Environmental Earth Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Advancing sustainable groundwater mapping and management in arid quaternary aquifers using machine learning and geospatial analytics integrating remote sensing and field hydrogeological data","authors":"Abd El-Hay A. Farrag,&nbsp;Nourham M. Sayed,&nbsp;Amnah Aldohan,&nbsp;Ahmed Gad,&nbsp;Youssef M. Youssef,&nbsp;Hanaa A. Megahed","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13021-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13021-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Groundwater (GW) represents a critical resource for sustaining agriculture and rural communities across the arid regions of many developing countries. This study assesses three predictive approaches boosted classification tree (BCT), the bivariate frequency ratio (FR), and a hybrid BCT–FR ensemble for mapping Potential Zones (GWPZ) in arid environments. The modelling framework integrates satellite-derived variables with pumping-test measurements (specific capacity (SPC) and transmissivity (T)) and incorporates topographic, geological, hydrogeological, and anthropogenic factors using an inventory of forty-two wells divided into calibration (70%) and validation (30%) datasets across the West El-Minia region of Upper Egypt. Change-detection analysis over the study period (2000–2025) indicated a substantial increase in agricultural activity, with cultivated lands expanding by more than 560 km². This expansion was accompanied by an observed level decline of approximately five meters over the same period, based on field measurements from 42 wells and calculated using observed water table differences. Based on SPC predictions, the BCT and hybrid FR–BCT models achieved relatively high area under the curve (AUC) values. For transmissivity, the corresponding accuracy values were 83.38% for BCT and 92.58% for FR–BCT. Model outputs were assessing their reliability by comparing the GW potential map generated with available borehole information and daily GWproductivity data from the aquifer system. The study area was classified into four GW potential categories: very high (8%), high (26%), moderate (54%), and low (12%), with the northeastern sector exhibiting the highest recharge and storage potential. Overall, the applied machine-learning techniques demonstrated good performance for GW potential assessment in data-limited environments. The results provide important guidance for GW resource management by identifying zones with substantial recharge and development potential.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13021-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148750577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AI-based multimodal fusion of geophysical and geochemical data for subsurface characterization","authors":"Hamidreza Namazi,&nbsp;Mohamad Fani Sulaima,&nbsp;Ondrej Krejcar,&nbsp;Arvind Panwar","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13089-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13089-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly supports subsurface characterization by integrating heterogeneous geophysical, geochemical, and spatial data. However, existing studies remain fragmented across disciplines and often leave unresolved questions about cross-modal physical coupling, fusion design, uncertainty propagation, validation integrity, and decision relevance. This review synthesizes AI-based multimodal fusion methods for mineral exploration, geothermal systems, geological CO₂ storage, and radioactive-waste disposal. It organizes the field along orthogonal dimensions: the representation stage of fusion; the mechanism and strength of physical coupling; the training signal and model objective; the integration of prior knowledge; the output type; and the intended scope of generalization. The review critically examines scale and support mismatch, spatial autocorrelation, modality dominance, uncertain rock-physics and geochemical relationships, topological and conservation constraints in generative models, and validation leakage. It also distinguishes aleatoric, epistemic, methodological, and ontological uncertainty and considers how these uncertainties propagate through multimodal workflows. Emerging priorities include cross-modally coupled physics-informed learning, constrained generative simulation, foundation-model representations, and risk-aware monitoring. By clarifying conceptual distinctions and evidence limitations, the review provides a rigorous roadmap for developing interpretable, uncertainty-aware, and decision-relevant multimodal subsurface AI.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13089-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148750581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An interpretable predictive model for shale gas hazard risk in tunnel excavation based on an improved broad learning system","authors":"Xiao Quan,&nbsp;Peidong Su,&nbsp;Shaojun Yang,&nbsp;Yong Yang,&nbsp;Zichen Wang,&nbsp;Yuxuan Liu","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13081-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13081-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In complex geological environments, shale gas hazards occur frequently during tunnel construction. The “self-generated and self-contained” nature of its accumulation characteristics makes traditional harmful gas prediction models unsuitable. Therefore, the development of a reliable and high-precision shale gas tunnel risk prediction model is of paramount importance. This study conducts sampling experiments on existing tunnel projects in the northwestern region of Hunan province, China, selecting five key feature parameters: organic carbon abundance, thermal maturity, burial depth, permeability, and porosity. Subsequently, a Broad Learning System (BLS) is utilized as the base classifier, with a residual connection strategy incorporated to construct an improved Broad Learning System (IBLS), significantly enhancing the model’s stability and its ability to capture non-linear relationships. In performance testing, the model achieved an accuracy of 91.67% on an independent test set, indicating good predictive performance under the compiled dataset. Further validation was conducted using a case study from the SGL tunnel project, where the predicted risk levels were consistent with the observed risk levels. Finally, SHapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) were applied to interpret the constructed model, analyzing the marginal contributions of various features to the model’s output across different shale gas risk levels. The results indicate that the proposed IBLS model provides an interpretable auxiliary tool with practical potential for preliminary shale gas tunnel risk prediction.