title: The Impact of Climate Change on Metal Transport in a Lowland Catchment.
abstract: This study investigates the impact of future climate change on heavy metal (i.e., Cd and Zn) transport from soils to surface waters in a contaminated lowland catchment. The WALRUS hydrological model is employed in a semi-distributed manner to simulate current and future hydrological fluxes in the Dommel catchment in the Netherlands. The model is forced with climate change projections and the simulated fluxes are used as input to a metal transport model that simulates heavy metal concentrations and loads in quickflow and baseflow pathways. Metal transport is simulated under baseline climate ("2000-2010") and future climate ("2090-2099") conditions including scenarios for no climate change and climate change. The outcomes show an increase in Cd and Zn loads and the mean flux-weighted Cd and Zn concentrations in the discharged runoff, which is attributed to breakthrough of heavy metals from the soil system. Due to climate change, runoff enhances and leaching is accelerated, resulting in enhanced Cd and Zn loads. Mean flux-weighted concentrations in the discharged runoff increase during early summer and decrease during late summer and early autumn under the most extreme scenario of climate change. The results of this study provide improved understanding on the processes responsible for future changes in heavy metal contamination in lowland catchments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.|FutureWater, Costerweg 1V, 6702 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: René R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Wijngaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Perk
authors.affiliation: Department of Subsurface and Groundwater Systems, Deltares, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van der Grift
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ton C M
authors.initials: TCM
authors.lastname: de Nijs
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Department of Subsurface and Groundwater Systems, Deltares, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marc F P
authors.initials: MFP
authors.lastname: Bierkens
keywords: Baseflow; Climate change; Lowland catchment; Metal transport; Modeling; Quickflow