Nitrogen (N) pollution in shallow groundwater within the Jianghan Plain—a depositional basin along the Yangtze River in China—is a serious issue affecting the local water supply. There is little concern regarding temporal variation patterns of groundwater N in regions with intensive groundwater/surface-water interactions thus far. In this study, a 2-year field monitoring program and a set of incubation experiments were jointly applied to characterize the seasonal variation mechanisms of groundwater N. Groundwater monitoring suggested that temporal N variations in monitoring wells of 25 and 10-m depth were correlated with fluctuations in water levels, with lower NH₄-N and higher NO₃⁻-N concentrations corresponding to groundwater discharge during the dry season, and with higher NH₄-N and lower NO₃⁻-N concentrations corresponding to groundwater recharge during the wet season. Batch sediment incubation experiments showed that buried organic carbon in sediments from the field site could not promote NH₄-N release, but exogenous organic carbon and oxidant input could catalyze organic N mineralization, resulting in NH₄-N release. Nevertheless, NO₃⁻-N release was limited in all incubations. Thus, the temporal variation patterns could be divided into (1) groundwater N in type-1 wells (25 and 10 m), controlled by the annual reversal of groundwater flow gradient, which determined whether there was input of exogenous organic carbon or oxidants, ultimately affecting organic N mineralization, denitrification and other transformation processes, and (2) groundwater N in type-2 wells (<4 m depth), which showed no significant seasonal variation, implying the process is mainly controlled by surface inputs in the shallower subsurface.

Las transformaciones en regadio suponen el cambio a una agricultura mas intensiva con lo que aumentan considerablemente los aportes al suelo de sales en el agua de riego, fertilizantes y pesticidas. Estos aportes tienen un impacto en la fertilidad del suelo y en la calidad de las aguas subterraneas que conviene tener en cuenta. Los principales aspectos que se consideran en este trabajo son la salinizacion del suelo, la contaminacion de las aguas subterraneas por nitratos y la contaminacion del suelo por metales pesados y otros elementos traza.

Atividades de cultivo de camarão tendem a aumentar a taxa de sedimentação de matéria orgânica nos corpos hídricos receptores de seus efluentes, devido à excessiva produção de produtos de excreção e sobras de ração. Dependendo das condições ambientais, o sistema pode não apresentar condições de autodepuração, gerando um grande acúmulo de nutrientes ao longo da camada sedimentar e intensificação do metabolismo bêntico levando, muitas vezes, o ambiente a um processo de eutrofização e possível situação de anoxia. Utilizaram-se, no presente estudo, incubações in situ com câmaras bentônicas transparentes e opacas, para avaliar o metabolismo bêntico em uma área de cultivo de camarão no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos, RS. Ficou evidente a existência de uma clara interferência do cultivo nos processos de regeneração bêntica de nutrientes, incrementando os fluxos de nitrogênio (na forma de amônio) e fósforo (fosfato). Embora a interferência desta atividade se tenha mostrado de abrangência local e temporária (apenas 4 a 5 meses do ano), é conveniente salientar que ela ganha maior importância em locais rasos e de circulação restrita, como é o caso de baías e enseadas, locais em que o cultivo de camarão é desenvolvido no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos. | Shrimp farming activities tend to increase the organic matter sedimentation rate, by extreme inputs of excreta products and shrimp food (commercial shrimp diet) into the environment. In certain environmental conditions, the auto-depuration system can be surpassed, generating a high production of nutrients at the sedimentary layer as a result of benthic metabolism intensification. Consequently the system can be induced to a eutrophication processes and anoxia. In the present study, in situ incubations with transparent and opaque chambers have been used to evaluate the benthic metabolism in semi-intensive shrimp farming areas in the Patos Lagoon Estuary (pen enclosures). Existence of clear interference of the cultivation in the processes of benthic regeneration of nutrients was evident, resulting in increases of phosphorus (phosphate) and nitrogen (in the ammonium form) fluxes. Even considering that this activity has a local and temporary distribution (only 4 to 5 months of the year), it is important to call attention to the sediment oxygen consumption and the input of nutrients deriving from the regeneration of organic matter, which is enhanced in shallow waters and restricted circulation areas (such as small bays), locations where shrimp cultivation is developed in the Patos Lagoon Estuary.

