3)中，以模拟在正常和气候变化温度下以及在西部大学生物加速器的两级气候室中经历顺序冻融和湿干循环的垃圾填埋层、衬垫和渗透性反应屏障。上层可以模拟地面气温，下层可以设置为地面温度。这两种温度等级都可以模拟+40°C到-40°C的温度范围。还将研究植物(草)根生长对土壤覆盖的影响。该计划的最终目标是开发一种方法，将气候变化的影响纳入未来废物控制系统的设计中，或改造现有系统以承受气候变化。这项为期五年的计划将培养13名高素质人才：4名博士、3名硕士、5名本科生和1名博士后。