SFB 1253: Catchments as Reactors: Metabolism of Pollutants on the Landscape Scale (CAMPOS)
Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering
Final Report Abstract
The CRC CAMPOS was focusing on metabolism of pollutants on the landscape scale. CAMPOS has identified reactive landscape elements and quantified process dynamics with detailed field studies on biogeochemical pollutant transformations at high resolution. CAMPOS combined novel analytical and sensing techniques and developed stochastic modeling methods. Field work was predominantly performed within the Ammer catchment, SW Germany. Results show that, under baseflow conditions, the analyzed mixture of organic pollutants in the River (P1) is dominated by inputs from wastewater treatment plants and urban areas. Results, however, also demonstrate that organic chemicals in stormwater discharge from urban and agricultural areas may carry a much higher burden of toxicity than river water under baseflow conditions and may also be stored in river bed sediments. In first-order streams (Sub-Catchments, P2) stream-water chemistry at the CAMPOS test sites is governed by an intricate interplay between hydrologic and reactive processes. Dynamic, bidirectional water and solute exchange between groundwater and the stream replacing water lost from the stream with water gained from groundwater of different chemical composition (hydrological turnover) and the concomitant reactive turnover of nitrogen (denitrification and nitrification) in the streambeds and the shallow riparian aquifers jointly shape stream water composition. The intensity and spatiotemporal patterns of these exchange fluxes induce corresponding variability of nitrate concentration in the stream and aquifer. The (hydro)geology and biogeochemistry of the Floodplain (P3, P4) is characterized by strong biogeochemical gradients, possibly facilitating intensive transformation of redox-selective pollutants such as nitrate, while hampering the degradation of pollutants requiring oxygen for their elimination. We could show that the floodplain functioning is linked to the presence or absence of major hydrogeological features, indicated by a strong connection of the local floodplain groundwater systems to the hillslope and by an alluvial, sedimentary gravel body mapped in the Ammer valley by geoelectrical mapping techniques developed in P3. Floodplain margins were also found to be locations of strong redox cycling because the material properties of the floodplain sediments, such as the content of natural organic matter, significantly differ from those of the hillslopes and bedrocks. Electron-acceptor inputs and differences in natural organic matter content at the hillslope-floodplain transition drive geochemical gradients, yielding strong redox cycling and governing the fate of contaminants (nitrate and glyphosate) in the landscape. For Fractured Aquifers (P5) field observations as well as modeling results confirm that Fe(II) and reduced sulfur species are important electron donors for denitrification in the fractured aquifer. Molecular-biological data suggest that alternative electron donors (e.g., H2, or CH4) or other nitrogen cycling processes (e.g., anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox; dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, DNRA; chemodenitrification) might be of importance for nitrate removal. Results furthermore demonstrate that the Triassic carbonate rocks take up and store pesticides (e.g., atrazine), causing retardation but also contributing to long-term groundwater pollution due to back diffusion. The results on chemical, biological and physical controls of pesticide turnover in Soils (P6) suggest that their heterogeneous distribution, strong sorption and the interplay with soil physical parameters are key to understand their long-term fate in the environment. It turned out that glyphosate is an ideal model compound due to its physicochemical properties leading to a complex speciation and sorption behavior in soil. For Modeling Flow and Transport under Uncertainty (P7, P8) we have developed a stochastic modeling framework. It couples 1-D soil-crop models based on improved soil-hydraulic parameterizations and pedotransfer functions to 3-D models of subsurface flow, and generates large ensembles of plausible model realizations. Within this framework, we have developed techniques for machine-learning-supported preselection of plausible parameter combinations, global sensitivity analysis, and data assimilation. Subprojects have been supported by providing Bayesian model selection and averaging schemes, and model-based optimal design of experiments. The Information Infrastructure (INF) project has set up an extensive data management system to store, describe and manage CAMPOS relevant research data. This database facility also allows to handle external data (digital elevation, land-use, geological maps, soil maps, satellite images, hydrological time series, meteorological data, etc.) and to safely store and manage all data and data types (field data, lab data, modelling data, etc.) generated within CAMPOS. All data and their accompanying metadata are centrally stored. They are published in the University Research Data Repository (RDR), including persistent identifiers (PID) to reference published data. Central Services (S1, S2) provided technical support services, data sharing, and modeling support but also internal and external communication.
