Rohini Kumar, Fabienne Hesse, P. Srinivasa Rao, Andreas Musolff, James Jawitz, Francois Sarrazin, Luis Samaniego, Jan H. Fleckenstein, Oldrich Rakovec, S. Thober, Sabine Attinger
- Subsurface contamination due to excessive nutrient surpluses is a persistent and widespread problem in agricultural areas across Europe. The vulnerability of a particular location to pollution from reactive solutes, such as nitrate, is determined by the interplay between hydrologic transport and biogeochemical transformations. Current studies on the controls of subsurface vulnerability do not consider the transient behaviour of transport dynamics in the root zone. Here, using state-of-the-art hydrologic simulations driven by observed hydroclimatic forcing, we demonstrate the strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of hydrologic transport dynamics and reveal that these dynamics are primarily controlled by the hydroclimatic gradient of the aridity index across Europe. Contrasting the space-time dynamics of transport times with reactive timescales of denitrification in soil indicate that similar to 75% of the cultivated areas across Europe are potentially vulnerable to nitrate leaching for at least onethird of the year. We find thatSubsurface contamination due to excessive nutrient surpluses is a persistent and widespread problem in agricultural areas across Europe. The vulnerability of a particular location to pollution from reactive solutes, such as nitrate, is determined by the interplay between hydrologic transport and biogeochemical transformations. Current studies on the controls of subsurface vulnerability do not consider the transient behaviour of transport dynamics in the root zone. Here, using state-of-the-art hydrologic simulations driven by observed hydroclimatic forcing, we demonstrate the strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of hydrologic transport dynamics and reveal that these dynamics are primarily controlled by the hydroclimatic gradient of the aridity index across Europe. Contrasting the space-time dynamics of transport times with reactive timescales of denitrification in soil indicate that similar to 75% of the cultivated areas across Europe are potentially vulnerable to nitrate leaching for at least onethird of the year. We find that neglecting the transient nature of transport and reaction timescale results in a great underestimation of the extent of vulnerable regions by almost 50%. Therefore, future vulnerability and risk assessment studies must account for the transient behaviour of transport and biogeochemical transformation processes.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Rohini KumarORCiDGND, Fabienne Hesse, P. Srinivasa RaoORCiD, Andreas MusolffORCiD, James JawitzORCiD, Francois Sarrazin, Luis SamaniegoORCiDGND, Jan H. FleckensteinORCiD, Oldrich RakovecORCiD, S. ThoberORCiD, Sabine AttingerORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-549875 |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-54987 |
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ISSN: | 1866-8372 |
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Title of parent work (German): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe |
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Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (1352) |
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Publication type: | Postprint |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2020/12/09 |
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Publication year: | 2020 |
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Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
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Release date: | 2024/04/22 |
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Tag: | dynamics; flux tracking; groundwater vulnerability; model; nitrogen; patterns; pollution; transit-time; travel time distributions; water age |
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Issue: | 1 |
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Number of pages: | 12 |
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Source: | Nat Commun 11, 6302 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19955-8 |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access / Green Open-Access |
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License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
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External remark: | Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle |
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