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A framework for risk assessment of groundwater contamination integrating hydrochemical, hydrogeological, and electrical resistivity tomography method

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Abstract

Groundwater contamination have been widely concerned. To reliably conduct risk assessment, it is essential to accurately delineate the contaminant distribution and hydrogeological condition. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has become a powerful tool because of its high sensitivity to hydrochemical parameters, as well as its advantages of non-invasiveness, spatial continuity, and cost-effectiveness. However, it is still difficult to integrate hydrochemical, hydrogeological, and ERT datasets for risk assessment. In this study, we develop a general framework for risk assessment by sequentially jointing hydrochemical, hydrogeological, and ERT surveys, while establishing petrophysical relationships among these data. This framework can be used in groundwater-contaminated site and help to delineate the distribution of contaminants. In this study, it was applied to a nitrogen-contaminated site where field ERT survey and borehole information provided valuable measurement data for validating the consistency of contamination and hydrogeological condition. Risk assessment was conducted based on the refined results by the establishment of relationship between conductivity and contaminants concentration with \({R}^{2}>0.84\). The contamination source was identified and the transport direction was predicted with the good agreement of \({R}^{2}\) = 0.965 between simulated and observed groundwater head, which can help to propose measures for anti-seepage and monitoring. This study thus enhances the reliability of risk assessment and prediction through a thought-provoking innovation in the realm of groundwater environmental assessment.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 42177056). The fund contributes to the framework design, field surveys, analysis, and interpretation of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China

    Jian Meng, Shaowei Wang, Yaxun Wang & Deqiang Mao

  2. Kunming Engineering Corporation Limited, Kunming, 650051, China

    Kaiyou Hu

  3. Shandong Institute of Eco-Environmental Planning, Jinan, 250101, China

    Zifang Chen

  4. Shandong Institute for Production Quality Inspection, Jinan, 250102, China

    Cuiling Gao

Authors
  1. Jian Meng
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  2. Kaiyou Hu
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  3. Shaowei Wang
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  5. Zifang Chen
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  6. Cuiling Gao
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  7. Deqiang Mao
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Contributions

Jian Meng: visualization, writing—original draft, investigation. Kaiyou Hu: software, validation. Shaowei Wang: supervision, formal analysis. Yaxun Wang: investigation, writing—reviewing and editing. Zifang Chen: project administration. Cuiling Gao: data curation. Deqiang Mao: conceptualization, funding acquisition, methodology, resources.

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Correspondence to Deqiang Mao.

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Meng, J., Hu, K., Wang, S. et al. A framework for risk assessment of groundwater contamination integrating hydrochemical, hydrogeological, and electrical resistivity tomography method. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 28105–28123 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33030-5

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