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Summary: This study presents exact analytical solutions to the two-dimensional advection–dispersion equation in cylindrical coordinates in finite domain subject to the first- and third-type inlet boundary conditions. The second kind finite Hankel transform and the generalized integral transform technique are adopted to solve the two-dimensional advection–dispersion equation in cylindrical coordinates and its associated initial and boundary conditions. The developed analytical solutions are compared with the solutions for semi-infinite domain subject to the first- and third-type inlet boundary conditions available in literature to illustrate the impacts of the exit boundary conditions. Results show that significant discrepancies between the breakthrough curves obtained from analytical solutions for the finite domain and infinite domain for small Peclet number. Numerical evaluations of the developed analytical solutions for finite domain are computationally intensive because that the convergences of the series progress slowly for medium Peclet number. The developed solutions should be especially useful for testing numerical model simulated solutions for the finite domain subject to first- and third-type inlet boundary conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Exact analytical solutions for three-dimensional multispecies reactive transport. • Each species equipped with specific retardation factor. • Effects of inlet source boundary conditions on plume migration are investigated. • High computational efficiency of developed model allows the probability risk assessment at contaminated groundwater sites. This study presents novel exact analytical solutions to a set of simultaneous three-dimensional advection-dispersion equations coupled with a sequential first-order degradation reaction network involving distinct retardation factor values among individual species. The analytical solutions to the coupled partial differential equation system subject to both the first - and third -type inlet source boundary conditions are derived by consecutive application of the three integral transformations in combination with sequential substitutions. The correctness of the developed analytical solutions is confirmed through numerical comparisons of three verification examples between our derived exact analytical solutions and a three-dimensional single-species analytical model in a semi-infinite domain, a two-dimensional multispecies exact analytical model in a finite domain and a three-dimensional multispecies semi-analytical model in a semi-infinite domain of the previous studies, respectively. The advantage of the derived analytical solutions is that its computational efficiency is 104 times the computational efficiency of two-dimensional multispecies analytical solutions for a finite domain when two solutions are simultaneously used to solve a two-dimensional multispecies transport problem. The developed analytical solutions are then used to evaluate the performance of the public domain BIOCHLOR model that simulates aquifer remediation by natural attenuation of dissolved multispecies at a chlorinated-solvent contaminated site provided by the Center for Subsurface Modeling Support (CSMoS) of USEPA. Results show that the BIOCHLOR model that was developed based on three-dimensional analytical model assuming a single retardation factor value for all dissolved species would not be suitable for simulating most multispecies plume migration at contaminated sites where each contaminant has its own retardation factor value. The effects of the inlet source boundary conditions on the multispecies plume migration are also investigated. The high computational efficiency of the developed analytical model in this current study renders it a very efficient tool for executing a probabilistic health risk assessment involving a large number of simulations required for problems of multispecies transport of dissolved chlorinated solvent in groundwater at a contaminated site with uncertainties in many different variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport behavior through a permeable reactive barrier (PRB)-aquifer system is complicated because of the different physical and chemical properties of the PRB and the aquifer. Dual-domain solute transport models are efficient tools for better understanding the various processes and mechanisms of reactive solute transport through a PRB–aquifer system. This study develops a dual-domain analytical model to assess the physical and chemical processes of two-dimensional reactive solute transport through a PRB–aquifer system. The dispersion processes of a dual–domain system on the solute transport are investigated. The results show that the dispersion parameters in a dual-domain system synchronously govern the dynamic shape of the contaminant plume. The low longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients of a dual-domain system may restrict the spreading of the plume and elevate the plume’s concentration level. The derived analytical solution is applied to explore how the different reactive transport processes affect the performance of a PRB-aquifer system. The results show that the first-order decay rate constant of the PRB has a critical effect on the performance of the PRB-aquifer system, whereas the effects of the physical dispersion properties on PRB performance are less significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• General exact analytical solutions for chlorinated solute transport with a complex dechlorination reaction network are developed. • Each species equipped with distinct retardation factor. • Different inlet source and exit boundary conditions markedly affected plume migration. • Multiple branching isomers reactions can correct the over- and under-estimation of DCE and VC concentrations respectively by using a straight chain reaction on solute transport. Stepwise reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) to trichloroethene (TCE), three dichloroethylene (DCE) isomers (1,1-DCE, cis −1,2- DCE, and trans −1,2- DCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and ethane (ETH) may proceed under anaerobic conditions. However, most multispecies transport models for describing the plume migration of a chemical mixture comprising the original chlorinated solvent and its dechlorinated byproducts in the literature are often simplified to a sequential first-order reaction network which cannot account for the divergent reactions from TCE to the three DCE isomers and convergent reactions from the three DCE isomers to VC. In this study, general analytical solutions to multispecies transport equations with a complex reaction network were derived for a combination of semi-infinite and finite systems. The developed analytical solutions were robustly verified against a semi-analytical solution that can consider the same complex reaction network. The verification results indicated that the derived analytical solutions were accurate and robust. The general solutions derived in the present study were also used to investigate the effects of the outlet boundary conditions on solute transport involving a complex reaction network. The results showed that the analytical solution derived for infinite outlet BCs predicted lower concentrations of contaminants near the outlet boundary than those for finite outlet BCs. Moreover, a straight decay chain model may over- or under- estimate the DCE and VC concentrations compared to the multiple branching isomer reaction model. The developed analytical solutions with a complex reaction network provide more realistic and efficient tools for assessing the movement of chlorinated solvents and their degradation-related byproducts in soil–water systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] IOCNR developed for As adsorption from water medium. [•] Removal efficiency for As(III) calculated from the Langmuir isotherm 1.647mgg−1. [•] Performance of IOCNR evaluated varying the experimental conditions. [•] IOCNR applied on real-arsenic bearing sample and designed a household filter. [•] Filter efficiency with real sample evaluated for the house hold chores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Distribution and mobilization of As in the Guandu wetland were investigated. [•] As mobility occurred in the boundary between the Fe-reducing and sulfate-reducing conditions. [•] High aqueous As was caused by the reductive dissolution of solid Fe compounds. [•] Enriched and values implies significant dissimilatory sulfate reduction. [•] Arsenic mobility in wetland ecosystem is controlled by redox cycling of Fe, S and C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examines the efficiency of the fixed-bed adsorption of As(III) on iron-oxide-coated natural rock (IOCNR) in a contaminated aquatic environment. We considered a column with a diameter of 2-cm and varying bed depths, including 10cm, 15cm, and 20cm. The breakthrough (C/Co =0.016) times were 31.0h, 49.0h, and 63.0h, and the exhaust (C/Co =0.90) times were 60.0h, 90.0h, and 110.0h, with an up-flow rate of 8mL/min, respectively. The volume of the contaminated water treated at the breakthrough points was 14.88L, 23.52L, and 30.24L, and at the exhaust points 28.80L, 43.20L, and 52.80L, respectively when As(III) concentration was 0.6mg/L. The columns were designed using the logit method to evaluate the adsorption rate (K) and column efficiency (N). The 10-cm exhaust bed was regenerated with 4% NaOH, and its performance was evaluated. This study proposes an in situ two-step mechanism, oxidation of As(III) to As(V), and subsequent adsorption on IOCNR. A column (10cm) performance of real arsenic-bearing groundwater was evaluated. Results indicate that the treated effluent water quality is suitable for domestic use. Moreover, the experimental results agreed well with the geochemical modeling using computer program PHREEQC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Heat-pulse flowmeter can be used to measure low flow velocities in a borehole; however, bias in the results due to measurement error is often encountered. A carefully designed water circulation system was established in the laboratory to evaluate the accuracy and precision of flow velocity measured by heat-pulse flowmeter in various conditions. Test results indicated that the coefficient of variation for repeated measurements, ranging from 0.4% to 5.8%, tends to increase with flow velocity. The measurement error increases from 4.6% to 94.4% as the average flow velocity decreases from 1.37cm/s to 0.18cm/s. We found that the error resulted primarily from free convection and frictional loss. Free convection plays an important role in heat transport at low flow velocities. Frictional effect varies with the position of measurement and geometric shape of the inlet and flow-through cell of the flowmeter. Based on the laboratory test data, a calibration equation for the measured flow velocity was derived by the least-squares regression analysis. When the flowmeter is used with a diverter, the range of measured flow velocity can be extended, but the measurement error and the coefficient of variation due to friction increase significantly. At higher velocities under turbulent flow conditions, the measurement error is greater than 100%. Our laboratory experimental results suggested that, to avoid a large error, the heat-pulse flowmeter measurement is better conducted in laminar flow and the effect of free convection should be eliminated at any flow velocities. Field measurement of the vertical flow velocity using the heat-pulse flowmeter was tested in a monitoring well. The calibration of measured velocities not only improved the contrast in hydraulic conductivity between permeable and less permeable layers, but also corrected the inconsistency between the pumping rate and the measured flow rate. We identified two highly permeable sections where the horizontal hydraulic conductivity is 3.7–6.4 times of the equivalent hydraulic conductivity obtained from the pumping test. The field test results indicated that, with a proper calibration, the flowmeter measurement is capable of characterizing the vertical distribution of preferential flow or hydraulic conductivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: High levels of arsenic in groundwater and drinking water represent a major health problem worldwide. Drinking arsenic-contaminated groundwater is a likely cause of blackfoot disease (BFD) in Taiwan, but mechanisms controlling the mobilization of arsenic present at elevated concentrations within aquifers remain understudied. Microcosm experiments using sediments from arsenic contaminated shallow alluvial aquifers in the blackfoot disease endemic area showed simultaneous microbial reduction of Fe(III) and As(V). Significant soluble Fe(II) (0.23±0.03mM) in pore waters and mobilization of As(III) (206.7±21.2nM) occurred during the first week. Aqueous Fe(II) and As(III) respectively reached concentrations of 0.27±0.01mM and 571.4±63.3nM after 8 weeks. We also showed that the addition of acetate caused a further increase in aqueous Fe(II) but the dissolved arsenic did not increase. We further isolated an As(V)-reducing bacterium native to aquifer sediments which showed that the direct enzymatic reduction of As(V) to the potentially more-soluble As(III) in pore water is possible in this aquifer. Our results provide evidence that microorganisms can mediate the release of sedimentary arsenic to groundwater in this region and the capacity for arsenic release was not limited by the availability of electron donors in the sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Shallow groundwater in the Choushui river alluvial fan of southwestern Taiwan contains high As contents. Arsenic concentrations in most of wells varied spatial–temporally. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the hydrological and hydrogeochemical factors that influence As concentration in the shallow groundwater of southwestern Taiwan. Dynamic factor analysis (DFA), a dimension reduction technique that considers the time component for studying multivariate time series, is adopted to obtain underlying common trends of response time series and influences of explanatory variables. The major As-associated hydrological and hydrogeochemical parameters were identified and applied to predict the variation of As concentrations in groundwater. The results showed that As fluctuation in groundwater were governed by the rainfall and river water recharges in both dry and wet seasons. Rapid infiltration of surface water caused a rise in groundwater elevation in the rainy season and created a reductive environment, inducing reductive dissolution of As-bearing Fe (hydr)oxides. Dissolved As concentration was subsequently transported by fast groundwater flow to downstream areas. Moreover, extensive pumping for agricultural and aquacultural demands masked the influences of groundwater elevation on variations of As concentrations and led to critical seawater intrusion. In non-saline wells, Fe reduction and subsequent secondary mineralization between dry and wet seasons was responsible for As mobility. Sulfate reduction in saline wells promoted sulfide precipitation and restrained As mobility in wet season. Collectively, hydrological and hydrogeochemical variables controlled the temporal variation and spatial distribution of As concentration, respectively, in the shallow groundwater of southwestern Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Drinking highly arsenic-contaminated groundwater is a likely cause of blackfoot disease in Taiwan, but microorganisms that potentially control arsenic mobility in the subsurface remain unstudied. The objective of this study was to investigate the relevant arsenite-oxidizing and arsenate-reducing microbial community that exists in highly arsenic-contaminated groundwater in Taiwan. We cultured and identified arsenic-transforming bacteria, analyzed arsenic resistance and transformation, and determined the presence of genetic markers for arsenic transformation. In total, 11 arsenic-transforming bacterial strains with different colony morphologies and varying arsenic transformation abilities were isolated, including 10 facultative anaerobic arsenate-reducing bacteria and one strictly aerobic arsenite-oxidizing bacterium. All of the isolates exhibited high levels of arsenic resistance with minimum inhibitory concentrations of arsenic ranging from 2 to 200mM. Strain AR-11 was able to rapidly oxidize arsenite to arsenate at concentrations relevant to environmental groundwater samples without the addition of any electron donors or acceptors. We provide evidence that arsenic-reduction activity may be conferred by the ars operon(s) that were not amplified by the designed primers currently in use. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis grouped the isolates into the following genera: Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Psychrobacter, Vibrio, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, and Bosea. Among these genera, we present the first report of the genus Psychrobacter being involved in arsenic reduction. Our results further support the hypothesis that bacteria capable of either oxidizing arsenite or reducing arsenate coexist and are ubiquitous in arsenic-contaminated groundwater. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Exact analytical solutions for two-dimensional advection–dispersion equation (ADE) in cylindrical coordinates subject to the third-type inlet boundary condition are presented in this study. The finite Hankel transform technique in combination with the Laplace transform method is adopted to solve the two-dimensional ADE in cylindrical coordinates. Solutions are derived for both continuous input and instantaneous slug input. The developed analytical solutions are compared with the solutions for first-type inlet boundary condition to illustrate the influence of the inlet condition on the two-dimensional solute transport in a porous medium system with a radial geometry. Results show significant discrepancies between the breakthrough curves obtained from analytical solutions for the first-type and third-type inlet boundary conditions for large longitudinal dispersion coefficients. The developed solutions conserve the solute mass and are efficient tools for simultaneous determination of the longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients from a laboratory-scale radial column experiment or an in situ infiltration test with a tracer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: In the light of the redox characteristics of groundwater in the arsenic-affected multi-layers aquifers in the Choushui River alluvial fan, an investigation on major redox-sensitive species were carried out to explore their spatial patterns, the controlling factors and the redox zonations. Factor analysis was applied to 16 hydrochemical parameters of 152 groundwater samples. Five factors including seawater salinization, arsenic pollutant, nitrate contamination, alkaline and Fe, Mn accounted for 86.4% of the total variance identified. Among them, arsenic pollutant, nitrate contamination and Fe, Mn were redox-sensitive factors. Arsenic pollutant factor has strong loading on As and TOC, moderate loading on and low loading on Alkalinity and Fe. These hydrochemical parameters closely relate to the reductive dissolution processes of arsenic release to groundwater. Discriminant Analysis was adopted to delineate three redox zones (oxidative, transitional and reductive zones) in 4-layers aquifers and yielded 90.4% correctness on groundwater quality data. The spatial distributions of As and were similar but showed a reverse pattern with . Arsenic and were mainly distributed in the reductive zone whereas was majorly distributed in the oxidative zone suggesting the denitrification is partially responsible to the reductive dissolution of As in the groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The convergent flow tracer test is an efficient method for determining dispersivity in field, but the traditional curve-fitting method for the estimation of dispersivity from a convergent flow tracer test is quite time-consuming. In this study, we present a model to improve the evaluation of longitudinal and transverse dispersivities from a convergent flow tracer test which couples a back-propagation neural network (BPN) model with a two-dimensional convergent flow tracer transport model. The prediction errors for the training and validation data show that with the effective porosity fitting model, the scale-dependent longitudinal dispersivity fitting model, and the scale-dependent transverse dispersivity fitting model, we can obtain satisfactory prediction accuracy with much less computational time. The applicable ranges of parameters are: The Peclet number is between 0.5 and 100, the effective porosity is between 0.05 and 0.5 and the scale-dependent transverse dispersivity is between 0.01 and 10 m. One set of hypothetical data and one set of field data are used to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the back-propagation neural network fitting model (BPNFM). The results demonstrate that BPNFM has the advantage of significantly saving the computational time and giving more accurate transport parameter values. The developed BPNFM is an effective tool for fast and accurate evaluation of the longitudinal and transverse dispersivities for a field convergent flow tracer test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study presents a novel mathematical model for describing the transport of the remedial reagent in a vertical circulation flow field in an anisotropic aquifer. To develop the mathematical model, the radial and vertical components of the pore water velocity are calculated first by using an analytical solution for steady-state drawdown distribution near a vertical circulation well. Next, the obtained radial and vertical components of the pore water velocity are then incorporated into a three-dimensional axisymmetrical advection–dispersion equation in cylindrical coordinates from which to build the reagent transport equation. The Laplace transform finite difference technique is applied to solve the three-dimensional axisymmetrical advection–dispersion equation with spatial variable-dependent coefficients. The developed mathematical model is used to investigate the effects of various parameters such as hydraulic conductivity anisotropy, longitudinal and transverse dispersivities, the placement of the extraction and injection screened intervals of the vertical circulation well and the injection modes on the transport regime of the remedial reagent. Results show that those parameters have different degrees of impacts on the distribution of the remedial reagent. The mathematical model provides an effective tool for designing and operating an enhanced groundwater remediation in an anisotropic aquifer using the vertical circulation well technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: High arsenic concentrations in groundwater have been detected in the south-western coastal area of Taiwan. In this study, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were investigated for their applicability to recovering the missing arsenic data and constructing the spatial distribution of arsenic concentration based on the arsenic concentration data of 28 groundwater observation wells. Due to a limited number of data sets, several strategies were proposed to construct the backpropagation neural networks (BPNs). The leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation was adopted to diminish the bias in choosing validation data, and the modified performance function (MPF) was applied to reducing an over-fitting situation. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to transform the arsenic concentration of the regional wells into a limited number of main factors that were used as the input variables for the ANNs. Results showed that the LOO cross-validation was an effective tool for model selection, and the parameter, γ, of MPF played an important role for reducing errors in the model training and validation processes and alleviating the problem of over-fitting. Although sparse data sets have been used to construct ANNs, the models still achieved acceptable performance. The predicted spatial distribution of the arsenic concentration can provide useful information to local residents when groundwater achieves high levels of arsenic concentrations in non-functioning groundwater monitoring wells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A study was conducted to measure the arsenic species in farmed mouthbreeder (Oreochromis mossambicus) and culture ponds in water in blackfoot disease (BFD) hyperendemic areas in Taiwan. The relationships between arsenic species of aquaculture ponds and farmed fish were also explored. Biota samples were extracted with methanol/water (1/1, v/v) using a Soxhlet extraction apparatus. The concentrations of arsenite As (III), arsenate As (V), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) of extracts were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) linked to a hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). Moreover, arsenobetaine (AB) was analyzed by HPLC linked to ultra violet (UV) and HG-AAS. Concentrations of arsenic species were determined in 68 mouthbreeder (O. mossambicus) samples and 21 culture ponds from Putai and Yichu Townships of Chiayi County and Hsuehchia and Peimen Townships of Tainan County. The mean arsenic levels of culture ponds in Putai, Yichu, Hsuehchia, and Peimen were 75.8, 15.1, 14.4, and 221.0 μg/l, respectively. The water of culture ponds was dominated by As (V). The inorganic arsenic percentage of fish (7.4%) was higher than that reported by other seafood surveys. Except for the MMA and As (III) levels, As (V), DMA, AB, and total arsenic levels in fish significantly increased with inorganic and total arsenic concentrations of the pond water. Inorganic arsenic species are more toxic than methyl arsenic species. Therefore the effect of inorganic arsenic species might result in a greater number of adverse health effects to the general public. It is of importance to evaluate the inorganic arsenic levels of farmed seafood in arsenic-contaminated areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Semi-analytical model for multispecies transport subject to rate-limited sorption. • Equilibrium-controlled sorption underestimates concentrations. • Validity condition of the equilibrium-controlled sorption model. Most analytical or semi-analytical models currently used to simulate multispecies transport assume instantaneous equilibrium between the dissolved and sorbed phases of the contaminant. However, research has demonstrated that rate-limited sorption process can have a profound effect upon solute transport in the subsurface environment. This study presents a novel semi-analytical model for simulating the migrations of plumes of degradable contaminants subject to rate-limited sorption. The derived semi-analytical model is then applied to investigate the effects of the rate-limited (nonequilibrium-controlled) sorption on the plume migration of degradable contaminants. Results show that the kinetic sorption rate constant has significant impacts on the plume migration of degradable contaminants. Increasing the kinetic sorption rate constant results in a reduction of predicted concentration for all species in the degradable contaminants while the equilibrium-controlled sorption model lead to significant underestimation of the concentrations of degradable contaminants under conditions with low sorption Damköler number. The equilibrium-controlled sorption model agrees well with the rate-limited sorption model when the ratio of Damköler number to the product of distribution coefficient and bulk density is greater than 2 or 3 order of magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, many efforts have been made to address the rapid spread of newly identified COVID-19 virus variants. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is considered a potential early warning tool for identifying the rapid spread of this virus. This study investigated the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in eight wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their sewerage systems which serve most of the population in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Across the entire study period, the wastewater viral concentrations were correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in each WWTP (Spearman's r = 0.23-0.76). In addition, it is confirmed that several treatment technologies could effectively eliminate the virus RNA from WWTP influent (> 90%). On the other hand, further results revealed that an inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation and hotspot model combined with the geographic information system (GIS) method could be applied to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from the sewer system. In addition, socio-economic factors, namely, population density, land use, and income tax were successfully identified as the potential drivers which substantially affected the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. Finally, the data obtained from this study can provide a powerful tool in public health decision-making not only in response to the current epidemic situation but also to other epidemic issues in the future., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A huge amount of agricultural wastes and waste activated-sludge are being generated every year around the world. Anaerobic co-digestion (AcD) has been considered as an alternative for the utilization of organic matters from such organic wastes by producing bioenergy and biochemicals to realize a circular bioeconomy. Despite recent advancement in AcD processes, the effect of feedstock compositions and operating conditions on the biomethane production processe has not been critically explored. In this paper, we have reviewed the effects of feedstock (organic wastes) characteristics, including particle size, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and pretreatment options, on the performance of an anaerobic digestion process. In addition, we provided an overview of the effect of key control parameters, including retention time, temperature, pH of digestate, volatile fatty acids content, total solids content, and organic loading rate. Lastly, based on the findings from the literature, we have presented several perspectives and prospects on priority research to promote AcD to a steppingstone for a circular bioeconomy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2021 The Authors.)