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13081-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Production-seismicity relationship in the Groningen field, NL: a multi-scale statistical and hazard assessment","authors":"Sebastián Ramírez Flórez,&nbsp;Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz,&nbsp;Nabil Saraih","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13078-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13078-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Induced seismicity associated with hydrocarbon extraction represents a critical geohazard, particularly in structurally complex and densely populated regions. The Groningen gas field in the Netherlands is among the best-documented examples of seismicity triggered by reservoir depletion, where long-term production has progressively altered the subsurface stress state and reactivated pre-existing faults. Although the production-seismicity link is well established, its spatial variability across fault-bounded domains and response timing remain incompletely understood. This study presents a multi-scale statistical evaluation of the production–seismicity relationship, ranging from field-wide analysis to well-centered analysis. The well-centered analysis used 5 km and 10 km buffers around 16 production sites. Publicly available annual gas production records from the Netherlands Oil and Gas Portal (NLOG) were used for 1963–2023 at the field scale and 2003–2023 at the well scale. These data were combined with induced-earthquake records from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) catalogue for 1991–2025. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to evaluate linear dependence, while Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess monotonic relationships less sensitive to outliers. Time-lag correlations from 0 to 4 years were evaluated to test for delayed seismic response. Results showed that same-year correlations between production and event counts were generally weak at the field scale, whereas correlations increased when production preceded seismicity by approximately 3–4 years. Well-centered analysis indicated localized behavior, with correlations ranging from negligible to very strong. These results suggest that production-related seismicity in Groningen was influenced not only by production history, but also by cumulative depletion, delayed stress redistribution, and local fault architecture. By identifying where and how strongly seismicity correlates with production, this study clarifies the spatial and temporal variability of induced seismicity in Groningen and provides a statistical baseline for interpreting reservoir behavior, geological controls, and seismic hazard.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13078-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing water quality and potential human health risks of drinking water sources based on an integrated-weight water quality index: a case study of the Daotian River basin, Southwest China","authors":"Xinxin Geng,&nbsp;Wengeng Cao,&nbsp;Zhenlong Nie,&nbsp;Zhe Wang,&nbsp;Pengfei Liu,&nbsp;Pucheng Zhu","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13084-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13084-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the karst regions of Southwest China, groundwater commonly discharges to the surface as springs, which serve as a primary drinking water source for local residents. Accordingly, assessing spring water quality and associated human health risks in karst watersheds is critical to sustainable regional economic development. This study investigated the water source area of the Daotian River in Bijie, Guizhou Province, based on 48 collected spring water samples (comprising 30 from dolomite springs, seven from limestone springs, and 11 from non-karst springs). Hydrochemical parameters derived from field surveys and laboratory analyses were used to identify groundwater hydrochemical facies and determine their underlying controlling factors. Water quality and non-carcinogenic human health risks via oral ingestion were assessed using the integrated-weight water quality index (IWQI) and a human health risk assessment (HHRA) model. The results indicate that the dolomite springs are predominantly of the HCO₃–Ca·Mg and HCO₃·SO₄–Ca·Mg types, the limestone springs exclusively exhibit a hydrochemical type of HCO₃–Ca, while the non-karst springs are primarily of the HCO₃–Ca and HCO₃·SO₄–Ca·Mg types. Rock weathering and agricultural activities serve as the dominant factors governing the groundwater geochemistry across the river basin. The water quality assessment indicates that the spring water samples exhibited IWQI values ranging from 16.02 to 100.91, with those of excellent, good, medium, and poor water quality accounting for 14.58%, 60.42%, 20.83%, and 4.17% of the total samples, respectively. The water quality assessment reveals that the hazard index (HI) values of the spring water samples varied from 0.06 to 3.08. Among the assessed hydrochemical constituents, NO₃⁻ and Cr contributed the most significantly to the HI, accounting for 70.39% and 13.99% of the total risk, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations further indicate that the ingestion rate (IR) and average exposure time (AT) exerted a substantial influence on the resulting HI values. The spatial patterns of the HI for the four target demographic groups (infants, children, adult females, and adult males) align with the spatial distribution of the IWQI values of the river basin, with high-value zones of both metrics concentrated in the lower reaches near the river basin outlet. From the perspective of oral ingestion, springs in the middle and lower reaches of the river basin impose significantly higher potential non-carcinogenic health risks to infants compared to other demographic groups, while the vast majority of springs pose low health risks to adults and children. The results of this study provide a scientific framework to support policymakers in formulating sustainable strategies for water resource management in small karst watersheds.