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Sustainability
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Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability
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Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2023) | Viewed by 20451

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christiana Mystrioti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: iron nanomaterials for environmental applications; characterization and rehabilitation of contaminated sites; environmental recycling of wastes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Aikaterini Toli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: environmental remediation; nanotechnology; technologies for sustainable metallurgy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce a new Special Issue on “Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability” of the journal Sustainability.

Groundwater is water found in aquifers, which are geologic formations consisting of soil, sand, and rocks. Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources for drinking water and irrigation all over the globe, and thus, its quality and quantity are of vital importance. Additionally, it possesses high economic value and social significance not just today but also for future generations. Sustainable management of groundwater should ensure a long-term water supply avoiding aquifer depletion and deterioration of water quality. Human interventions in the hydrological cycle may have profound effects on groundwater quantity and quality. The aim of the Special issue is to include original research articles and reviews which relate to the journal scope. The research areas may include groundwater and soil sustainability, management, climate change, flow models and deep learning, potential contamination, remediation techniques, legislation, and social economics.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not be limited to) the following:

  • Climate change and groundwater management;
  • Sustainability of groundwater and soil;
  • The impact of land use changes on groundwater quality;
  • Long-term monitoring of groundwater;
  • Legislation and social economics of groundwater;
  • Modelling of groundwater systems and deep learning;
  • Groundwater vulnerability and remediation techniques;
  • Nitrate contamination in groundwater.

Dr. Christiana Mystrioti
Dr. Aikaterini Toli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater sustainability
  • groundwater management
  • groundwater and soil contamination