River discharge is one of the important hydraulic data to evaluate and manage the regional water resources. Estimating river discharge is generally based on field measurements. The measurement data are then applied to construct water level-discharge rating curves. However, it is sometimes difficult to obtain accurate discharge data due to the high uncertainty of flow. A commonly used technique is the propeller-type flowmeters (PTF), which average the results of 1-, 2-, or 3-point methods to obtain a vertical mean velocity. In this study, three types of flowmeters were employed to compare the accuracy of flow measured. The devices were calibrated using a tow tank testing: PTF, acoustic Doppler profiler (ADP), and radar surface velocimeter (RSV). To assess the applicability of the non-contact observation method, a series of 16 experiments in channels were conducted. Surface velocity measurement using the RSV was compared with the measurements obtained by PTF. The relationship between measured surface velocity of RSV and measured vertical mean velocity of PTF was established. The results show that the RSV can effectively estimate the river discharge in the open channel flow.

In this study, TiO 2 nanotubes (TNTs) and AgCl-modified TNTs nanocomposites with multiple crystal phases were synthesized through a hydrothermal method without calcination. The resultant samples had a large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area. Additionally, the Ag modification process reduced the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs in the synthesized sample and possessed more oxygen vacancy sites. The surface area of the AgCl-modified TNTs was smaller than that of non-modified TNTs sample; however, the nanocomposites exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance and adsorption properties. AgCl compounds present on the TNTs surface effectively interacted with Hg 0 , improving the dye photodegradation efficiency. The Hg 0 removal efficiencies of the TNTs and AgCl-modified TNTs samples were about 63% and 86%, respectively. The crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG) removal efficiencies of the AgCl-modified TNTs sample were around 57% and 72%, respectively. Both dyes photodecomposition efficiencies for AgCl-modified TNTs sample are higher than those of TNTs sample. The oxygen vacancy on the AgCl-modified TNTs surface was determined to be advantageous for OH - and arsenate adsorption through ligand exchange. The maximum adsorption quantity of As 5+ calculated by Langmuir equation was 15.38 mg g -1 (TNTs) and 21.10 mg g -1 (AgCl-modified TNTs).