Publications
- (2018): Combining in vitro reporter gene bioassays with chemical analysis to assess changes in the water quality along the Ammer River, Southwestern Germany. Environ. Sci. Eur. 30: 20
Müller, M.E., Escher, B.I., Schwientek, M., Werneburg, M., Zarfl, C., Zwiener, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-018-0148-y) - (2018): Glyphosate analysis using sensors and electromigration separation techniques as alternatives to gas or liquid chromatography. Anal. Bioanal Chem 410: 725-746
Gauglitz, G., Wimmer, B., Melzer, T., Huhn, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-017-0679-x) - (2019): Adaptive observation-based subsurface conceptual site modeling framework combining interdisciplinary methodologies: a case study on advancing the understanding of a groundwater nitrate plume occurrence. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26, 15754-15766
Utom, A.U., Werban, U., Leven, C., Muller, C., Dietrich, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05048-7) - (2019): Designing field-based investigations of organic micropollutant fate in rivers. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 28, 28633-28649
Glaser, C., Schwientek, M., Zarfl, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06058-1) - (2019): Fate of wastewater contaminants in rivers: Using conservative-tracer based transfer functions to assess reactive transport. Science of the Total Environment 656: 1250-1260
Guillet, G., Knapp, J.L.A., Merel, S., Cirpka, O.A., Grathwohl, P., Zwiener, C., Schwientek, M.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.379) - (2019): In-situ mass spectrometry improves the estimation of stream reaeration from gas-tracer tests. Science of the Total Environment 655: 1062-1070
Knapp, J.L.A., Osenbrück, K., Brennwald, M.S., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.300) - (2019): Interpretations of microbial community studies are biased by the selected 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing pipeline. bioRxiv
Straub, D., Blackwell, N., Langarica Fuentes, A., Peltzer, A., Nahnsen, S., Kleindienst, S.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.17.880468) - (2020). Availability of nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptors modulates anaerobic toluene-degrading communities in aquifer sediments. Frontiers in Microbiology
Zhu, B., Friedrich, B., Wang, Z., Táncsics, A., Lueders, T.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01867) - (2020): A stochastic framework to optimize monitoring strategies for delineating groundwater divides. Frontiers in Earth Science 8: 554845
Allgeier, J., Gonzáles-Nicolás, A., Nowak, W., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.554845) - (2020): Anomaly effect-driven optimization of direct-current geoelectric mapping surveys in large areas. Journal of Applied Geophysics 176
Klingler, S., Leven, C., Cirpka, O.A., Dietrich, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2020.104002) - (2020): Assessing the Mixture Effects in In Vitro Bioassays of Chemicals Occurring in Small Agricultural Streams during Rain Events. Environ. Sci. Technol. 54, 13, 8280–8290
Neale, P.A., Braun, G., Brack, W., Carmona, E., Gunold, R., König, M., Krauss, M., Liebmann, L., Liess, M., Link, M., Schäfer, R.B., Schlichting, R., Schreiner, V.C., Schulze, T., Vormeier, P., Weisner, O., Escher, B.I.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02235) - (2020): Biodegradation of pesticides at the limit: kinetics and microbial substrate use at low concentrations. Frontiers in Microbiology 11: 2107
Wirsching J, Pagel H, Ditterich F, Uksa M., Werneburg M., Zwiener C., Berner D., Kandeler E., Poll C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.02107) - (2020): Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for the direct analysis of glyphosate: method development and application to beer beverages and environmental studies. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 1-17
Wimmer, B., Pattky, M., Gulu Zada, L., Meixner, M., Haderlein, S.B., Zimmermann, H.-P., Huhn, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02751-0) - (2020): Combining implicit geological modeling, field surveys, and hydrogeological modeling to describe groundwater flow in a karst aquifer. Hydrogeology Journal 28: 2779–2802
D'Affonseca, F.M., Finkel, M., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02220-z) - (2020): Denitrifier method for nitrite removal in electrochemical analysis of the electron accepting capacity of humic substances. Anal. Chem. 92(1): 616-621
Li, S., Braun, J.C., Buchner, D., Haderlein, S.B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b03683) - (2020): Direct-push color logging images spatial heterogeneity of organic carbon in floodplain sediments. JGR Biogeosciences 125(12): e2020JG005887
Klingler, S., Cirpka, O.A., Werban, U., Leven, C., Dietrich, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005887) - (2020): Genomics insights into two novel zetaproteobacteria Fe(II)-oxidizing isolates reveal lifestyle adaption to coastal marine sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Blackwell, N., Bryce, C., Straub, D., Kappler, A., Kleindienst, S.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01160-20) - (2020): Influence of emission sources and tributaries on the spatial and temporal patterns of micropollutant mixtures and associated effects in a small river. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 39(7): 1382-1391
Müller, M.E., Werneburg, M., Glaser, C., Schwientek, M., Zarfl, C., Escher, B.I., Zwiener, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4726) - (2020): LC-MS screening of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in contaminated soil by Kendrick mass analysis. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 412: 4797-4805
Bugsel, B., Zwiener, C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-02358-0) - (2020): Managing collaborative research data for integrated, interdisciplinary environmental research. Earth Science Informatics 1-14
