Voici les éléments 1 - 2 sur 2
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Influence of surface water – groundwater interactions on the spatial distribution of pesticide metabolites in groundwater
    In groundwater, pesticidemetabolites tend to occurmore frequently and at higher concentrations than their parent pesticides, due to their highermobility and persistence. These properties might also favor their transfer across surface water – groundwater interfaces. However, the effect of surface water – groundwater interactions on the metabolite occurrence in groundwater and pumpingwells has so far received little attention.Weinvestigated the spatial distribution of metabolites in an unconsolidated aquifer, which interacts with two surface water bodies originating from catchments with contrasting land use. We focused onmetabolites of the herbicide chloridazon, namely desphenyl-chloridazon (DPC) and methyl-desphenyl-chloridazon (MDPC) and characterized surface water – groundwater interactions with various environmental tracers (e.g. electrical conductivity, stable water isotopes,wastewater tracers). In zones influenced by a river fromamountainous area,metabolite concentrations were low(median values ≤0.50 μg L−1 for DPC, ≤0.19 μg L−1 forMDPC). In contrast, high concentrations occurred in areas dominated by recharge fromagricultural fields and/or influenced by a streamfroman adjacent intensely farmed catchment (median values up to 1.9 μg L−1 for DPC and up to 0.75 μg L−1 forMDPC). An endmember analysis using hydro-chemical data suggested that about 20% of the DPC mass in a pumping well originated from the neighboring catchment and on its own would cause a concentration above 0.1 μg L−1 for DPC. Our findings highlight that the mobile metabolites can be imported from zones with intense agriculture outside of the exploited aquifer via surface-water groundwater interactions influencing the metabolite concentration level and longterm dynamics in the aquifer.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Adsorbing vs. Nonadsorbing tracers for assessing pesticide transport in arable soils
    (2017-9) ;
    Prasuhn, Volker
    ;
    ;
    Spiess, Ernst
    ;
    Melsbach, Aileen
    ;
    Lihl, Christina
    ;
    ;
    Hofstetter, Thomas B.
    ;
    Elsener, Martin
    ;
    The suitability of two different tracers to mimic the behavior of pesticides in agricultural soils and to evidence the potential for preferential flow was evaluated in outdoor lysimeter experiments. The herbicide atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine] was used as a model compound. Two tracers were used: a nonadsorbing tracer (bromide) and a weakly adsorbing dye tracer (uranine). Two soils that are expected to show a different extent of macropore preferential flow were used: a well-drained sandy-loamy Cambisol (gravel soil) and a poorly drained loamy Cambisol (moraine soil). Conditions for preferential flow were promoted by applying heavy simulated rainfall shortly after pesticide application. In some of the experiments, preferential flow was also artificially simulated by injecting the solutes through a narrow tube below the root zone. With depth injection, preferential leaching of atrazine occurred shortly after application in both soil types, whereas with surface application, it occurred only in the moraine soil. Thereafter, atrazine transport was mainly through the porous soil matrix, although contributions of preferential flow were also observed. For all the application approaches and soil types, after 900 d, <3% of the applied amount of atrazine was recovered in the drainage water. Only uranine realistically illustrated the early atrazine breakthrough by transport through preferential flow. Uranine broke through during the first intense irrigation at the same time as atrazine. Bromide, however, appeared earlier than atrazine in some cases. The use of dye tracers as pesticide surrogates might assist in making sustainable decisions with respect to pesticide application timing relative to rainfall or soil potential for preferential flow.