title: Identification of dominating factors affecting vadose zone vulnerability by a simulation method.
abstract: The characteristics of vadose zone vulnerability dominating factors (VDFs) are closely related to the migration and transformation mechanisms of contaminants in the vadose zone, which directly affect the state of the contaminants percolating to the groundwater. This study analyzes the hydrogeological profile of the pore water regions in the vadose zone, and conceptualizes the vadose zone as single lithologic, double lithologic, or multi lithologic. To accurately determine how the location of the pollution source influences the groundwater, we classify the permeabilities (thicknesses) of different media into clay-layer and non-clay-layer permeabilities (thicknesses), and introduce the maximum pollution thickness. Meanwhile, the physicochemical reactions of the contaminants in the vadose zone are represented by the soil adsorption and soil degradability. The VDFs are determined from the factors and parameters in groundwater vulnerability assessment. The VDFs are identified and sequenced in simulations and a sensitivity analysis. When applied to three polluted sites in China, the method improved the weighting of factors in groundwater vulnerability assessment, and increased the reliability of predicting groundwater vulnerability to contaminants.
authors.affiliation: College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.|State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Beidou
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Center for Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology Survey, China Geological Survey, Baoding 071051, China.
authors.forename: Wutian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.|School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Yongfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology Survey, China Geological Survey, Baoding 071051, China.
authors.forename: Yonggao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Ningqing
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huan
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Simulation and Control of Groundwater Pollution, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Jinjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang