Flow and patterns of nitrate pollution in groundwater: a case study of an agricultural area in Tsukuba City, Japan |
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| Authors: | Adrian H Gallardo Walter Reyes-Borja Norio Tase |
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| Institution: | (1) Present address: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Geological Survey of Japan, 1-1-1, #7 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan;(2) School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan |
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| Abstract: | A numerical simulation was applied to first characterize the groundwater flow and patterns of nitrate pollution of a small-agricultural
catchment in Tsukuba City, Japan, for a 10-year period. There was a good performance of the flow simulation. In contrast,
although the transport model calculated the evolution of the plume, it only provided estimates of solute concentrations. Groundwater
contamination increased exponentially during the first 594 days of the simulation, reaching then a near-equilibrium state.
Fertilizer applications are responsible for most of the leaching of NO3− to groundwater, therefore, shifting of crops and the associated agricultural practices may translate into decreases of contamination
levels. A series of hypothetical scenarios demonstrated that replacing grasslands by other crops may reduce the contamination
levels up to 12%. As the chosen field is a representative of many other agricultural areas in Japan, the approach and results
should also be applicable to similar cases around the country. |
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| Keywords: | Groundwater contamination Nitrate Agriculture Fertilizers Tsukuba City Ibaraki prefecture Japan |
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