A fugacity based continuous and dynamic fate and transport model for river networks and its application to Altamaha River

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2009-06, Vol.407 (12), p.3855-3866
• Main Authors: Kilic, Sinem Gokgoz, Aral, Mustafa M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atrazine; Atrazine - analysis; Atrazine - chemistry; Contaminant fate; Contaminant transport; Continental surface waters; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; Freshwater; Fugacity; Georgia; Lower Altamaha River; Models, Chemical; Natural water pollution; PCB; Phase Transition; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - chemistry; Rivers; Thermodynamics; Water Movements; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution - prevention & control; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.01.057

In this paper, a continuous and dynamic fugacity-based contaminant fate and transport model is developed. The dynamic interactions among all phases in the physical domain are addressed through the use of the fugacity approach instead of the use of concentration as the unknown variable. The full form of Saint Venant equations is used in order to solve for the hydrodynamic conditions in the river network. Then a fugacity-based advection–dispersion equation is modeled to examine the fate and transport of contaminants in the river network for all phases. The fugacity-based, dynamic and continuous contaminant fate and transport model developed here is applied to Altamaha River in Georgia, USA to demonstrate its use in environmental exposure analysis. Altamaha River is the largest river system east of Mississippi which offers habitat for many species, including about 100 rare endangered species, along its 140 mile course. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a highly hydrophobic and toxic chemical ubiquitous in nature, and atrazine, the most commonly-used agricultural pesticide are modeled as contaminants in this demonstration. Through this approach the concentration distribution of PCBs and atrazine in the water column of Altamaha River as well as the sediments can be obtained with relative ease, which is an improvement over concentration based analysis of phase distribution of contaminants.