The movement of high-arsenic (As)-concentration Beitou geothermal spring water up to 4600 μg/L from the upstream area may affect the downstream Guandu plain and Guandu wetland. The major As pathway is via the subsurface flow. The study assesses the fate and transport of As-enriched geothermal spring water in the Beitou-Guandu area. The groundwater head and flow field velocity are first simulated by using HYDROGEOCHEM-fluid flow model. The steady state flow field is well-calibrated with root mean square error 1.73 m and R 2  = 0.992. The spatial-temporal distributions of As in the Beitou-Guandu area are simulated by the HYDROGEOCHEM reactive transport model using the calibrated steady state flow field. The results show that high As concentration (250 μg/L) in groundwater of Guandu plain was caused by the movement of high As concentration from the Beitou geothermal spring water. In contrast, the low As concentration (5-50 μg/L) in Guandu wetland was mitigated by the tidal water dilution. The simulated As concentrations increase in the first 3 years, and then gradually decrease due to the adsorption of As on the iron oxide minerals ferrihydrite and iron sulfide minerals pyrite. Furthermore, the hydrogeochemical transport model is applied to assess the effect of bioaccumulation of As by the mangrove plants of Guandu wetland. The dominant mangrove plants, Kandelia obovata, can reduce about 5-30 μg/L As concentration in groundwater. It may be one of sinks of As in Guandu wetland. The inclusion of K. obovata can uptake the aqueous As and allow the simulated As concentration further close to the field measurement in the Guandu wetland. The study successfully models the reactive chemical transport of As by considering both geochemical reactions and biochemical uptakes in the Beitou-Guandu area. The result demonstrates that the complex biogeochemical transport can be quantified by the sophisticated HYDROGEOCHEM model. Moreover, the salient features of the biogeochemical reactions can be recovered and elucidated through a series of systematic simulation.