Resumen: La falta de información sobre la disponibilidad de macronutrimentos, como el fósforo, en los suelos agrícolas tratados con estiércol bovino e irrigado con aguas negras fue lo que motivó el presente estudio. La variabilidad de los tipos de suelo, los sistemas de manejo y la calidad del agua de riego, son factores que influyen en la mineralización del estiércol en el Valle de Juárez, Chihuahua. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar la cantidad de fósforo mineralizado de estiércol bovino lechero en tres tipos de suelo y dos tipos de agua de riego, en incubación en campo. El experimento se realizó en un predio del Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas (ICB), de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), de marzo a septiembre de 2010. Los factores en estudio fueron tres tipos de suelo Fluvisoles (con textura franco- arenoso, franco y arcilloso), dos calidades de agua (agua negra de tratamiento primario del canal de descarga en las plantas de tratamiento de la ciudad, y agua potable) con dos niveles de estiércol: 0 y 50 Mg ha-1, con base en peso seco. El diseño experimental fue completamente al azar con un arreglo factorial con cuatro repeticiones; las unidades experimentales fueron cilindros de aluminio de 5 × 15 cm. La conductividad eléctrica de los suelos aumentó significativamente con la aplicación de estiércol, de 3.11 a 3.77 dS m-1, en promedio; la humedad del suelo mostró un aumento de 5.09 a 6.52% al final del experimento en los tratamientos con estiércol. No se detectó efecto significativo en la mineralización de P (fósforo) entre los tratamientos para el factor tipo de agua. Los niveles de P Olsen detectados en el suelo, al final del experimento, después de 206 días de incubación, fueron de 40.8, 54.4 y 30.5 mg kg-1 para los suelos arcilloso, franco y franco-arenoso, respectivamente. Las concentraciones estimadas de P Olsen mineralizado neto fueron de 17.4, 24.4 y 18.7 mg kg-1; y la estimación de P disponible para las plantas fue de 78.8, 87.5 y 84.5 kg ha-1 para los mismos suelos. Los resultados del estudio muestran que la aplicación de estiércol y el tipo de suelo afectan la disponibilidad de P Olsen, pero no el tipo de agua, por lo que debe considerarse en el manejo de los suelos para mejorar el uso del estiércol como fertilizante orgánico. | Abstract: There is little information relative to mineralization of macronutrients, such as phosphorus, in agricultural soils amended with manure and irrigated with sewage water. Soil variability and management systems as well as the type of water existing in the Valle de Juarez, Chihuahua, are factors that have significant effect on manure mineralization. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of phosphorus from dairy manure mineralized in three soils irrigated with two types of water under field conditions. The experiment was conducted at the Biomedical Sciences Institute of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez, from March to September 2010. The factors studied were three textural types of soils: sandy loam, loam, and clay; two type of water: treated sewage water from the main water treatment plant at Ciudad Juarez and tap water; and two manure rates: 0 and 50 Mg ha-1 dry weight base. The experimental units were 5 × 15 cm aluminum cylinders. The experimental design was completely randomized with a factorial arrangement, and 12 treatments with four replications. Electric conductivity increased significantly in soils as a result of manure application from 3.11 to 3.77 dS m-1; soil moisture increased from 5.09 to 6.52% at the end of the experiment as an effect of manure application. There was no effect of wastewater on P mineralization. The amount of P Olsen detected in soils at the end of the experiment after 193 days of incubation were 40.8, 54.4, and 30.5 mg kg-1 for the clay, loam, and sandy loam soils, respectively. The net amounts of mineralized P Olsen were 17.4, 24.4, and 18.7 mg kg1for the same soils, and P available for plants was 78.8, 87.5, and 84.5 kg ha-1. The results of this study demonstrate that manure application and soil type affect the availability of P Olsen, but not the type of water. This should be considered in soil management to improve the use of manure as organic fertilizer in areas where treated wastewater is being increasingly used for irrigation due to low availability of fresh water.

