Environmental impact of an anthropogenic groundwater temperature hotspot.

Autor: Noethen M; Department of Applied Geology, Institute of Geosciences and Geography, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Germany. Electronic address: maximilian.noethen@geo.uni-halle.de., Becher J; Department of Applied Geology, Institute of Geosciences and Geography, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Germany., Menberg K; Institute of Applied Geosciences (AGW), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany., Blum P; Institute of Applied Geosciences (AGW), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany., Schüppler S; European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER), Karlsruhe, Germany., Metzler E; Stadtwerke Hockenheim, Hockenheim, Germany., Rasch G; University of Vienna, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Vienna, Austria., Griebler C; University of Vienna, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Vienna, Austria., Bayer P; Department of Applied Geology, Institute of Geosciences and Geography, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Dec 10; Vol. 955, pp. 177153. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 21.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177153
Abstrakt: Heat emitted by buildings and other infrastructure accumulates in the subsurface. This additional heat can cause a pronounced shift in thermal boundary conditions of the important groundwater ecosystem. Shallow groundwater systems in Central Europe are often inhabited by communities of fauna adapted to cold and stable conditions as well as microorganisms, whose activity is dependent on ambient temperatures. At a local groundwater temperature hotspot of up to 23 °C, caused by a water park, we assessed the environmental impact of this thermal alteration on the shallow groundwater system. The results show that the overall groundwater quality at the site is influenced by anthropogenic land use, compared to wells in a nearby water protection zone. However, neither hydrochemical nor ecological characteristics of groundwater from wells in the vicinity of the water park indicate any significant dependence on temperature. Hence, we conclude that in this eutrophic and anoxic aquifer moderate heat stress does not lead to significant alterations in terms of hydrochemistry as well as microbiological properties. Due to the overall low oxygen concentrations (<1 mg/l), stygofauna is present only occasionally and cannot be used as bioindicators. These results have to be verified for other aquifer types and would benefit from a more in-depth analysis of microbial community composition.
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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