Degradation of water quality due to natural and anthropogenic influences constitutes one of the most significant threats to water availability. Space-time modelling of water quality depends on the availability of long-term, reliable datasets, which, in reality, are often found to be incomplete, sparse, or unavailable. This results in incorrect or ineffective decision-making surrounding water safety, treatment, and public health. This session invites abstracts from researchers who explore problems related to surface and sub-surface water quality modelling by employing advanced statistical, numerical, analytical, or experimental approaches at various scales.
Surface water quality, though monitored more frequently, provides only a partial picture of the space-time variability of various contaminants. On the other hand, subsurface environments, which are highly heterogeneous, influence the flow and transport dynamics and also the surface-subsurface interaction mechanisms, making model calibrations quite challenging. In dynamic environments like wetlands, solute transport, sediment dynamics, and vegetation are also coupled through hydrodynamic and biogeochemical feedback, which require advanced modelling techniques for quantifying nutrient cycling, contaminant retention, and ecosystem functioning. Moreover, limited knowledge is available about the degradation/transformation pathways, sorption characteristics, and reaction mechanisms of the emerging contaminants, like micro- and nano-plastics, antibiotics, pathogens, etc., in surface and subsurface waters. Understanding all of these complex yet intertwined interactions provides a holistic picture of the pollutant mobilization mechanisms, paving the way for effective abatement strategies. Contributions related to the following topics and beyond are welcome, especially by researchers from the Global South:
*Innovative approaches for overcoming water quality data availability, accessibility, and integrity challenges
*Advanced statistical approaches to predict the impact of changing climate and anthropogenic forcings on both surface water quality and quantity
*Advanced mathematical/numerical approaches to model the transport dynamics of emerging contaminants in subsurface environments
*Microplastics in soil: Experimental insights and numerical modeling approaches
*Modeling solute-sediment-vegetation interactions in wetlands: Coupled hydrodynamic and biogeochemical perspectives
Alberto Bellin, Christina Tsai