Abstract
This paper provided for the first time an experimental study on the influence of sea level rise on transport of contamination in the heterogeneous unconfined aquifer of the coastal zone. The experiments were conducted using the tank, considering the difference between sea level and inland head 1 cm for Case 1 and 2 cm for Case 2. Observed data were validated using the numerical model, which matched well with the toe length of seawater wedge and the shape of the contaminant plume. The results showed that the observed and simulated values of Cl− concentration at the sampling points increased sharply at the initial time, and then they increased slowly and tended to be stable. The seawater wedge migrated inland with time under the effects of the hydraulic gradient toward the inland and the density difference between saltwater and freshwater. The steady state length of the 50% isoline of the seawater wedge was 167 cm in Case 2, which was larger than that of Case 1. The maximum area of plume in Case 2 was 0.13 m2, larger than that in Case 1, which indicated that the velocity of diffusion of the contaminant plume increased as the sea level increased. As the velocity of diffusion increased, the time for pollutant migration to the intersection between seawater and freshwater became shorter. The maximum area and vertical depth of pollutant plume were sensitive to the hydraulic conductivity, dispersivity, and contamination concentration. The infiltration depth and range of the contaminant plume in the heterogeneous aquifer were greater than those in the homogeneous aquifer of the actual beach.
Highlights
The coastal area is densely populated, due to the rapid development of the economy there
The wastewater infiltrates into the aquifer due to seepage from facilities, with the rapid development of the aquaculture in recent years, which results in the deterioration of groundwater quality and water balance of coastal aquifers [9,10,11]
The heterogeneity of aquifers affecting the movement of pollutants in coastal aquifers should receive more attention. It was not clear how the rising sea level affects the contaminant transport in the heterogeneous aquifer, there were many studies on the seawater intrusion caused by the rising sea level
Summary
The coastal area is densely populated, due to the rapid development of the economy there. The methods of laboratory experiments, analytical solution, and numerical simulation were used to investigate the shape and movement of the solute plume in the coastal aquifer e.g., [7,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43]. The heterogeneity of aquifers affecting the movement of pollutants in coastal aquifers should receive more attention It was not clear how the rising sea level affects the contaminant transport in the heterogeneous aquifer, there were many studies on the seawater intrusion caused by the rising sea level. The variation of the area and depth of contaminant under the condition of the rising sea level in the heterogeneous aquifer is examined, based on the laboratory experiments and numerical simulation. The manadinsehawydartoegreinoltorugsicioaln ofanctcoornstaamffiencatinntgtrathnespcoortntaarme diniascnutssteradn. sTphoertmianinthheydcrooagsetoallogaiqcualiffearctaorres daffeteecrtminignethde. contaminant transport in the coastal aquifer are determined
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