Geostatistical assessment of groundwater arsenic contamination in the Padana Plain.

Autor: Schiavo M; Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Via dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, (PD), Italy., Giambastiani BMS; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (BiGeA) at Interdepartmental Centre for Environmental Sciences Research (CIRSA), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, 48123 Ravenna, Italy., Greggio N; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (BiGeA) at Interdepartmental Centre for Environmental Sciences Research (CIRSA), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, 48123 Ravenna, Italy., Colombani N; Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and Urban Planning (SIMAU), Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: n.colombani@univpm.it., Mastrocicco M; Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (DiSTABiF), Campania University 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Via A. Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Jun 25; Vol. 931, pp. 172998. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 05.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172998
Abstrakt: Arsenic (As) in groundwater from natural and anthropogenic sources is one of the most common pollutants worldwide affecting people and ecosystems. A large dataset from >3600 wells is employed to spatially simulate the depth-averaged As concentration in phreatic and confined aquifers of the Padana Plain (Northern Italy). Results of in-depth geostatistical analysis via PCA and simulations within a Monte Carlo framework allow the understanding of the variability of As concentrations within the aquifers. The most probable As contaminated zones are located along the piedmont areas in the confined aquifers and in the lowland territories in the phreatic aquifers. The distribution of the As contaminated zones has been coupled with hydrogeological, geological, and geochemical information to unravel the sources and mechanisms of As release in groundwater. The reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxides and organic matter mineralization under anoxic conditions resulted to be the major drivers of As release in groundwater. This phenomenon is less evident in phreatic aquifers, due to mixed oxic and reducing conditions. This large-scale study provides a probabilistic perspective on As contamination, e.g. quantifying the spatial probability of exceeding national regulatory limits, and to outline As major sources and drivers.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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