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13084-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148615074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Traceability and estimation of nitrate in World Natural Heritage sites using nitrogen and oxygen isotopes: a case study of a typical karst basin","authors":"Shizhen Xiao,&nbsp;Qingqing Xiong,&nbsp;Hua Xiao,&nbsp;Hao Wang,&nbsp;Jianan Meng,&nbsp;Dijin Mu,&nbsp;Sangju Wang,&nbsp;Xiangxuan Sun,&nbsp;Pan Wu","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13079-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13079-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Karst areas typically exhibit a dual geological structure characterized by the coexistence of highly developed surface pore‑fissure systems and underground conduit flow systems, resulting in rapid connectivity and high vulnerability between surface water and groundwater. The Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the South China Karst World Natural Heritage sites is increasingly threatened by anthropogenic nitrate pollution. This study focuses on the Huanghou underground river basin, where water samples were collected during the rainy and dry seasons for analysis. By integrating hydrochemistry, nitrogen and oxygen isotope techniques, and a Bayesian mixing model, nitrate sources were identified and their relative contributions were quantified. The results showed that: (1) nitrate concentrations at all sites met China’s drinking-water standards and were higher in the rainy season owing to rainfall-driven flushing and percolation; (2) nitrate mainly originated from soil organic nitrogen, chemical fertilizers, and manure and sewage, and its transformation was dominated by nitrification; (3) in the rainy season, the contributions of these three sources were 34.4%, 45.7%, and 12.4%, respectively, whereas in the dry season they were 41.6%, 28.1%, and 22%, respectively; and (4) the key to controlling nitrate pollution in the Huanghou underground river basin lies in limiting excessive fertilizer application in upstream farmland and reducing domestic sewage discharge from residential areas. This study provides a scientific basis for groundwater management and nitrate pollution control in karst World Natural Heritage sites, and offers theoretical support for protecting the OUV and promoting the sustainable development of such heritage sites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13079-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148615029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An analytical-numerical method for optimizing the extraction layout of riverside well field: a case study of the Luan River, China","authors":"Xiaoyuan Li,&nbsp;Wenzhong Wang,&nbsp;Shenghua Song","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13074-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13074-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The sustainable exploitation of a riverside well field is critical for securing regional water supply. Optimizing its layout is a complex, multi-objective engineering challenge aimed at balancing yield, stability, and quality. This study adopted an analytical-numerical workflow to optimize the layout of the riverside well field of Luan River in Chengde City. The analysis first determined an optimal basic scenario with a river-well distance of 25 m and an inter-well spacing of 150 m, yielding a maximum allowable extraction capacity of 5.31 × 10⁴ m³/d. Subsequently, three detailed engineering scenarios incorporating diverse intake structures and interventions were designed and compared. The results demonstrate that Scenario 3 represents the optimal layout, which includes 14 extraction wells, 2 infiltration galleries, 1 radial collector well, and riverbed modification. This scenario not only meets the target extraction rate of 8 × 10⁴ m³/d, but also performs well under the particularly dry and extremely dry year/month conditions defined from the historical runoff record of the Luan River. Furthermore, backward particle-tracking analysis indicates that Scenario 3 reduces the risk of direct groundwater capture from the nearby land-based potential pollution-source areas. Consequently, Scenario 3 represents the optimal choice based on yield, reliability, and risk. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of the analytical-numerical workflow for optimizing riverside well field layouts. The findings provide decision support for the Luan River project and offer a practical reference for similar systems under comparable hydrogeological conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13074-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A review on mining damage characteristics and protective technology of buildings","authors":"Yu Zhou,&nbsp;Junwu Xia,&nbsp;Hongfei Chang,&nbsp;Kangjia Song,&nbsp;Siyong Tan","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13077-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13077-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The surface deformation caused by coal mining subsidence leads to deformation or damage of buildings. It is of great significance to explore the mining damage mechanism of buildings and develop corresponding anti-deformation technologies for the protection and reinforcement of buildings in coal mining subsidence areas and the construction of new projects. On the basis of analyzing the surface deformation characteristics and the buildings’ inherent characteristics, the research and development history of building damage mitigation and protection technology is summarized from four