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3639 KiB  
Article
Removal of Heavy Metals from Contaminated Aquatic Streams Using a Resin Supported Green nZVI
by Christiana Mystrioti and Nymphodora Papassiopi
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1938; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051938 - 27 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
This study addresses the escalating demand for clean water resources driven by population growth and water quality deterioration. The research focuses on evaluating the efficacy of a nanocomposite material, incorporating zero valent iron nanoparticles into a chelating cation exchange resin matrix, for selectively [...] Read more.
This study addresses the escalating demand for clean water resources driven by population growth and water quality deterioration. The research focuses on evaluating the efficacy of a nanocomposite material, incorporating zero valent iron nanoparticles into a chelating cation exchange resin matrix, for selectively removing heavy metals from polluted aquatic environments. The selected resin, featuring iminodiacetic acid functional groups, demonstrates notable selectivity for heavy metal cations over alkali earth metals. Column experiments were conducted to assess the nanocomposite’s performance, utilizing a feed solution spiked with heavy metals at concentrations ten times higher than Greek legislation limits for wastewater effluent recycling. The nanocomposite exhibited significant effectiveness for Cu, Cr(VI), and Pb, consistently maintaining Cu levels below detection limits and demonstrating limited breakthrough of Cr(VI) and Pb depending on experimental conditions. However, the removal efficiency was lower for Ni and insufficient for Cd, Zn, and As in this complex multicomponent solution. This research contributes valuable insights into the potential application of the developed nanocomposite for targeted removal of specific heavy metals in contaminated water sources, providing a foundation for further exploration and application in water remediation technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
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18 pages, 6552 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Groundwater Levels: A Case Study of Alluvial Aquifers in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia
by Guobin Fu, Stephanie R. Clark, Dennis Gonzalez, Rodrigo Rojas and Sreekanth Janardhanan
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16295; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316295 - 24 Nov 2023
Viewed by 10999
Abstract
Understanding the temporal patterns in groundwater levels and their spatial distributions is essential for quantifying the natural and anthropogenic impacts on groundwater resources for better management and planning decisions. The two most popular clustering analysis methods in the literature, hierarchical clustering analysis and [...] Read more.
Understanding the temporal patterns in groundwater levels and their spatial distributions is essential for quantifying the natural and anthropogenic impacts on groundwater resources for better management and planning decisions. The two most popular clustering analysis methods in the literature, hierarchical clustering analysis and self-organizing maps, were used in this study to investigate the temporal patterns of groundwater levels from a dataset with 910 observation bores in the largest river system in Australia. Results showed the following: (1) Six dominant cluster patterns were found that could explain the temporal groundwater trends in the Murray–Darling Basin. Interpretation of each of these patterns indicated how groundwater in each cluster behaved before, during, and after the Millennium Drought. (2) The two methods produced similar results, indicating the robustness of the six dominant patterns that were identified. (3) The Millennium Drought, from 1997 to 2009, had a clear impact on groundwater level temporal variability and trends. An example causal attribution analysis based on the clustering results (using a neural network model to represent groundwater level dynamics) is introduced and will be expanded in future work to identify drivers of temporal and spatial changes in groundwater level for each of the dominant patterns, leading to possibilities for better water resource understanding and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
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16 pages, 346 KiB  
Article
Modeling Water Flow in Variably Saturated Porous Soils and Alluvial Sediments
by Mauro Giudici
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15723; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215723 - 8 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1164
Abstract
The sustainable exploitation of groundwater resources is a multifaceted and complex problem, which is controlled, among many other factors and processes, by water flow in porous soils and sediments. Modeling water flow in unsaturated, non-deformable porous media is commonly based on a partial [...] Read more.
The sustainable exploitation of groundwater resources is a multifaceted and complex problem, which is controlled, among many other factors and processes, by water flow in porous soils and sediments. Modeling water flow in unsaturated, non-deformable porous media is commonly based on a partial differential equation, which translates the mass conservation principle into mathematical terms. Such an equation assumes that the variation of the volumetric water content (θ) in the medium is balanced by the net flux of water flow, i.e., the divergence of specific discharge, if source/sink terms are negligible. Specific discharge is in turn related to the matric potential (h), through the non-linear Darcy–Buckingham law. The resulting equation can be rewritten in different ways, in order to express it as a partial differential equation where a single physical quantity is considered to be a dependent variable. Namely, the most common instances are the Fokker–Planck Equation (for θ), and the Richards Equation (for h). The other two forms can be given for generalized matric flux potential (Φ) and for hydraulic conductivity (K). The latter two cases are shown to limit the non-linearity to multiplicative terms for an exponential K-to-h relationship. Different types of boundary conditions are examined for the four different formalisms. Moreover, remarks given on the physico-mathematical properties of the relationships between K, h, and θ could be useful for further theoretical and practical studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
16 pages, 3351 KiB  
Article
Assessing Impacts of Mining-Induced Land Use Changes on Groundwater and Surface Water Quality Using Isotopic and Hydrogeochemical Signatures
by Rukaiya Kausher, Rambabu Singh, Anand Kumar Sinha, Satya Narayan Sethy, Sudhir Kumar, Shatrudhan Pandey, Adham E. Ragab and Ahmed Mohamed
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11041; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411041 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1962
Abstract
The current investigation aimed to assess the impact of land use changes on groundwater quality because of the extensive mining activities in the coal mining province of the Mahan River catchment area, which is located in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, India. The [...] Read more.
The current investigation aimed to assess the impact of land use changes on groundwater quality because of the extensive mining activities in the coal mining province of the Mahan River catchment area, which is located in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, India. The water quality index (WQI), Collin’s ratio, stable isotope ratios of water molecules (δ18O and δD), and various physicochemical parameters were measured to determine the suitability of water for domestic purposes. Water samples collected from dug wells, tube wells, river water, and mine water were analyzed, and the results revealed that 28% of the samples were classified as excellent and 44%were classified as good during the pre-monsoon period. In the post-monsoon period, 50% of the samples were categorized as good, while 35% were classified as poor, whereas in mining areas, 54% of samples were found to be unsuitable during the pre-monsoon period, and this increased to 77% in the post-monsoon period. Stable isotope analysis was also conducted: samples were plotted to the right of the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) in the isotope bivariate plot, and the observed slopes for all samples were smaller than that of the LMWL. The enrichment of the δ18O ratio and negative d-excess values at certain locations suggest the occurrence of non-equilibrium processes and mixing mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
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15 pages, 4072 KiB  
Article
A Soil Screening Study to Evaluate Soil Health for Urban Garden Applications in Hartford, CT
by Hayley Clos, Marisa Chrysochoou, Nefeli Bompoti and Jacob Isleib
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7924; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107924 - 12 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1847
Abstract
Urban agriculture is a sustainable practice for communities to have access to healthy and affordable produce by reducing the energy costs of food production and distribution. While raised beds are often used in community gardens to ensure that soil quality meets proper standards, [...] Read more.
Urban agriculture is a sustainable practice for communities to have access to healthy and affordable produce by reducing the energy costs of food production and distribution. While raised beds are often used in community gardens to ensure that soil quality meets proper standards, the use of existing urban soils is desired for economic and sustainability purposes. The main objective of this study is to evaluate a methodology to test soil health parameters using in situ screening methods. Soil testing was conducted at three urban lots in Hartford, CT, that were candidates for community gardens. In situ measurements of metals were taken with a pXRF instrument in all three lots, and an additional 30 samples were tested in the laboratory, both on pressed pellets via pXRF and with acid digestion and ICP-MS analysis. Ultimately, in situ pXRF measurements were comparable to pelletized pXRF and ICP-MS measurements for elements of interest, and pXRF is shown to be a reliable screening tool to evaluate exceedances for metal regulatory thresholds exceeding 100 ppm (e.g., Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Se), although soil moisture content exceeding 5% is shown to have a dilution effect on in situ results up to about a 30% difference. The current study serves as a case study in Hartford, CT, for the evaluation of in situ pXRF analysis as a rapid soil screening tool, and further research will be needed to extend the current recommendations to a general rapid soil assessment methodology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
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21 pages, 3848 KiB  
Article
A Convolutional Neural Network Model for Soil Temperature Prediction under Ordinary and Hot Weather Conditions: Comparison with a Multilayer Perceptron Model
by Vahid Farhangmehr, Juan Hiedra Cobo, Abdolmajid Mohammadian, Pierre Payeur, Hamidreza Shirkhani and Hanifeh Imanian
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7897; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107897 - 11 May 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2311
Abstract
Soil temperature is a critical parameter in soil science, agriculture, meteorology, hydrology, and water resources engineering, and its accurate and cost-effective determination and prediction are very important. Machine learning models are widely employed for surface, near-surface, and subsurface soil temperature predictions. The present [...] Read more.
Soil temperature is a critical parameter in soil science, agriculture, meteorology, hydrology, and water resources engineering, and its accurate and cost-effective determination and prediction are very important. Machine learning models are widely employed for surface, near-surface, and subsurface soil temperature predictions. The present study employed a properly designed one-dimensional convolutional neural network model to predict the hourly soil temperature at a subsurface depth of 0–7 cm. The annual input dataset for this model included eight hourly climatic features. The performance of this model was assessed using a wide range of evaluation metrics and compared to that of a multilayer perceptron model. A detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted on each feature to determine its importance in predicting the soil temperature. This analysis showed that air temperature had the greatest impact and surface thermal radiation had the least impact on soil temperature prediction. It was concluded that the one-dimensional convolutional model performed better than the multilayer perceptron model in predicting the soil temperature under both normal and hot weather conditions. The findings of this study demonstrated the capability of the model to predict the daily maximum soil temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater, Soil and Sustainability)
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