Transfer of pollutants in soils, sediments and water systems: From small to large scale
Abstract
If pollutants would always remain in the compartments they were deposited in, a lot of environmentalists would have to worry a lot less about. Most environmental pressures, however, develop a dynamic behavior and numerous processes govern the pathway of pollutants in the environment. They range from complex input functions into soils and surface water to migration processes in soil, groundwater, surface water and sediments to redistribution processes from soil and water into the atmosphere. Most environmental research aims to understand, parameterize, and model these processes that may be of chemical, biological, and physical nature. For this work, various spatial scales need to be considered. These range from pore size studies to basin-wide investigations whereas time scales of pollutant mobility range from hours to centuries and in some cases thousands of years. In addition, input and spreading behavior of environmental pollutants is often diffuse rather than clearly defined in time and space. Such spreading of input behavior means that it is often difficult to attribute sources and directions of pollutant transport and their turnover. This challenge is met by geoscientists, chemists, microbiologists, modelers and other environmental specialists in several manners.