Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Wetland hydrology, transport processes, and modeling June 23 26, 2008 Gainesville, Florida Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory Soil and Water Science Department University of Florida Instructor: James Jawitz 6/22/2008 WBL 1 Biogeochemistry of Wetlands: Wetland transport processes Science and Applications Outline Learning objectives Flow in wetlands Water-column/sediment exchange Advective flux Processes Measurement Diffusive flux Processes Gradient-based measurements Overlying water incubations Sediment movement Settling Resuspension 6/22/2008 WBL 2 1
Biogeochemistry of Wetlands: Wetland hydrology Science and Applications Learning Objectives How is water velocity determined in wetlands? Different ways water flow through wetlands is described Processes for water-column/sediment exchange Differentiate advective and diffusive flux Measurement techniques for advective and diffusive flux 6/22/2008 WBL 3 Water flow in wetlands Velocity of water flowing through a wetland Manning's equation, velocimeter (current meter), nominal residence time, actual residence time (tracer) Manning s equation Flow driving force = bed slope Resistance to flow = friction from contact with solid surface (sediment) and vegetation Q = k n AR S 23 / 12 / H 2
Manning s n with vegetation Same vegetation, same roughness, but not same friction effect on flow n is a (power) function of flow depth (n = d -β ) depth increases, n decreases (less friction) Water flow in wetlands Hydraulic loading rate: q [L/T] q = Q/Aw Q = total flow into wetland [L 3 /T] Aw = surface area of the wetland [L 2 ] Water velocity: v [L/T] v = Q/(εAc) ε = fraction of wetland volume that is water (usually high, ~ 0.9) Ac = cross sectional area for flow Nominal residence time: t n t n = V w /Q V w = volume of water Q = flow through the wetland Actual residence time: τ Mean residence time from a tracer test (residence time distribution) 3
Nominal vs actual residence time Ratio is hydraulic efficiency maximum 1 less than 1 indicates short-circuiting past dead zones where inflow water does not access before exiting Wang et al. 2006, Ecol. Eng. Rejuvenating the largest municipal treatment wetland in Florida Organic sediments were transported to a 40 acre pasture land and dumped. The area was leveled off with a bulldozer and planted with grass. Giant bulrush 4
Flux, flow, discharge Water flow, solute flux, mass discharge [MT -1 L -2 ], [L 3 T -1 ], [MT -1 ] Discharge is mass flow (as opposed to volumetric flow), and flux is discharge per unit area Sediment/water column: Advective flux Advection solutes move with fluid (water) that is driven by hydraulic gradients contrast to convection, diffusion, dispersion J a = Cv a J a advective flux [MT -1 L -2 ] C solute concentration [ML -3 ] v velocity [LT -1 ] 5
Advective flux processes Surface water/groundwater exchange Bioturbation Phreatophytic mixing Figure 14.7 6
Figure 14.9 Data from Aller and Aller, 1992 Flux from bioturbation usually added to molecular ua diffusion (e.g., D total = D m + D b ) these data show to be ~ 2 times diffusion (slope of line ~ 2), which can be significant in the absence of other advective mechanisms not much data in wetlands Meofauna added 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 Cl-diffusion y = 25 2.5x - 034 0.34 R 2 = 0.64 Br-diffusion y = 2.2x - 0.04 R 2 = 0.87 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 Control (no meofauna added) Figure 14.8 Undisturbed Bioturbated Floodwater Floodwater Depth Aerobic soil Aerobic soil Mixed zone Anaerobic soil Concentration Anaerobic soil Concentration Even if not contributing significantly to solute flux (or internal load), bioturbation can affect the sediment biogeochemistry. 7
Advective flux measurement Seepage meters direct in-situ measurement small area, short time (extrapolation) Piezometers measure head difference and calculate with Darcy s law hydraulic conductivity estimate needed Dyes tracer to track water movement perhaps best for qualitative rather than quantitative Advective flux in transient systems Water table rising brings solutes Water table drops, wetland drains out (slowly?) Measured/estimated from hydraulic heads, or from water balance (e.g., ΔS = P-ET-G in cases where other terms are known to be zero) Broadly, advective fluxes are likely much higher than diffusive fluxes, but have received limited attention 8
Figure 14.4 FIGURE 14.4 Schematic showing seepage cylinders placed together with one collection bag. From Rosenberg, D. O., Liminol. Oceanogr. Methods, 3, 131, 2005 Diffusive flux processes Fick s (First)Law dc J D = D dz J D diffusive flux [MT -1 L -2 ] D diffusion coefficient [L 2 T -1 ] C solute concentration [ML -3 ] z depth [L] 9