To elucidate the historical improvement and advanced measure of river water quality in the Taipei metropolitan area, this study applied the self-organizing map (SOM) technique with factor analysis (FA) to differentiate the spatiotemporal distribution of natural and anthropogenic processes on river water-quality variation spanning two decades. The SOM clustered river water quality into five groups: very low pollution, low pollution, moderate pollution, high pollution, and very high pollution. FA was then used to extract four latent factors that dominated water quality from 1991 to 2011 including three anthropogenic process factors (organic, industrial, and copper pollution) and one natural process factor [suspended solids (SS) pollution]. The SOM revealed that the water quality improved substantially over time. However, the downstream river water quality was still classified as high pollution because of an increase in anthropogenic activity. FA showed the spatiotemporal pattern of each factor score decreasing over time, but the organic pollution factor downstream of the Tamsui River, as well as the SS factor scores in the upstream major tributary (the Dahan Stream), remained within the high pollution level. Therefore, we suggest that public sewage-treatment plants should be upgraded from their current secondary biological processing to advanced treatment processing. The conservation of water and soil must also be reinforced to decrease the SS loading of the Dahan Stream from natural erosion processes in the future.

The Tamsui River basin is located in Northern Taiwan and encompasses the most metropolitan city in Taiwan, Taipei City. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has established 38 water quality monitoring stations in the Tamsui River basin and performed regular river water quality monitoring for the past two decades. Because of the limited budget of the Taiwan EPA, adjusting the monitoring program while maintaining water quality data is critical. Multivariate analysis methods, such as cluster analysis (CA), factor analysis (FA), and discriminate analysis (DA), are useful tools for the statistically spatial assessment of surface water quality. This study integrated CA, FA, and DA to evaluate the spatial variance of water quality in the metropolitan city of Taipei. Performing CA involved categorizing monitoring stations into three groups: high-, moderate-, and low-pollution areas. In addition, this categorization of monitoring stations was in agreement with that of the assessment that involved using the simple river pollution index. Four latent factors that predominantly influence the river water quality of the Tamsui River basin are assessed using FA: anthropogenic pollution, the nitrification process, seawater intrusion, and geological and weathering processes. We plotted a spatial pattern using the four latent factor scores and identified ten redundant monitoring stations near each upstream station with the same score pattern. We extracted five significant parameters by using DA: total organic carbon, total phosphorus, As, Cu, and nitrate, with spatial variance to differentiate them from the polluted condition of the group obtained by using CA. Finally, this study suggests that the Taiwan EPA can adjust the surface water-monitoring program of the Tamsui River by reducing the monitoring stations to 28 and the measured chemical parameters to five to lower monitoring costs.

