Groundwater Quality Assessment in Landfill Impact Studies
Summary
Groundwater quality assessment in the context of landfill impact studies encompasses the identification, quantification and interpretation of chemical and physical changes induced by leachate infiltration into aquifers. Landfill leachate, a complex mixture rich in organic matter, inorganic salts and trace metals, poses a persistent threat to subsurface water resources if not properly contained and monitored. Effective assessment relies on a combination of hydrochemical sampling, geological and hydrogeological mapping, numerical modelling and the application of environmental tracers. Pre-operational baseline characterisation is essential to distinguish anthropogenic signals from natural background levels, while long-term monitoring networks provide temporal and spatial data on contaminant plumes, redox zonation and attenuation processes. Recent advances have integrated stable isotope analysis with multivariate statistical techniques to unravel source contributions and migration pathways. Simultaneously, risk indices and human health assessments translate complex data into management guidelines. Globally, tailored strategies reflect variations in landfill engineering, climate and aquifer lithology, underlining the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between hydrogeologists, chemists, microbiologists and public health experts to safeguard water resources and inform remediation and policy decisions.
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Groundwater Quality Assessment in Landfill Impact Studies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in groundwater quality assessment in landfill impact studies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Landfill leachate: A complex, often toxic, liquid produced when water percolates through waste, dissolving organic and inorganic constituents.
Hydrochemical characterisation: The assessment of dissolved ions and major physico-chemical parameters in groundwater to determine contaminant sources and processes.
Stable isotope tracer: Naturally occurring isotopes (e.g. 2H, 18O, 3H) used to fingerprint water sources and trace pollutant migration.
Redox zonation: Spatial differentiation of oxidation–reduction conditions in an aquifer, governing the mobility and transformation of contaminants.
Entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI): A composite index that applies information entropy to weight water quality parameters, yielding an objective measure of overall water quality.
Natural attenuation: The suite of physical, chemical and biological processes in an aquifer that reduce contaminant concentration and toxicity over time and distance.
References
- Evaluation of Human Health Risks Associated with Groundwater Contamination and Groundwater Pollution Prediction in a Landfill and Surrounding Area in Kaifeng City, China. Water (2023).
- Application of 2H and 18O Isotopes for Tracing Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Contamination of Groundwater: Two Italian Case Histories. Water (2021).
- Long-term redox conditions in a landfill-leachate-contaminated groundwater. The Science of The Total Environment (2020).
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