Runoff concentrations

Due to the spatial irregularity of the rains and the occurrence of lateral runoff concentrating additional water in (micro) depressions, soil profile development may vary quite considerably from one location to another in arid zones. This phenomenon might, to some extent, explain the occurrence of A-Bt-C profiles, e g., with clear clay illuviation features, at some isolated locations in desert zones. 

Combining with equation (7.4.19) rewritten for runoff concentrations... 

Concentration of element in soil material in runoff Concentration of element in soil from which runoff originated... 

A groundwater runoff concentration zone extending from the Vosges border to the coal trough (natural outlet and water pumped out of coal pits). 

For the chemicals used in the previous example, estimate the mass of each present on the impervious surfaces and the urban runoff concentration resulting from its solubilization by a typical rain event. Assume the urban footprint size is 50 x lO m with an ISI of 2. Choose realistic parameters needed and justify key assumptions. 

In this calculation a film density of 1 kgL and film washoff efficiency of 0.90 were used. The solubilized mass of each chemical appears in Table 19.3, column 9. Equation 19.9 can be used for estimating the runoff concentration, a 8 mm rain event will be assumed. For NAPH the calculation is ... 

Conservation tillage increased atra2ine and metolachlor surface mnoff by 42% and decreased tile discharge by 15% compared with conventional tillage, but total field mnoff was the same from all treatments (53). Runoff events shordy after herbicide appHcation produced the greatest herbicide concentrations and losses in both surface mnoff and subsurface drainage. 

In 1968, reports from Sweden, subsequently confirmed in other industrial countries, noted that shallow lakes with low concentrations of divalent cations were becoming more acidic with consequent decreases in aquatic plants and animals. In severely affected lakes and ponds, only acidophilic algae survived. Increased acidity and the runoff of solubilized aluminum and other metal ions from surrounding watersheds are now known to be primarily responsible for formation of these almost sterile bodies of water. 

As a specific example, consider oceanic sulfate as the reservoir. Its main source is river runoff (pre-industrial value 100 Tg S/yr) and the sink is probably incorporation into the lithosphere by hydrogeothermal circulation in mid-ocean ridges (100 Tg S/yr, McDuff and Morel, 1980). This is discussed more fully in Chapter 13. The content of sulfate in the oceans is about 1.3 X lO TgS. If we make the (im-realistic) assumption that the present runoff, which due to man-made activities has increased to 200 Tg S/yr, would continue indefinitely, how fast would the sulfate concentration in the ocean adjust to a new equilibrium value The time scale characterizing the adjustment would be To 1.3 X 10 Tg/(10 Tg/yr) 10 years and the new equilibrium concentration eventually approached would be twice the original value. A more detailed treatment of a similar problem can be found in Southam and Hay (1976). 

Soil water flow is decidedly episodic. During dry times the water solutions in the soil are probably fairly concentrated and not very reactive. Time-averaged reaction rates should be roughly proportional to the fraction of time reacting minerals are in contact with thermodynamically imdersaturated (and reactive) water. In a study of the relationship between denudation rate and runoff for rivers draining igneous and metamorphic rock in Kenya, Dunne (1978) obtains the relationship of (denudation rate in tons/km per year) = 0.28 (runoff in mm/ year)°. ... 

Fig. 9-8 Histogram of dissolved solids of samples from the Orinoco and Amazon River basins and corresponding denudation rates for morpho-tectonic regions in the humid tropics of South America (Stal-lard, 1985). The approximate denudation scale is calculated as the product of dissolved solids concentrations, mean armual runoff (1 m/yr), and a correction factor to account for large ratios of suspended load in rivers that drain mountain belts and for the greater than average annual precipitation in the lowlands close to the equator. The correction factor was treated as a linear function of dissolved solids and ranged from 2 for the most dilute rivers (dissolved solids less than lOmg/L) to 4 for the most concentrated rivers (dissolved solids more than 1000 mg/L). Bedrock density is assumed to be 2.65 g/cm. (Reproduced with permission from R. F. Stallard (1988). Weathering and erosion in the humid tropics. In A. Lerman and M. Meybeck, Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles," pp. 225-246, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.)...

Although NOT is not usually thought of as a "toxic" chemical, it does cause several health problems including methemoglobinemia in infants (blue-baby syndrome) and may also be linked to stomach cancer. Agricultural runoff can lead to significant, potentially harmful, concentrations of NOT in ground or surface water. 

Table 2 Fate and effects of metals in a stream receiving a point-source of metals (upper part of the table) or diffuse input via urban runoff (lower part of the table). Summary of the expected influence of four different hydrological situations base-flow in a rainy period a flood after a rainy period low-flow after a long period of low rainfall (water scarcity) and a flood produced after this drought. Metal concentration (M) metal retention efficiency (measured on the basis of the nutrient spiraling concept) exposure (dose and duration) bioaccumulation (in fluvial biofilms) and metal sensitivity (of biofihns)...

Runoff waters from agricultural areas have been found to contain low concentrations of endosulfan in the aqueous phase and higher concentrations in the particulate phase of the runoff. Eor example, runoff from... 

Willis GH, McDowell LL, SouthwickLM, et al. 1987. Methoxychlor and endosulfan concentrations in unit-source runoff and in channel flow of a complex watershed. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 30 394-399. 

In total, 550 analyses were conducted from samples taken at this site. These data indicate that only 5.8 percent of the 10.9 acres contaminated represented the road surfaces originally sprayed. The remaining surface contamination probably resulted from dispersion by wind, vehicular traffic, runoff, etc. The total TCDD sprayed was probably about 340 grams, with 74 percent still on the areas sprayed. Mean, volume weighted, TCDD concentrations in the sprayed and dispersed areas were 469 and 31 ppb, respectively. Concentrations in individual composite samples collected from sprayed areas ranged up to 1,800 ppb. About 90 percent of the TCDD was contained in 13 percent of the soil volume. 

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