Groundwater supplies over 50% of drinking water in Kinmen. Approximately 16.8% of groundwater samples in Kinmen exceed the drinking water quality standard (DWQS) of NO3 (-)-N (10 mg/L). The residents drinking high nitrate-polluted groundwater pose a potential risk to health. To formulate effective water quality management plan and assure a safe drinking water in Kinmen, the detailed spatial distribution of nitrate-N in groundwater is a prerequisite. The aim of this study is to develop an efficient scheme for evaluating spatial distribution of nitrate-N in residential well water using logistic regression (LR) model. A probability-based nitrate-N contamination map in Kinmen is constructed. The LR model predicted the binary occurrence probability of groundwater nitrate-N concentrations exceeding DWQS by simple measurement variables as independent variables, including sampling season, soil type, water table depth, pH, EC, DO, and Eh. The analyzed results reveal that three statistically significant explanatory variables, soil type, pH, and EC, are selected for the forward stepwise LR analysis. The total ratio of correct classification reaches 92.7%. The highest probability of nitrate-N contamination map presents in the central zone, indicating that groundwater in the central zone should not be used for drinking purposes. Furthermore, a handy EC-pH-probability curve of nitrate-N exceeding the threshold of DWQS was developed. This curve can be used for preliminary screening of nitrate-N contamination in Kinmen groundwater. This study recommended that the local agency should implement the best management practice strategies to control nonpoint nitrogen sources and carry out a systematic monitoring of groundwater quality in residential wells of the high nitrate-N contamination zones.

Seafood farmed in arsenic (As)-contaminated areas is a major exposure pathway for the ingestion of inorganic As by individuals in the southwestern part of Taiwan. This study presents a probabilistic risk assessment using limited data for inorganic As intake through the consumption of the seafood by local residents in these areas. The As content and the consumption rate are both treated as probability distributions, taking into account the variability of the amount in the seafood and individual consumption habits. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is utilized to conduct an assessment of exposure due to the daily intake of inorganic As from As-contaminated seafood. Exposure is evaluated according to the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) established by the FAO/WHO and the target risk based on the US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. The assessment results show that inorganic As intake from five types of fish (excluding mullet) and shellfish fall below the PTWI threshold values for the 95th percentiles, but exceed the target cancer risk of 10(-6). The predicted 95th percentile for inorganic As intake and lifetime cancer risks obtained in the study are both markedly higher than those obtained in previous studies in which the consumption rate of seafood considered is a deterministic value. This study demonstrates the importance of the individual variability of seafood consumption when evaluating a high exposure sub-group of the population who eat higher amounts of fish and shellfish than the average Taiwanese.

High arsenic (As) concentration in groundwater potentially poses a serious threat to the health of local residents in southwestern Taiwan. Although the As release to groundwater is responsible for the reducing bacteria-mediated reductive dissolution of As-rich Fe hydroxides, the influences of FeRB and different organic substrates on As and Fe mobility and transformation were rarely discussed. An experiment that involved As-adsorbed synthetic amorphous Fe(III) hydroxide (HFO) and the inoculation of in situ Fe-reducing bacteria (FeRB) was performed to evaluate the contribution of FeRB to the As mobility and transformation. The batched experiment of As-free HFO showed that the reducing bacteria rapidly induced the reduction of amorphous Fe oxyhydroxide to Fe(II) by reductive dissolution of HFO and formation of Fe-citrate complexation. For aqueous As(V) reduction experiment, arsenate was effectively reduced to As(III) by the facultative anaerobic bacterium in the cultured FeRB. In the experiment of As-containing HFO reduction, the aqueous As(V) acts as an electron acceptor and reduced to As(III) after the reductive dissolution of Fe(III) on HFO. However, the increase in the As(III) concentrations with time for various organic substrates in the As-adsorbed HFO-reducing experiment differ from the rates of As(V) reduction with various organic substrates in the As(V)-reducing experiment. The decrease in sorption sites by coupled reductive dissolution of HFO and the competitive desorption of small molecular organic carbon is apparently the important factor of As mobility. For large molecular organic carbon (i.e., citrate), the significant contribution of citrate on As mobility is the complexation of iron citrate. A working hypothesis model of As biogeochemical cycling is proposed to illustrate the relevant processes in the groundwater aquitard of southwestern Taiwan.

This study was performed to characterize hydrochemical properties of springs based on their geological origins in Taiwan. Stepwise discriminant analysis (DA) was used to establish a linear classification model of springs using hydrochemical parameters. Two hydrochemical datasets-ion concentrations and relative proportions of equivalents per liter of major ions-were included to perform prediction of the geological origins of springs. Analyzed results reveal that DA using relative proportions of equivalents per liter of major ions yields a 95.6% right assignation, which is superior to DA using ion concentrations. This result indicates that relative proportions of equivalents of major hydrochemical parameters in spring water are more highly associated with the geological origins than ion concentrations do. Low percentages of Na(+) equivalents are common properties of springs emerging from acid-sulfate and neutral-sulfate igneous rock. Springs emerging from metamorphic rock show low percentages of Cl( - ) equivalents and high percentages of HCO[Formula: see text] equivalents, and springs emerging from sedimentary rock exhibit high Cl( - )/SO(2-)(4) ratios.

