Laboratory Scale Investigation of Dispersion Effects on Saltwater Movement due to Cutoff Wall Installation

In the numerical investigation of saltwater transport in coastal aquifers, we need to correctly evaluate the hydrodynamic dispersion in the flow field. In this study, we focused on the role of dispersivity in the removal process of residual saltwater in a laboratory scale cutoff wall experiment. From a pulse-type fluorescent tracer injection experiment in a saturated porous media of glass beads with a mean diameter of 0.088 cm, the estimated longitudinal and transverse dispersivities were found to be 0.07 cm and 0.0025 cm, respectively. Numerical analysis of the saltwater intrusion and subsequent removal after cutoff wall installation using SEAWAT and the generated dispersivity ratio (αL/αT) of 28 reproduces well the measured salt concentration changes with time. Whereas, if a dispersivity ratio of 10 is used in the numerical simulation, transverse dispersion in the saltwater and freshwater mixing zone becomes large and the residual saltwater is removed faster than the laboratory experiment. Inversely, if 100 was used, the residual saltwater removal time took longer. The transverse dispersion is a key parameter in the mechanical dispersion of saltwater in the mixing zone after cutoff wall installation

Soil heterogeneity effects on acid flushing of lead-contaminated soil

A compact model for evaluation of acid flushing of heavy-metal-contaminated soil in a small-scale on-site treatment plant is proposed. The model assumes that the soil was re-packed in a container after excavation resulting in a soil structure with heterogeneous and random physical and chemical properties. To evaluate the effects of heterogeneity on the efficiency of contaminant removal by acid flushing, a numerical analysis of lead transport in the heterogeneous soil medium was performed. The model examines cation exchange and surface complexation reactions involving three cations (Ca, Pb, and H) and one anion (Cl) in both dissolved and exchangeable forms, two Pb surface complexes (SOPbCl and SOPbOH), and one Cl surface complex (SOH2Cl). The transport of these species during flushing with acid in a synthetically generated two-dimensional heterogeneous soil was simulated in the model. Results indicated that the flushing fluid preferentially followed pathways with large permeability. The heterogeneous cation exchange capacity (CEC) distribution and surface complexation sites had a significant effect on the transport of dissolved species. Because the CEC was set to a relatively low value, Pb was adsorbed mainly as surface complexes (SOPbCl and SOPbOH). Simulation results suggest that blocks of low hydraulic conductivity located in the upper part of the model domain greatly impede solute transport. Ponding conditions did not significantly affect the efficiency of decontamination. The model and its results are useful in the design of small-scale treatment plants for acid flushing

Modeling Solute Transport in Volcanic Ash Soils with Cation Exchange and Anion Retardation

Groundwater under agricultural lands is often contaminated by nitrate. In southern Japan, aquifers are covered by volcanic ash soils that can leach nitrate to the groundwater. In this study, column experiments using two volcanic ash soils (Kuroboku and Akahoya) were carried out. A mixed solution of KNO3 and K2SO4 was used in the leaching experiments. Based on the experiments, a reactive transport model was developed using the Constrained Interpolation Profile method for ion transport and used to calculate chemical equilibrium for the cation exchange reactions. Anion adsorption was modeled by retardation in the numerical model. The developed simulation model results were compared to results obtained by the reactive transport model PHAST. The developed model was shown to quite well reproduce general characteristics of the experimental results. Also, the developed model results agreed well with results from PHAST. Slight discrepancy between observed and calculated breakthrough curves was probably caused by ignoring the kinetic reaction in the model calculations

Laboratory Scale Investigation of Dispersion Effects on Saltwater Movement due to Cutoff Wall Installation

In the numerical investigation of saltwater transport in coastal aquifers, we need to correctly evaluate the hydrodynamic dispersion in the flow field. In this study, we focused on the role of dispersivity in the removal process of residual saltwater in a laboratory scale cutoff wall experiment. From a pulse-type fluorescent tracer injection experiment in a saturated porous media of glass beads with a mean diameter of 0.088 cm, the estimated longitudinal and transverse dispersivities were found to be 0.07 cm and 0.0025 cm, respectively. Numerical analysis of the saltwater intrusion and subsequent removal after cutoff wall installation using SEAWAT and the generated dispersivity ratio (αL/αT) of 28 reproduces well the measured salt concentration changes with time. Whereas, if a dispersivity ratio of 10 is used in the numerical simulation, transverse dispersion in the saltwater and freshwater mixing zone becomes large and the residual saltwater is removed faster than the laboratory experiment. Inversely, if 100 was used, the residual saltwater removal time took longer. The transverse dispersion is a key parameter in the mechanical dispersion of saltwater in the mixing zone after cutoff wall installation

Reactive solute transport with a variable selectivity coefficient in an undisturbed soil column