In the Gran Sasso fissured carbonate aquifer (central Italy), a long-term (2001–2007) spatio-temporal hydrochemical and²²²Rn tracing survey was performed with the goal to investigate groundwater flow and water–rock interaction. Analyses of the physico-chemical parameters, and comparisons of multichemical and characteristic ratios in space and time, and subsequent statistical analyses, permitted a characterisation of the hydrogeology. At the regional scale, groundwater flows from recharge areas to the springs located at the aquifer boundaries, with a gradual increase of mineralisation and temperature along its flowpaths. However, the parameters of each group of springs may significantly deviate from the regional trend owing to fast flows and to the geological setting of the discharge spring areas, as corroborated by statistical data. Along regional flowpaths, the effects of seasonal recharge and lowering of the water table clearly cause changes in ion concentrations over time. This conceptual model was validated by an analysis of the²²²Rn content in groundwater.²²²Rn content, for which temporal variability depends on seasonal fluctuations of the water table, local lithology and the fracture network at the spring discharge areas, was considered as a tracer of the final stages of groundwater flowpaths.

Worldwide, coastal aquifers are threatened by seawater intrusion. The threat is greatest when aquifers are overexploited or when recharge is low due to a semi-arid or arid climate. The Kaluvelli-Pondicherry sedimentary basin in Tamil Nadu (India) presents both these characteristics. Groundwater levels in the Vanur aquifer can reach 50 m below sea level at less than 20 km inland. This groundwater depletion is due to an exponential increase in extraction for irrigation over 35 years. No seawater intrusion has yet been detected, but a sulphate-rich mineralization is observed, the result of upward vertical leakage from the underlying Ramanathapuram aquifer. To characterize the mechanisms involved, and to facilitate effective water management, hydrogeological numerical modelling of this multi-layered system has been conducted. Existing and acquired geological and hydrodynamic data have been applied to a quasi-3D hydrogeological model, NEWSAM. Recharge had been previously quantified through the inter-comparison of hydrological models, based on climatological and surface-flow field measurements. Sensitivity tests on parameters and boundary conditions associated with the sea were performed. The resulting water balances for each aquifer led to hypotheses of (1) an offshore fresh groundwater stock, and (2) a reversal and increase of the upward leakage from the Ramanathapuram aquifer, thus corroborating the hypothesis proposed to explain geochemical results of the previous study, and denying a seawater intrusion. Palaeo-climate review supports the existence of favourable hydro-climatological conditions to replenish an offshore groundwater stock of the Vanur aquifer in the past. The extent of this fresh groundwater stock was calculated using the Kooi and Groen method.

Shallow groundwater is the main source for drinking water in Kabul, Afghanistan. It comes from a multitude of shallow hand-pumped wells spread over the whole city area. The groundwater is characterised by slightly oxic redox conditions. Interactions with aquifer carbonates lead to near-neutral pH and high degrees of hardness. The mostly negative water budget of the Kabul Basin is the result of strong evaporation which leads to an increase in salt and also of some undesirable constituents, e.g. borate. Several years of drought have aggravated this problem. The shallow groundwater in the city has received tremendous amounts of pollution due to a lack of proper waste disposal and sewage treatment. Common indicators are elevated concentrations of nutrients such as nitrate and faecal bacteria. The high infant mortality can at least partially be attributed to the insufficient water hygiene. Acid generated during the mineralisation of the wastewater is hidden due to the strong pH buffering capacity of the groundwater system. Redox and pH conditions preclude significant mobilisation of trace metals and metalloids.