Finkel, M., Baur, A., Weber, T.K.D., Osenbrück, K., Rügner, H., Leven, C., Schwientek, M., Schlögl, J., Hahn, U., Streck, T., Cirpka, O.A., Walter, T., Grathwohl, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00441-0) - (2020): Mediated electrochemical analysis as emerging tool to unravel links between microbial redox cycling of natural organic matter and anoxic nitrogen cycling. Earth-Science Reviews (208)
Li, S., Kappler, A., Zhu, Y., Haderlein, S.B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103281) - (2020): Pedotransfer function for the Brunswick soil hydraulic property model and comparison to the van Genuchten- Mualem model. Water Resources Research 56(9), e2019WR026820
Weber, T.K.D., Finkel, M., da Conceicáo Goncalves, M., Vereecken, H., Diamantopoulos, E.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR026820) - (2020): Plant litter enhances degradation of the herbicide MCPA and increases formation of biogenic non-extractable residues in soil. Environ Int 142: 105867
Nowak K.M., Miltner A., Poll C., Kandeler E., Streck T., Pagel H.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105867) - (2020): Sampling behavioral model parameters for ensemble-based sensitivity analysis using Gaussian Process Emulation and Active Subspaces. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 34:1813-1830
Erdal, D., Xiao, S., Nowak, W., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-020-01867-0) - (2020): Spatial control of carbon dynamics in soil by microbial decomposer communities. Front Environ Sci 8
Pagel, H., Kriesche, B., Uksa, M., Poll, C., Kandeler, E., Schmidt, V., Streck, T.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00002) - (2020): Strategies for simplifying reactive transport models - a Bayesian model comparison. Water Resources Research 56(11): e2020WR028100
Schäfer Rodrigues Silva, A., Guthke, A., Höge, M., Cirpka, O.A., Nowak, W.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR028100) - (2020): Structural controls on the hydrogeological functioning of a floodplain. Hydrogeology Journal 28: 2675–2696
Martin, S., Klingler, S., Dietrich, P., Leven, C., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02225-8) - (2020): Technical Note: Improved sampling of behavioral subsurface flow model parameters using active subspaces. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 24: 4567-4574
Erdal, D., Cirpka O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4567-2020) - (2020): Temporal and spatial variable in-stream attenuation of selected pharmaceuticals. Science of The Total Environment 741: 139514
Glaser, C., Zarfl. C., Werneburg, M., Böckmann, M., Zwiener, C., Schwientek, M.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139514) - (2021). Modeling Bioavailability Limitations of Atrazine Degradation in Soils. Frontiers in Environmental Science 9, 361
Chavez Rodriguez, L., Ingalls, B., Meierdierks, J., Kundu, K., Streck, T., and Pagel, H.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.706457) - (2021): Anaerobic neutrophilic pyrite oxidation by a chemolithoautotrophic nitrate-reducing iron(II)-oxidizing culture enriched from a fractured-aquifer. Environ. Sci. Technol., 55, 14, 9876–9884
Jakus, N., Mellage, A., Höschen, C., Maisch, M., Byrne, J.M., Mueller, C., Grathwohl, P., Kappler, A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c02049) - (2021): Characterization of export regime in discharge-concentration plots via an advanced time-series model and event-based sampling strategies. Water 2021, 13, 1723
Gonzalez-Nicolas, A., Schwientek, M., Sinsbeck, M., Nowak, W.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131723) - (2021): Does it pay off to explicitly link functional gene expression to denitrification rates in reaction models? Frontiers in Microbiology, 18 June 2021
Störiko, A., Pagel, H., Mellage, A., Cirpka, O.A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.684146) - (2021): Fate of nitrate during groundwater recharge in a fractured karst aquifer. Hydrogeology Journal
Visser, A.-N., Lehmann, M.F., Rügner, H., D'Affonseca, F.M., Grathwohl, P., Blackwell, N., Kappler, A., Osenbrück, K.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-021-02314-2) - (2021): Nitrate reduction potential of a fractured Middle Triassic carbonate aquifer, Southwest Germany. Hydrogeology Journal
Osenbrück, K., Blendinger, E., Leven, C., Rügner, H., Finkel, M., Schulz, H., Grathwohl, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-021-02418-9) - (2021): Nitrate removal by a novel autotrophic nitrate-reducing iron(II)-oxidizing culture enriched from a pyrite-rich limestone aquifer. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 27;87(16):e0046021
Jakus, N., Blackwell, N., Osenbrueck, K., Straub, D., Byrne, J.M., Wang, Z., Gloeckler, D., Elsner, M., Lueders, T., Grathwohl, P., Kleindienst, S., Kappler, A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00460-21) - (2021): Separation of photochemical from nonphotochemical diurnal in-stream attenuation of micropollutants. Environ. Sci. Technol. 55, 13, 8908–8917
Schmitt, M., Wack, K., Glaser, C., Wei, R., Zwiener C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c02116) - (2021): Storm Event-Driven Occurrence and Transport of Dissolved and Sorbed Organic Micropollutants and associated effects in the Ammer River, Southwestern Germany. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 40:88-99
Mueller, M.E., Zwiener, C., Escher, B.I.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4910) - (2021): Suspended particulate matter – source or sink for chemical mixtures of organic micropollutants in a small river under baseflow conditions? Environ. Sci. Technol. 55:5106-5116
Niu, L.L., Ahlheim, J., Glaser, C., Gunold, R., Henneberger, L., Konig, M., Krauss, M., Schwientek, M., Zarfl, C., Escher, B.I.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c07772) - Mass Transfer Principles in Column Percolation Tests: Initial Conditions and Tailing in Heterogeneous Materials. Materials 2021, 14, 4708
Liu, B.; Finkel, M.; Grathwohl, P.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164708)