The spatial distribution of major ion concentration limits the predictability of solute sport processes in field soils. Therefore, it is important to analyze solute transport with chemical reactions based on results obtained from field soils and numerical simulation. A simulation model with cation-exchange reactions was developed and applied to solute-transport analysis of an undisturbed field soil. Chemical reaction terms in the convective-dispersive equation were estimated by the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear least-squares regression technique to satisfy physical stud chemical processes simultaneously. The reliability of the model was tested with liquid-phase and solid-phase concentrations of measured spatial distributions of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ after continuous infiltration of KCl solution into an undisturbed soft column. The experimental results revealed that the selectivity coefficients for Ca-Na and Co-Mg exchange could be kept constant, while those for Ca-K exchange increased with the equivalent fraction of K+ in the solid phase. The effects of the exchange selectivity coefficient on reactive solute transport are discussed based on the simulation results. When a constant selectivity coefficient was used, the model failed to predict the spatial distributions of cation concentrations in the solid phase. Thus, model predictions can be improved by use of variable instead of constant selectivity coefficients

Sensitivity Analysis of Plant- and Cultivar-Specific Parameters of APSIM-Sugar Model: Variation between Climates and Management Conditions

With increasing demand for food and energy, there is a great need for improving sugarcane productivity. New cultivars and management strategies can be assessed using process-based crop models. Information on cultivars needs to be updated frequently, but it is still limited in most crop models. Therefore, it is important to identify possible candidates for varietal parameterization and calibration. Because sensitivity analysis is computationally expensive, we used a less expensive emulator-based approach to conduct a global sensitivity analysis using the apsimr package and GEM-SA software. We studied the sensitivity of four yield outputs of the APSIM-Sugar model to 13 parameters in rainfed and irrigated conditions in Japan and Sri Lanka. Unlike previous studies, our aim was to give comprehensive insights into the variation in sensitivity due to variation in climate. The results confirmed distinct variation of parameter influence between climates and between management conditions. We identify possible candidates for parameterization and calibration of new cultivars for APSIM-Sugar under different environments, and show the effect of variation in climate on variation in parameter influence under different management conditions. It was confirmed that both radiation use efficiency and transpiration efficiency were sensitive and have to be examined to use new cultivars, though these are not listed as cultivar parameters

Optimized Subsurface Irrigation System: The Future of Sugarcane Irrigation

Climate change may harm the growth and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) without the introduction of appropriate irrigation facilities. Therefore, new irrigation methods should be developed to maximize water use efficiency and reduce operational costs. OPSIS (optimized subsurface irrigation system) is a new solar-powered automatic subsurface irrigation system that creates a phreatic zone below crop roots and relies on capillarity to supply water to the root zone. It is designed for upland crops such as sugarcane. We investigated the performance of OPSIS for irrigating sugarcane and evaluated its performance against sprinkler irrigation under subtropical conditions. We conducted field experiments in Okinawa, Japan, over the period from 2013 to 2016 and took measurements during spring- and summer-planted main crops and two ratoon crops of the spring-planted crop. Compared with sprinkler irrigation, OPSIS produced a significantly higher fresh cane yield, consumed less irrigation water and provided a higher irrigation water use efficiency. We conclude that OPSIS could be adopted as a sustainable solution to sugarcane irrigation in Okinawa and similar environments

Optimized Subsurface Irrigation System (OPSIS): Beyond Traditional Subsurface Irrigation

Technologies that ensure the availability of water for crops need to be developed in order for agriculture to be sustainable in the face of climate change. Irrigation is costly, so technologies need to be improved or newly developed, not only with the aim of the sustainable use of precious water resources, but also with the aim of reducing associated labor and energy costs, which lead to higher production costs. OPSIS (optimized subsurface irrigation system) is a super water-saving subsurface irrigation system developed to irrigate upland crops by soil capillarity. It is an environmentally-friendly, solar-powered automatic irrigation method with minimum energy consumption and operational costs. In soils vulnerable to drought damage, OPSIS can outperform other irrigation methods. This technical note introduces OPSIS

Study on Diffusion of Silt and Sand Contaminants in Shallow Coastal Area : On the Diffusivities of Settling Particles

This paper discusses the turbulent diffusivities of settling particles in a stationary turbulent field. A solution to the particle diffusivities is derived by the use of the equations of particle motion, the Eulerian spatial correlations approximated by exponential function and Taylor\u27s diffusion theory. The present theory is applied to the analysis of experimental results or Snyder & Lumley (1971) for a grid-generated turbulence and of Calabrese & Middleman (1979) for the turbulent core region of a fully developed vertical pipe flow. The following results are obtained: (1) When the Eulerian spatial correlations, turbulent intensity and particle parameters are given, it is possible to evaluate the particle diffusivities through the present theory. (2) The theoretical results are in good agreements with the experimental results. (3) In isotropic turbulence, the particle diffusivities in the vertical direction are larger than those in the horizontal directions.定常乱流場において,流体の乱れ強度が粒子の沈降速度より小さい場合に対し沈降性粒子の拡散係数に関する解析を行った.得られた結果を要約すると,(1)定常乱流場における沈降性粒子の変動速度のスペクトル,拡がり幅の自乗および拡散係数の理論解を提示した.(2)沈降性粒子の拡がり幅の自乗の理論解とSnyder and Lumley(1971)およびCalabrese and Middleman(1979)の実験結果との比較を行い,ほぼよい一致を得た.(3)等方性の乱れの場において,粒子の鉛直方向の拡散係数は水平方向より大きくなる