Diffusion in soils Diffusion results from the thermally induced agitation of molecules (Brownian motion) In gases diffusion progresses at a rate of approximately 10 cm/min; in liquids about 0.05 cm/min and in solids about 0.00001 cm/min. Important diffusion processes in porous media include: diffusion of water vapor, organic vapors; diffusion of gases (O2, CO2, N2, etc.); diffusion of nutrients away from fertilizer granules and/or bands; diffusion of nutrients towards plant roots; and diffusion of solutes in the absence of advective flow diffusion is the dominant rate-limiting step for many physico-chemical processes of relevance in solute transport Diffusion occurs in the fluid phase (liquid and gaseous). Therefore, the porosity and pore-size distribution determine the geometry available for diffusion Diffusion in soils slower than in liquid phase Table 1. Some typical diffusion coefficients 1. Gas Phase Diffusion: (cm 2 sec -1 ) O2 into air 0.209 CO2 into air 0163 0.163 2. Liquid Phase Diffusion: O2 in water 2.26 x 10-5 CO2 in water 1.66 x 10-5 NaCl in water 1.61 x 10-5 Glucose in water 0.67 x 10-5 3. Solid Phase Diffusion: Na in montmorillonite gel 4 x 10-6 Na in vermiculite 6 x 10-9 K in illite 10-23 4. Diffusion in Soils: Cl in sandy clay loam ( =0.4) 9 x 10-6 PO4 2- in sandy clay loam ( =0.4) 3.3 x 10-6 10
Figure 14.6 A B Pore space Soil particles Tortuosity = solutes must follow an indirect path to move from A to B θ = L p 2 L D D s = η θ > 1 L p = actual path length L = straight line from A to B Ds = effective diffusion coefficient in soil (less than D, diffusion coefficient in bulk fluid) η = porosity Diffusive flux measurement Gradient-based coring pore-water equilibrators multisamplers Overlying water incubations benthic flux chambers intact soil cores 11
Gradient methods In situ measurement of concentration gradient (dc/dz) and calculate diffusive flux based on known/estimated diffusion coefficient, porosity, tortuosity Pore water equilibrators (peepers) left in situ long enough for sample cells to reach equilibrium with porewater (>10 days) temporal average concentration Multi-level samplers obtain instantaneous concentration, but depth resolution much less Figure 14.5 Concentration Depth Δ C Δ x Δ x Δ C Depth 12
Figure 14.11 High spatial (vertical) resolution Low temporal resolution Incubation methods Directly measure mass discharge change in concentration in overlying water column, multiplied by volume of water = M column cross-sectional area = A duration of experiment = T 13
Figure 14.12 Dissolved Oxygen meter Tygon tubing Sample port 12 V Recirc. pump Flux box 70 cm 70 cm Benthic chambers = in situ, but (i) small area, (ii) inconvenient, and (iii) difficult Figure 14.13a Air Sampling port 20 cm Water Column Floc Sediment 40 cm Intact cores = ex situ, but relatively easy (therefore much more common); possible scale issues. 14
Figure 14.13b Figure 14.15 Oxygen flux from water to soil, and P flux from soil to water. Dissolved Reactiv ve P (mg/l) Diss solved Oxygen (mg/l) 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 24 48 72 96 120 Time (hours) Anaerobic 0.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Time (hours) 15
Sediment movement Settling settling velocity = f(particle radius^2, particle density vs fluid density, fluid viscosity) Resuspension important in shallow systems likely orders of magnitude greater flux than diffusion ~ 10x for P in Lake Okeechobee (Fisher and Reddy, 1991) even greater for ammonium flux in Potomac estuary (Simon, 1988) Figure 14.16 Tot tal Suspe nded Partic cles Distance from inflow 16
Figure 14.10 Floodwater Before Sediment Resuspension During Sediment Resuspension After Sediment Resuspension C s S ad C s S ad C s C s S ad C s S ad C s S ad Soil/sediment Schematic showing adsorption desorption regulating solute concentration in the water column, as a result of resuspension and diffusive flux from sediment. S ad is solute adsorbed on sediment particles and Cs is solute in solution. Coupled hydrologic and biogeochemical modeling in wetlands 17
Modeling to address treatment wetland management questions 18
Example model application: Comprehensive description of P cycling Wang and Mitsch, Ecol. Modeling, 2000 What can the model be used for? An example application... Wang and Mitsch, Ecol. Modeling, 2000 19
Solute Transport Model Hydraulics Inlet/outlet locations and flow rates Hydrodynamics Internal mixing Chemistry/Biology Sorption Uptake Release Degradation/Sequestration Velocity Vectors m/d 200 160 140 Measured Flows 1.5 cfs ~ 1 MGD 0 m/d 140 140 150 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 20 30 20 430 m/d 20
Total P concentration in WCA-2A soil (0-10 cm) 1990 1998 Total P concentration in WCA-2A soil (0-10 cm) T = 20 yrs T = 30 yrs 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 21
T = 3, 15, 39, 66, 100, 133 years Biogeochemistry of Wetlands: Wetland hydrology Science and Applications Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to: Describe how water velocity is determined in wetlands Explain how/why Manning s roughness varies with depth Understand the biogeochemical implications of residence time Different ways water flow through wetlands is described Understand advective and diffusive processes for watercolumn/sediment exchange Describe measurement techniques for advective flux Describe the advantages and disadvantages of gradient-based vs incubation-based measurement techniques for diffusive flux 6/22/2008 WBL 44 22