Abstract
IT has been observed1–4 that the average transport velocity of dissolved anions through soils may be larger than that of the accompanying water molecules, owing to electrostatic repulsion by negatively charged solid surfaces, which forces the anions into pore centres where the velocity is faster. This phenomenon, known as anion exclusion, has been explained by diffusive double-layer theory5–7. Here we present analyses and numerical modelling of concentration/depth profiles of tritium, chloride and sulphate which were collected from irrigated land in the Israeli coastal plain. We found that the anions travelled at about twice the velocity of tritium. The behaviour of tritium is consistent with advective–diffusive transport, but the values of the dispersion coefficients associated with anion transport greatly exceeded the values expec-ted for molecular diffusion in a porous medium, and were ∼30 times those found for tritium transport. Our results indicate that anion exclusion restricts the number of active pore networks avail-able for anion transport. We present two conceptual models that can explain the observed results—in one model some porous regions are completely blocked, whereas in the other they are only partially blocked.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mokady, R. S., Ravina, J. & Zazlavsky, D. Israel J. Chem. 6, 159–165 (1968).
Smith, S. J. Soil Sci. 114, 259–263 (1972).
James, R. V. & Rubin, J. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 50, 1142–1149 (1986).
Bond, W. J. & Phillips, J. R. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 633–645 (1990).
De Haan, F. A. M. Centrum voor Landbouwpublikaties en Landbouwdocumentatie, 164 (Wageningen, 1965).
Krupp, H. K., Biggar, J. W. & Nielsen, D. R. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 36, 412–417 (1972).
Bresler, E. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 37, 663–669 (1973).
Gvirtzman, H., Ronen, D. & Magaritz, M. J. Hydrol. 87, 267–283 (1986).
Gat, R. J. Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry vol. 1, 21–47 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1980).
Zimmermann, U. Science, 152, 346–347 (1966).
Bear, J. Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media, 764p (Elsevier, New York, 1972).
Pfankuch, H. D. Rev. Inst. Fr. Petrol. 2, 215–270 (1963).
Marsily, G. de Quantitative Hydrogeology, 440p (Academic Press, Orlando, 1986).
Wagner, B. J. & Gorelick, S. M. Water Resource Res. 22, 1303–1315 (1986).
DeSmedt, F., Wauters, F. & Sevilla, S. J. Hydrol. 85, 169–181 (1986).
Dagan, G. Water Resource Res. 22, 12OS–134S (1986).
Gelhar, L. W. Water Resource Res. 22, 135S–145S (1986).
Neuman, S. P. Water Resource Res. 26, 1749–1758 (1990).
Van Genuchten, M. T. & Wierenga, P. J. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 41, 272–285 (1977).
Rao, P. S. C., Jessup, R. E., Rolston, D. E., Davidson, J. M. & Kilcrease, D. P. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 684–688 (1980).
Wang, J. H., Robinson, C. V. & Edelman, I. S. J. Am. chem. Soc. 75, 466–470 (1953).
Li, Y. H. & Gregory, S. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 38, 703–714 (1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gvirtzman, H., Gorelick, S. Dispersion and advection in unsaturated porous media enhanced by anion exclusion. Nature 352, 793–795 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/352793a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/352793a0
This article is cited by
-
Relevance of charge interactions for contaminant transport in heterogeneous formations: a stochastic analysis
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment (2023)
-
Effect of anion repulsion on iodine transport through water-saturated crushed granite
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2023)
-
Colloid and colloid-facilitated contaminant transport in subsurface ecosystem—a concise review
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2023)
-
Laboratory investigations of the conservativeness of deuterated water as the artificial tracer for hydrogeological tests
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022)
-
Opportunities for Particles and Particle Suspensions to Experience Enhanced Transport in Porous Media: A Review
Transport in Porous Media (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.