Kinmen is located in the southwest of Mainland China. Groundwater supplies 50% of the domestic water use on the island. Residents of Kinmen drink groundwater over the long term because surface water resources are limited. Nitrate-N pollution is found and distributed primarily in the western part of groundwater aquifer whereas saline groundwater is distributed to the northeastern Kinmen. This work applied the DRASTIC model to construct the vulnerability map of Kinmen groundwater. MT3D was then used to evaluate the contamination potential of nitrate-N. The health risk associated with the ingestion of nitrate-N contaminated groundwater is also assessed. The results from DRASTIC model showed that the upland crop and grass land have high contamination potential, whereas the forest, reservoir and housing land have low contamination potential. The calibrated MT3D model inversely determined the high strength sources (0.09-2.74 kg/m(2)/year) of nitrate contaminant located in the west to the north west area and required 2-5 years travel time to reach the monitoring wells. Simulated results of MT3D also showed that both the continuous and instantaneous contaminant sources of nitrate-N release may cause serious to moderate nitrate contamination in the western Kinmen and jeopardize the domestic use of groundwater. The chronic health hazard quotient (HQ) associated with the potential non-carcinogenic risk of drinking nitrate-N contaminated groundwater showed that the assessed 95th percentile of HQ is 2.74, indicating that exposure to waterborne nitrate poses a potential non-cancer risk to the residents of the island. Corrective measures, including protecting groundwater recharge zones and reducing the number of agricultural and non-agricultural nitrogen sources that enters the aquifer, should be implemented especially in the western part of Kinmen to assure a sustainable use of groundwater resources.

This paper assesses health risks due to the ingestion of inorganic arsenic from fish and shellfish farmed in blackfoot disease areas by general public in Taiwan. The provisional tolerable weekly intake of arsenic set by FAO/WHO and the target cancer risk assessment model proposed by USEPA were integrated to evaluate the acceptable consumption rate. Five aquacultural species, tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), milkfish (Chanos chanos), mullet (Mugil cephalus), clam (Meretrix lusoria) and oyster (Crassostrea gigas) were included. Monte Carlo analysis was used to propagate the parameter uncertainty and to probabilistically assess the health risk associated with the daily intake of inorganic As from farmed fish and shellfish. The integrated risk-based analysis indicates that the associated 50th and 95th percentile health risk are 2.06×10(-5) and 8.77×10(-5), respectively. Moreover, the acceptable intakes of inorganic As are defined and illustrated by a two dimensional graphical model. According to the relationship between C(inorg) and IR(f) derived from this study, two risk-based curves are constructed. An acceptable risk zone is determined (risk ranging from 1×10(-5) to 6.07×10(-5)) which is recommended for acceptable consumption rates of fish and shellfish. To manage the health risk due to the ingestion of inorganic As from fish and shellfish in BFD areas, a risk-based management scheme is derived which provide a convenient way for general public to self-determine the acceptable seafood consumption rate., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Redox couples approach and multivariate statistical techniques, including factor analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, were applied to evaluate and to interpret the complex groundwater quality in the blackfoot disease endemic area, Taiwan. Most groundwater samples were characterized as Na-Ca-HCO(3) with HCO(3)(-) as the dominant anion. Total arsenic (As) concentration, predominantly as As(3+), ranged from <1.0 to 562.7 μg/L. The patterns of measured reducing potential were consistent with those values calculated from As couple, revealing the in situ environment enhanced the accumulation of As concentration in the groundwater. Factor analysis proposed a four-factor model, comprising salination, reductive dissolution of Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides, As reduction and chemical potential factor, and explained 89.94% of total variance in groundwater. Furthermore, two factors, reductive dissolution of Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides and As reduction, suggested that the decoupled reductive processes accounted for high As concentration in this area. Cluster analysis was adopted to spatially categorize the sampled wells into three main clusters and characterized by the factor scores of the four-factor model. Two-parameter (pH and Eh) model derived from discriminant analysis can be used for preliminary assessment to determine whether the As concentration exceeds 10 μg/L with simple field measurements in this area., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study presented an integrated GIS-based approach for assessing potential carcinogenic risks via food-chain exposure of ingesting inorganic arsenic (As) in aquacultural tilapia, milkfish, mullet, and clam in the As-affected groundwater areas. To integrate spatial information, geographic information system (GIS) was adopted to combine polygon-shaped features of aquacultural species with cell-shaped features of As contamination in groundwater. Owing to sparse measured data, Monte Carlo simulation and sequential indicator simulation were used to characterize the uncertainty of assessed parameters. Target cancer risks (TRs) of ingesting As contents at fish ponds were spatially mapped to assess potential risks to human health. The analyzed results reveal that clam farmed at the western coastal ponds and milkfish farmed at the southwestern coastal ponds have high risks to human health, whereas tilapia cultivated mainly at the inland ponds only has high risks at the 95th percentile of TR. Mullet in general has low risks to human health. Moreover, to decrease risks, this study suggests reducing the use of As-affected groundwater at clam and milkfish ponds due to high bioconcentration factor (BCF) of clam and inorganic As accumulation ratio of milkfish. The integrated GIS-based approach can provide fishery administrators with an effective management strategy at specific fish ponds with high risks to human health.

We developed an inductance-based valvometry technique as a detection system to measure the valve daily activity in freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea in response to waterborne arsenic. Our findings reveal that C. fluminea experiences a valve opening in the absence of arsenic predominantly in the morning hours (03:00-08:00) with a mean daily opening/closing period of 21.32 (95% CI: 20.58-22.05) h. Amplification of daily activity occurred in the presence of arsenic. Behavioral toxicity assays revealed arsenic detection thresholds of 0.60 (95% CI: 0.53-0.66) mg l(-1) and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.30-0.40) mg l(-1) for response times of 60 and 300 min, respectively. The proposed valve daily activity model was linked with response time-specific Hill dose-response functions to predict valve opening/closing behavior in response to arsenic. The predictive capabilities were verified satisfactory with the measurements. Our results implicate a biomonitoring system by valve daily activity in C. fluminea to identify safe water uses in areas with elevated arsenic.

