Simulation of anoxic lenses as exporters of reactivity in alluvial aquifer sediments
Abstract
Sedimentary interfaces between contrasting hydrogeological facies in alluvial aquifers drive the development of biogeochemical interfaces that influence subsurface and surface water quality. Here, we calibrate a reactive transport model on a series of dual-domain column experiments, where centimeter-scale, low-permeability, organic-rich anoxic lenses are embedded in coarser-grained aquifer material. Simulations explicitly account for C, Fe, and S cycling at the interface between the lenses and the aquifer in water-saturated conditions. Our results highlight the role of fine-grained, organic-rich inclusions not only as sources or sinks for redox-sensitive species, but also as exporters of nutrients that stimulate downgradient biogeochemical cycling. By releasing large amounts of organic carbon into the surrounding aquifer, such lenses drive the development of proximal secondary reduction zones ("halos"), characterized by high microbial activity (e.g., sulfate reduction) and accumulation of reduced reaction products (e.g., iron sulfide). If similar secondary reduction zones develop within the hydraulically conductive domain of an aquifer, they would be highly susceptible to changes in hydrologic conditions, for instance oxygen pulses associated with seasonal snowmelt. Furthermore, our results also emphasize the limitations of relying solely on aqueous species measurements to inform reactivity in systems where fast redox cycling and/or sizeable particulate transport may limit the signaturemore »
- Authors:
-
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Wageningen Univ. (Netherlands)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1898427
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 334; Journal ID: ISSN 0016-7037
- Publisher:
- Elsevier; The Geochemical Society; The Meteoritical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Alluvial aquifers; Dual-domain systems; Sulfur cycling; Iron cycling; Particulate/colloidal organic carbon
Citation Formats
Babey, Tristan, Boye, Kristin, Tolar, Bradley, Engel, Maya, Noël, Vincent, Perzan, Zach, Kumar, Naresh, Francis, Christopher A., Bargar, John R., and Maher, Kate. Simulation of anoxic lenses as exporters of reactivity in alluvial aquifer sediments. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2022.07.018.
Babey, Tristan, Boye, Kristin, Tolar, Bradley, Engel, Maya, Noël, Vincent, Perzan, Zach, Kumar, Naresh, Francis, Christopher A., Bargar, John R., & Maher, Kate. Simulation of anoxic lenses as exporters of reactivity in alluvial aquifer sediments. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2022.07.018
Babey, Tristan, Boye, Kristin, Tolar, Bradley, Engel, Maya, Noël, Vincent, Perzan, Zach, Kumar, Naresh, Francis, Christopher A., Bargar, John R., and Maher, Kate. Fri .
"Simulation of anoxic lenses as exporters of reactivity in alluvial aquifer sediments". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2022.07.018. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1898427.
@article{osti_1898427,
title = {Simulation of anoxic lenses as exporters of reactivity in alluvial aquifer sediments},
author = {Babey, Tristan and Boye, Kristin and Tolar, Bradley and Engel, Maya and Noël, Vincent and Perzan, Zach and Kumar, Naresh and Francis, Christopher A. and Bargar, John R. and Maher, Kate},
abstractNote = {Sedimentary interfaces between contrasting hydrogeological facies in alluvial aquifers drive the development of biogeochemical interfaces that influence subsurface and surface water quality. Here, we calibrate a reactive transport model on a series of dual-domain column experiments, where centimeter-scale, low-permeability, organic-rich anoxic lenses are embedded in coarser-grained aquifer material. Simulations explicitly account for C, Fe, and S cycling at the interface between the lenses and the aquifer in water-saturated conditions. Our results highlight the role of fine-grained, organic-rich inclusions not only as sources or sinks for redox-sensitive species, but also as exporters of nutrients that stimulate downgradient biogeochemical cycling. By releasing large amounts of organic carbon into the surrounding aquifer, such lenses drive the development of proximal secondary reduction zones ("halos"), characterized by high microbial activity (e.g., sulfate reduction) and accumulation of reduced reaction products (e.g., iron sulfide). If similar secondary reduction zones develop within the hydraulically conductive domain of an aquifer, they would be highly susceptible to changes in hydrologic conditions, for instance oxygen pulses associated with seasonal snowmelt. Furthermore, our results also emphasize the limitations of relying solely on aqueous species measurements to inform reactivity in systems where fast redox cycling and/or sizeable particulate transport may limit the signature of reactivity in the dissolved phase.},
doi = {10.1016/j.gca.2022.07.018},
journal = {Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta},
number = ,
volume = 334,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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