aspects: including the principle of anti-deformation, numerical simulation, deformation monitoring technology, and protection technology. Furthermore, five development directions are identified for building mining damage and anti-deformation protection technology: soil-foundation-structure interaction mechanism under long-term deformation, structural damage accumulation mechanism of buildings under long-term deformation, real-time efficient and precise structural deformation monitoring technology, mechanical and deformation characteristics of new type of high water-containing foundation filling materials, and anti-deformation protection technology of buildings. This work aims to form a comprehensive theory and anti-deformation technology system for buildings under surface movement and deformation, providing theoretical and technical support for solving problems such as the expanding scope of coal mining subsidence areas, which leads to increasing tension in land resources and constrains urban development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13077-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Extended water retention curve models for tropical soils: A critical evaluation using information criteria and Monte Carlo simulation","authors":"Tairone P. Leão,&nbsp;Ana Júlia M. de Oliveira","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13025-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13025-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The pronounced dry season during the Southern hemisphere’s winter in Brazil and the unusual physical properties of the soils of the Cerrado ecosystem make them candidates for using extended water retention models. In this study, four traditional water retention models: Brooks and Corey (BC), Kosugi (Kos), Rieu and Sposito (RS) and van Genuchten (VG) and five extended water retention models: Freundlund-Xing (FX), Groenevelt and Grant (GG), extended Groenevelt and Grant (GGe), Mehta et al. (MSN) and extended van Genuchten (VGe) were tested in five soils of the Cerrado ecosystem, two Ferralsols, Gleysol, Histosol and Regosol. The dry range was considered as that in which water contents correspond to absolute values of the potential greater than 15000 <i>hPa</i> until air or oven dryness. Extended models extend the water retention curve from saturation into the dry range, while the traditional models describe the water retention phenomena from saturation to a residual water content. The objectives of this research were to critically evaluate the performance of water retention equations using different information criteria (IC) and statistical goodness-of-fit indicators. For the soils evaluated in this study, the BC and VG equations were adequate to describe water retention phenomena corresponding to absolute values of water potential below 15000 <i>hPa</i>. For the extended water retention curve, from saturation to absolute water potentials above 15000 <i>hPa</i>, the VGe followed by FX models were adequate to describe the water retention process. Stochastic simulations show that, overall, the Kashyap information criterion was very sensitive to the number of observations (<i>N</i>) and precision (<span>(sigma)</span>) of the data. The performance of the Kashyap information criterion in identifying the best model was affected by decreasing <i>N</i> and increasing <span>(sigma)</span>, in addition to being model sensitive. In general, the corrected Akaike and Bayesian IC were less sensitive to low <i>N</i> and higher <span>(sigma)</span> for model selection, which was confirmed by Monte Carlo modeling. Because <i>N</i> in water retention data is usually low, IC should be used with caution for model selection.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13025-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-factor driving mechanism of vertical migration of BTEX in saturated porous media","authors":"Kunyu Si,&nbsp;Jianlei Chen,&nbsp;Wenxi Zhang,&nbsp;Tianqi Wang,&nbsp;Jiqing Li,&nbsp;Xiao Xiao,&nbsp;Xianzhang Dang,&nbsp;Shuya Hu","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13043-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13043-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As typical volatile organic pollutants, the migration behavior of BTEX in saturated porous media poses a serious threat to the safety of groundwater environments. This threat is particularly pronounced in coastal estuarine zones, where significant variations in environmental factors may strongly influence the vertical migration of BTEX; however, the relevant mechanisms and governing laws remain poorly understood. In this study, laboratory one-dimensional dynamic column experiments were conducted to systematically investigate the effects of pH, salinity, organic matter, and nutrients (nitrate) on the vertical migration of nine BTEX compounds in sediments collected from the Bailang River estuary in Laizhou Bay. The results show that BTEX migration generally decreases with increasing soil depth, with the most pronounced retention occurring in the 0–4 cm layer. Neutral conditions (pH = 7) were most favorable for BTEX migration, with the overall order being: neutral &gt; alkaline &gt; acidic. Increasing organic matter content significantly enhanced the adsorption and retention capacity of the porous medium for BTEX, and the migration amounts followed the order: low organic matter &gt; medium organic matter &gt; high organic matter. Elevated salinity promoted colloidal aggregation by compressing the electrical double layer, thereby inhibiting migration, with the order: pure water &gt; low salinity &gt; high salinity. The addition of nitrate triggered a salting-out effect by increasing ionic strength and potentially altering colloidal stability, thus suppressing the downward migration of BTEX. This study reveals the effects and underlying mechanisms of key environmental factors on the vertical migration of BTEX in saturated porous media, providing experimental evidence for the risk identification and control of groundwater contamination in coastal zones.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13043-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}