Arsenic is a potent human carcinogen of skin, lung, and urinary bladder. Freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea is a commercially important native species in Taiwan. C. fluminea is also a suitable biomonitoring test organism. Little is known, however, about the actual effects of arsenic on C. fluminea. The objectives of this study were to provide information on the acute toxicity and bioaccumulation kinetics of arsenic in C. fluminea. We carried out a 14-day exposure experiment to obtain bioaccumulation parameters. Uptake was very rapid when C. fluminea was first exposed and then slightly decayed during the uptake phase of the experiment and an uptake rate constant of 1.718 +/- 6.70 (mean +/- SE) mL g(-1) d(-1) was estimated. The elimination of arsenic from C. fluminea obeyed first-order depuration kinetics (r(2) = 0.85, p < 0.05) with a calculated half-life of 6.80 days. The derived bioaccumulation factor of 16.84 suggests that arsenic has a high potential for bioaccumulation in C. fluminea. This had important implications for dietary exposure of arsenic to humans who eat contaminated clams, because the soft tissue usually constitutes the majority of tissue consumed. The 96-h LC50 value was estimated to be 20.74 (95% CI: 11.74-30.79) mg L(-1) obtained from a 7-day acute toxicity bioassay. We also kinetically linked an acute toxicity model and a Hill sigmoid model to reconstruct an internal effect concentration based dose-response profile to assess the effect of soft tissue arsenic burden on the C. fluminea mortality. This result could be used to support the establishment of an ecological risk assessment to prevent possible ecosystem and human health consequences., (2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This study investigated total arsenic (As) and As species contents of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in different production areas, seasons and sea locations on the southwestern coast of Taiwan. Analytical results indicate that contents of total As, arsenite, arsenate, dimethylarsinic acid, monomethylarsonic acid and arsenobetaine in oysters are 9.90+/-3.68, 0.091+/-0.104, 0.033+/-0.038, 0.529+/-0.284, 0.037+/-0.046 and 3.94+/-1.33 mg/g (dry wt), respectively. A ratio of inorganic As concentrations to total As concentrations is 1.26%. Total As contents of oysters cultured in the outer sea are statistically significantly lower than those of oysters cultured in the inner sea. The total As contents of oysters is the highest in Putai, where the blackfoot disease prevails. The low As contents in oysters is attributed to the low temperature in winter, which slows the metabolism of oysters. A maximum value is 33.37 microg/g (dry) in Putai in spring, because a considerable amount of aquacultural waste water with high As contents is discharged into adjacent drainage channels and rivers there during that season.

This work determined scopes of arsenic(As)-contaminated groundwater using risk-based indicator classification approaches in blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas of southern Taiwan. Indicator kriging was first used to establish a conditional cumulative distribution function at each cell. Three approaches--the p-quantile estimate, the E-type estimate and the minimization of the expected loss--were then adopted to delimit contaminated regions for a regulated standard of As concentrations in groundwater. According to a risk assessment model established in our previous research, the standard was set to 250 microg/l for aquacultural use, corresponding to the 77.1th percentile of observed concentrations. Misclassification risks and uncertainty were examined for the classification approaches. The analyzed results reveal that contaminated areas are the largest using the 0.771-quantile estimate, whereas they are the smallest using the minimization of the expected loss. Proportions of credible polluted areas with low risks to false positives maintain a constant, 12.9-13.2%, for the classification approaches. To reduce a great impact on human health, As-polluted groundwater should be strictly prohibited to cultivate fish in credible polluted zones and monitored persistently in polluted zones with high risks to false positives.

This study aimed to analyze the contamination potential associated with the reactive transport of nitrate-N and ammonium-N in the Choushui River alluvial fan, Taiwan and to evaluate a risk region in developing a groundwater protection policy in 2021. In this area, an aquifer redox sequence provided a good understanding of the spatial distributions of nitrate-N and ammonium-N and of aerobic and anaerobic environments. Equiprobable hydraulic conductivity (K) fields reproduced by geostatistical methods characterized the spatial uncertainty of contaminant transport in the heterogeneous aquifer. Nitrogen contamination potential fronts for high and low threshold concentrations based on a 95% risk probability were used to assess different levels of risk. The simulated result reveals that the spatial uncertainty of highly heterogeneous K fields governs the contamination potential assessment of the nitrogen compounds along the regional flow directions. The contamination potential of nitrate-N is more uncertain than that for ammonium-N. The high nitrate-N concentrations (> or =3 mg/L) are prevalent in the aerobic environment. The low concentration nitrate-N plumes (0.5-3 mg/L) gradually migrate to the mid-fan area and to a maximum distance of 15 km from the aerobic region. The nitrate-N plumes pose a potential human health risk in the aerobic and anaerobic environments. The ammonium-N plumes remain stably confined to the distal-fan and partial mid-fan areas.

A reactive fluid circulating within a porous medium can dissolve minerals with which it is out of equilibrium and modify the porosity and permeability. The positive feedback between fluid transport and mineral dissolution causes complex reaction front morphologies such as fingers or wormholes. This study presents a numerical model to investigate reaction front instability, temporal aquifer porosity, and species concentration evolution during reactive transport in a homogeneous porous medium with two small, initially local non-uniformities. Simulation results indicate that a stable planar front develops for a small upstream pressure gradient while the growth of two non-uniformities becomes unstable for a large upstream pressure gradient. Moreover, the unstable reaction front may be either double- or single-finger in shape. Reaction front shape selection depends on the spacing of the two local non-uniformities and the upstream pressure gradients. A behavior diagram is constructed to identify a planar, single- or double-front morphology. The critical non-uniformities spacing at which a reaction front begins to merge into a single-finger decreases with increasing upstream pressure gradient.

The back-propagation (BP) artificial neural network (ANN) is applied to forecast the variation of the quality of groundwater in the blackfoot disease area in Taiwan. Three types of BP ANN models were established to evaluate their learning performance. Model A included five concentration parameters as input variables for seawater intrusion and three concentration parameters as input variables for arsenic pollutant, respectively, whereas models B and C used only one concentration parameter for each. Furthermore, model C used seasonal data from two seasons to train the ANN, whereas models A and C used only data from one season. The results indicate that model C outperforms models A and B. Model C can describe complex variation of groundwater quality and be used to perform reliable forecasting. Moreover, the number of hidden nodes does not significantly influence the performance of the ANN model in training or testing.