Arya, S., & Kumar, A. (2023). Evaluation of stormwater management approaches and challenges in urban flood control. Urban Climate, 51, 101643.
Abstract: Across the globe, the damage caused by urban floods has increased manifold. The unchecked development has encroached the natural drainage, and the conventional drainage systems are inadequate in handling the augmented hydrological response. To counter this, a variety of approaches with the ability to adjust within the constraints of complex environments by managing surface runoff are being widely investigated and applied worldwide. These can put the flood water to better use, and the ecological balance may get restored. This review discusses recent progress made in the area of Green Infrastructure (GI), modelling tools that help in stormwater management, vulnerability analysis and flood risk assessment. Different ways of handling the problem are summarized through an extensive literature survey. The gaps and barriers that impede the implementation of stormwater management solutions and strategies for further improvement have also been presented. A case study of Gurugram city, India depicting the challenges being faced by urban flooding and the possible solutions through an expert survey is also presented.
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Liu, Z., Li, C., Tan, K., Li, Y., Tan, W., Li, X., et al. (2023). Study of natural attenuation after acid in situ leaching of uranium mines using isotope fractionation and geochemical data. Science of The Total Environment, 865, 161033.
Abstract: Acid in situ leaching (AISL) is a subsurface mining approach suitable for low-grade ores which does not generate tailings, and has been adopted widely in uranium mining. However, this technique causes an extremely high concentration of contaminants at post-mining sites and in the surroundings soon after the mining ceases. As a potential AISL remediation strategy, natural attenuation has not been studied in detail. To address this problem, groundwater collected from 26 wells located within, adjacent, upgradient, and downgradient of a post-mining site were chosen to analyze the fate of U(VI), SO42−, δ34S, and δ238U, to reveal the main mechanisms governing the migration and attenuation of the dominant contaminants and the spatio-temporal evolutions of contaminants in the confined aquifer of the post-mining site. The δ238U values vary from −0.07 ‰ to 0.09 ‰ in the post-mining site and from −1.43 ‰ to 0.03 ‰ around the post-mining site. The δ34S values were found to vary from 3.3 ‰ to 6.2 ‰ in the post-mining site and from 6.0 ‰ to 11.0 ‰ around the post-mining site. Detailed analysis suggests that there are large differences between the range of isotopic composition variation and the range of pollutants concentration distribution, and the estimated Rayleigh isotope fractionation factor is 0.9994–0.9997 for uranium and 1.0032–1.0061 for sulfur. The isotope ratio of uranium and sulfur can be used to deduce the migration history of the contaminants and the irreversibility of the natural attenuation process in the anoxic confined aquifer. Combining the isotopic fractionation data for U and S with the concentrations of uranium and sulfate improved the accuracy of understanding of reducing conditions along the flow path. The study also indicated that as long as the geological conditions are favorable for redox reactions, natural attenuation could be used as a cost-effective remediation scheme.
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Xie, T., Lian, B., Chen, C., Qian, T., Liu, X., Shang, Z., et al. (2023). Leaching behaviour and mechanism of U, 226Ra and 210Pb from uranium tailings at different pH conditions. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 270, 107300.
Abstract: A large number of radionuclides remain in uranium tailings, and U, 226Ra and 210Pb leach out with water chemistry, causing potential radioactive contamination to the surrounding environment. In this paper, uranium tailings from a uranium tailings pond in southern China were collected at different depths by means of borehole sampling, mixed and homogenised, and analysed for mineral and chemical composition, microscopic morphology, U, 226Ra and 210Pb fugacity, static leaching and dynamic leaching of U, 226Ra and 210Pb in uranium tailings at different pH conditions. The variation of U, 226Ra and 210Pb concentrations in the leachate under different pH conditions with time was obtained, and the leaching mechanism was analysed. The results showed that the uranium tailings were dominated by quartz, plagioclase and other minerals, of which SiO2 and Al2O3 accounted for 65.45% and 13.32% respectively, and U, 226Ra and 210Pb were mainly present in the residue form. The results of the static leaching experiments show that pH mainly influences the leaching of U, 226Ra and 210Pb by changing their chemical forms and the particle properties of the tailings, and that the lower the pH the more favourable the leaching. The results of dynamic leaching experiments during the experimental cycle showed that the leaching concentration and cumulative release of U, 226Ra and 210Pb in the leach solution were greater at lower pH conditions than at higher pH conditions, and the leaching of U, 226Ra and 210Pb at different pH conditions was mainly from the water-soluble and exchangeable states. The present research results are of great significance for the environmental risk management and control of radioactive contamination in existing uranium tailings ponds, and are conducive to ensuring the long-term safety, stability and sustainability of uranium mining sites.
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Li, J., Pang, Z., Liu, Y., Hu, S., Jiang, W., Tian, L., et al. (2023). Changes in groundwater dynamics and geochemical evolution induced by drainage reorganization: Evidence from 81Kr and 36Cl dating of geothermal water in the Weihe Basin of China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 623, 118425.
Abstract: 81Kr and 36Cl can both be used to date groundwater beyond the dating range of 14C. 81Kr usually provides reliable groundwater ages because it has uniform initial distribution and negligible subsurface generation, while 36Cl is commonly influenced by subsurface sources or “dead” chloride dissolution. Therefore, the combined use of 81Kr and 36Cl could provide clues on the evolution history of groundwater. In the present study, we performed 36Cl and 81Kr dating of geothermal water in Weihe Basin of China and interpreted the possible cause of disagreement. Two distinct water masses were identified with distinctive isotopic signals: groundwater with significant δ18O shifts (up to −2.0‰), dissolved dead Cl and ages < 1.0 Ma (Cluster A), and older water with little δ18O shifts, negligible dissolved Cl and ages >1.0 Ma (Cluster B). The results confirm the eastward flow path of Cluster B to the Ancient Sanmen Lake with an increasing trend of Cl concentration and age. Modern recharge from the mountains flows to the basin center with intense interaction between water and carbonate under respective reservoir temperatures (100 ∼ 130 °C). These waters flow through the saline stratum emerging from the spillover of the Ancient Sanmen Lake, resulting in higher dead Cl dissolution. A significant linear relationship is observed with the older end-member of ∼1.3Ma under the topographically-driven faster circulation effect. 81Kr ages seem to support the hypothesis that the birth of the modern Yellow River was at about 1.0–1.3 Ma. We inferred the drainage reorganization from the Ancient Sanmen Lake to the modern Yellow River since the Mid-Pleistocene Transition induced the change in groundwater dynamics as well as its chemical evolution. The excavation of the Ancient Sanmen Lake and the accentuated incision of the Weihe River induced groundwater gradient, and therefore the recharge from precipitation from both slopes of the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Beishan Mountains in the north. Our results highlight the effects of dead Cl on 36Cl dating and demonstrate the significant impact of catchment reorganization on groundwater dynamics and its chemistry.
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Zwartendijk, B. W., Ghimire C. P., Ravelona M., Lahitiana J., & van Meerveld H. J. (2023). Hydrometric data and stable isotope data for streamflow and rainfall in the Marolaona catchment, Madagascar, 2015-2016. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre.
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