A modified QWASI model for fate and transport modeling of mercury between the water-ice-sediment in Lake Ulansuhai.
Mercury contamination from industrial and agricultural drainage into lakes and rivers is a growing concern in Northern China. Lake Ulansuhai, located in Hetao irrigation district in Inner Mongolia, is the only sink for the all industrial and agricultural drainage and sole outlet for this district to the Yellow River, which is one of the main source of drinking water for the numerous cities and towns downstream. Because Ulansuahi is ice-covered during winter, the QWASI model was modified by adding an ice equation to get a more accurate understanding of the fate and transport of mercury within the lake. Both laboratory and field tests were carried out during the ice growth period. The aquivalence and mass balance approaches were used to develop the modified QWASI + ice model. The margins of error between the modelled and the measured average concentrations of Hg in ice, water, and sediment were 30%, 26.2%, and 19.8% respectively. These results suggest that the new QWASI + ice model could be used to more accurately represent the fate and transport of mercury in the seasonally ice-covered lakes, during the ice growth period.
['Liu|Yu|Y|', 'Li|Changyou|C|', 'Anderson|Bruce|B|', 'Zhang|Sheng|S|', 'Shi|Xiaohong|X|', 'Zhao|Shengnan|S|']
D000383:Agriculture D002681:China D004784:Environmental Monitoring D019015:Geologic Sediments D006256:Hazardous Waste D046448:Ice Cover D007220:Industrial Waste D060106:Lakes D008628:Mercury D008962:Models, Theoretical D045483:Rivers D014867:Water D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
QWASI model Fate Mercury Ice growth period Seasonally ice-covered lakes Migration