Transport mechanisms of contaminants released from fine sediment in rivers

Contaminants released from sediment into rivers are one of the main problems to study in environmental hydrodynamics. For contaminants released into the overlying water under different hydrodynamic conditions, the mechanical mechanisms involved can be roughly divided into convective diffusion, molecular diffusion, and adsorption/desorption. Because of the obvious environmental influence of fine sediment （D90 = 0.06 mm）, non-cohesive fine sediment, and cohesive fine sediment are researched in this paper, and phosphorus is chosen for a typical adsorption of a contaminant. Through theoretical analysis of the contaminant release process, according to different hydraulic conditions, the contaminant release coupling mathematical model can be established by the N-S equation, the Darcy equation, the solute transport equation, and the adsorption/desorption equation. Then, the experiments are completed in an open water flume. The simulation results and experimental results show that convective diffusion dominates the contaminant release both in non-cohesive and cohesive fine sediment after their suspension, and that they contribute more than 90 % of the total release. Molecular diffusion and desorption have more of a contribution for contaminant release from unsuspended sediment. In unsuspension sediment, convective diffusion is about 10-50 times larger than molecular diffusion during the initial stages under high velocity; it is close to molecular diffusion in the later stages. Convective diffusion is about 6 times larger than molecular diffusion during the initial stages under low velocity, it is about a quarter of mole- cular diffusion in later stages, and has a similar level with desorption/adsorption. In unsuspended sediment, a seepage boundary layer exists below the water-sediment interface, and various release mechanisms in that layer mostly dominate the contaminant release process. In non-cohesive fine sediment, the depth of that layer increases linearly with shear stress. In cohesive fine sediment, the range seepage boundary is different from that in non-cohesive sediment, and that phenomenon is more obvious under a lower shear stress.

4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) enhances drought tolerance of apple by regulating rhizosphere microbial diversity and root architecture

The dwarfing rootstocks-mediated high-density apple orchard is becoming the main practice management.Currently,dwarfing rootstocks are widely used worldwide,but their shallow root system and drought sensitivity necessitate high irrigation requirements.Here,the root transcriptome and metabolome of dwarfing(M9-T337,a drought-sensitive rootstock)and vigorous rootstocks(Malus sieversii,a drought-tolerant species,is commonly used as a rootstock)showed that a coumarin derivative,4-Methylumbelliferon(4-MU),was found to accumulate significantly in the roots of vigorous rootstock under drought condition.When exogenous 4-MU was applied to the roots of dwarfing rootstock under drought treatment,the plants displayed increased root biomass,higher root-to-shoot ratio,greater photosynthesis,and elevated water use efficiency.In addition,diversity and structure analysis of the rhizosphere soil microbial community demonstrated that 4-MU treatment increased the relative abundance of putatively beneficial bacteria and fungi.Of these,Pseudomonas,Bacillus,Streptomyces,and Chryseolinea bacterial strains and Acremonium,Trichoderma,and Phoma fungal strains known for root growth,or systemic resistance against drought stress,were significantly accumulated in the roots of dwarfing rootstock after 4-MU treatment under drought stress condition.Taken together,we identified a promising compound—4-MU,as a useful tool,to strengthen the drought tolerance of apple dwarfing rootstock.

Numerical simulation of phosphorus release from resuspended sediment

One of the main issues in environmental hydraulics is pollutant release from sediments.For instance,the strong affinity between phosphorus and sediment permits most of the phosphorus to be adsorbed on the surface of the sediment particles in rivers or lakes.Post sediment resuspension,phosphorus is desorbed from the sediment to the overlying water.The release of phosphorus from the resuspended sediment is an important process in the secondary pollution of water.Herein,a coupled mechanical model of the overlying water,sediment,and pollutant was established based on the experimentally gathered data.Two types of sediment with different adsorption and desorption characteristics were selected to simulate the process of sediment resuspension and phosphorus release under different hydrodynamic conditions.The simulation results were subsequently used to analyze the relationship between the flow field characteristics and phosphorus concentration,from which the relationships between velocity,particle volume fraction,turbulent kinetic energy,total phosphorus concentration,desorbed phosphorus concentration,and time were elucidated.Based on the results,phosphorus is rapidly released into the overlying water from the resuspended sediment,and it reaches a peak value in a short duration.Unlike the release process of non-adsorption pollutants,hydrodynamic conditions and sediment properties play a crucial role in the phosphorus release process.The turbulent kinetic energy rapidly increases with the flow velocity,whereas the desorbed phosphorus concentration exhibits a certain relationship with the particle volume fraction and turbulent kinetic energy.In particular,the turbulent kinetic energy increases the desorbed phosphorus concentration per unit time.Additionally,the time taken by the total phosphorus concentration to attain its peak value is closely related to the characteristics of the flow field,whereas the amount of phosphorus is closely related to sediment properties.Post sediment resuspension,the release of phosphorus shows the characteristics of a centralized and massive release,which suggests that the total phosphorus concentration in the overlying water would change in a short duration and cause secondary pollution in the water environment.

Research on phosphorus release from resuspended sediment under wind-induced waves in shallow water

Sediment-water interfaces are important interfaces for lakes,which are related to most environmental and ecological problems.Wind-induced waves cause secondary pollution via sediment resuspension.Since the coupling mechanism of water,resuspended sediments,and phosphorus affects the release of phosphorus(P)near the interface,a coupled model was explored for two sediment types with different adsorption-desorption capabilities to examine sediment resuspension and P release.The relationships among wind speed,wave characteristics,sediment distribution and P concentration were obtained.For different sediments,the unit sediment desorption release is negatively correlated with wind speed.When sediments are resuspended under low or moderate wind speed,the P concentration in the overlying water increases abruptly,hampering diffusion.P release exhibits the characteristics of concentrated release in a small region and changes the water environment rapidly.