Affiliation:
1. Water Resources Section, Department of Civil Engineering and Geosciences Delft University of Technology Delft The Netherlands
2. European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology Leeuwarden The Netherlands
3. IHE Delft Institute for Water Education Delft The Netherlands
Abstract
AbstractRecently, superparamagnetic silica encapsulated DNA microparticles (SiDNAFe) were designed and in various experiments used as a hydrological tracer. We investigated the effect of bed characteristics on the transport behaviour and especially the mass loss of SiDNAFe in open channel injection experiments. Hereto, a series of laboratory injection experiments were conducted with four channel bed conditions (no sediment, fine river sediment, coarse sand, and goethite‐coated coarse sand) and two water qualities (tap water and Meuse water). Breakthrough curves (BTCs) were analysed and modelled. Mass loss of SiDNAFe was accounted for as a first‐order decay process included in a 1‐D advection and dispersion model with transient storage (OTIS). SiDNAFe BTCs could be adequately described by advection and dispersion with or without a first‐order decay process. SiDNAFe mass recoveries exhibited a wide range, varying from 50% to 120% from sediment‐free conditions to coarse (coated) sediment. In 6 out of 8 cases, SiDNAFe mass recovery was complete. Retention of SiDNAFe was 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than gravitational settling rates, as determined in Tang et al. (Hydrological Processes, e14801, 2023). We reason this was due to grain‐scale hyporheic flows and coupled water‐sediment‐particle interactions. The dispersive behaviour of SiDNAFe generally mimicked that of NaCl tracer. We concluded that SiDNAFe can be used in tracing experiments. However, water quality and sediment characteristics may affect the fate of SiDNAFe in river environments. SiDNAFe is a promising tool for particulate multi‐tracing in large rivers.
Funder
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Subject
Water Science and Technology
Reference71 articles.
1. Contributions of microbial biofilms to ecosystem processes in stream mesocosms
2. Rethinking hyporheic flow and transient storage to advance understanding of stream-catchment connections
3. Fate of nano- and microplastic in freshwater systems: A modeling study
4. Sinuosity-driven hyporheic exchange in meandering rivers
5. Using artificial DNA as tracer in a bed‐rock river of the Middle Bussento Karst System (Cilento, Vallo Diano and Alburni European & Global Geopark, Southern Italy). June Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Engineering Mechanics, Structures;Bovolin V.;Engineering Geology (EMESEG’14), Salerno, 3−5 June,2014