@article{StedingKempkaKuehn2021, author = {Steding, Svenja and Kempka, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {How insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers affect the leaching process within potash seams}, series = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, volume = {11}, journal = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, number = {19}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2076-3417}, doi = {10.3390/app11199314}, pages = {21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Potash seams are a valuable resource containing several economically interesting, but also highly soluble minerals. In the presence of water, uncontrolled leaching can occur, endangering subsurface mining operations. In the present study, the influence of insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers on leaching zone evolution was examined by means of a reactive transport model. For that purpose, a scenario analysis was carried out, considering different rock distributions within a carnallite-bearing potash seam. The results show that reaction-dominated systems are not affected by heterogeneities at all, whereas transport-dominated systems exhibit a faster advance in homogeneous rock compositions. In return, the ratio of permeated rock in vertical direction is higher in heterogeneous systems. Literature data indicate that most natural potash systems are transport-dominated. Accordingly, insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers can usually be seen as beneficial with regard to reducing hazard potential as long as the mechanical stability of leaching zones is maintained. Thereby, the distribution of insoluble areas is of minor impact unless an inclined, intersecting layer occurs that accelerates leaching zone growth in one direction. Moreover, it is found that the saturation dependency of dissolution rates increases the growth rate in the long term, and therefore must be considered in risk assessments.}, language = {en} } @article{HennigKuehn2021, author = {Hennig, Theresa and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {Surrogate model for multi-component diffusion of Uranium through Opalinus Clay on the host rock scale}, series = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, volume = {11}, journal = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2076-3417}, doi = {10.3390/app11020786}, pages = {21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Multi-component (MC) diffusion simulations enable a process based and more precise approach to calculate transport and sorption compared to the commonly used single-component (SC) models following Fick's law. The MC approach takes into account the interaction of chemical species in the porewater with the diffuse double layer (DDL) adhering clay mineral surfaces. We studied the shaly, sandy and carbonate-rich facies of the Opalinus Clay. High clay contents dominate diffusion and sorption of uranium. The MC simulations show shorter diffusion lengths than the SC models due to anion exclusion from the DDL. This hampers diffusion of the predominant species CaUO2(CO3)32-. On the one side, species concentrations and ionic strengths of the porewater and on the other side surface charge of the clay minerals control the composition and behaviour of the DDL. For some instances, it amplifies the diffusion of uranium. We developed a workflow to transfer computationally intensive MC simulations to SC models via calibrated effective diffusion and distribution coefficients. Simulations for one million years depict maximum uranium diffusion lengths between 10 m and 35 m. With respect to the minimum requirement of a thickness of 100 m, the Opalinus Clay seems to be a suitable host rock for nuclear waste repositories.}, language = {en} } @article{VaidyaSchmidtRakowskietal.2021, author = {Vaidya, Shrijana and Schmidt, Marten and Rakowski, Peter and Bonk, Norbert and Verch, Gernot and Augustin, J{\"u}rgen and Sommer, Michael and Hoffmann, Mathias}, title = {A novel robotic chamber system allowing to accurately and precisely determining spatio-temporal CO2 flux dynamics of heterogeneous croplands}, series = {Agricultural and forest meteorology}, volume = {296}, journal = {Agricultural and forest meteorology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0168-1923}, doi = {10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108206}, pages = {9}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The precise and accurate assessment of carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange is crucial to identify terrestrial carbon (C) sources and sinks and for evaluating their role within the global C budget. The substantial uncertainty in disentangling the management and soil impact on measured CO2 fluxes are largely ignored especially in cropland. The reasons for this lies in the limitation of the widely used eddy covariance as well as manual and automatic chamber systems, which either account for short-term temporal variability or small-scale spatial heterogeneity, but barely both. To address this issue, we developed a novel robotic chamber system allowing for dozens of spatial measurement repetitions, thus enabling CO2 exchange measurements in a sufficient temporal and high small-scale spatial resolution. The system was tested from 08th July to 09th September 2019 at a heterogeneous field (100 m x 16 m), located within the hummocky ground moraine landscape of northeastern Germany (CarboZALF-D). The field is foreseen for a longer-term block trial manipulation experiment extending over three erosion induced soil types and was covered with spring barley. Measured fluxes of nighttime ecosystem respiration (R-eco) and daytime net ecosystem exchange (NEE) showed distinct temporal patterns influenced by crop phenology, weather conditions and management practices. Similarly, we found clear small-scale spatial differences in cumulated (gap-filled) R-eco, gross primary productivity (GPP) and NEE fluxes affected by the three distinct soil types. Additionally, spatial patterns induced by former management practices and characterized by differences in soil pH and nutrition status (P and K) were also revealed between plots within each of the three soil types, which allowed compensating for prior to the foreseen block trial manipulation experiment. The results underline the great potential of the novel robotic chamber system, which not only detects short-term temporal CO2 flux dynamics but also reflects the impact of small-scale spatial heterogeneity.}, language = {en} }