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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Understanding Dissolved Organic Matter Biogeochemistry Through In Situ Nutrient Manipulations in Stream Ecosystems
Published on: October 29, 2016
Fate of persistent organic pollutants in the water column: does turbulent mixing matter?
Elena Jurado1, José-Manuel Zaldívar, Dimitar Marinov
1Department of Environmental Chemistry, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona 08034, Catalunya, Spain.
Abstract:
The effect of vertical turbulent mixing on the dynamics of persistent organic pollutants has long been overlooked and its role is still hardly understood. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of the role of turbulent diffusion on the distribution of those contaminants and its interplay with sinking fluxes. To this end, a 1D dynamic coupled hydrodynamic-contaminant model has been developed and applied to a Mediterranean continental shelf environment. The hydrodynamic sub-model is adapted from COHERENS, the contaminant sub-model is an improvement from the BIODEP model and considers the contaminant in 3 phases: dissolved-colloidal-particulate. The simulation highlights the role of turbulence in determining the POP distribution and variability in the water column. In short, turbulent flux of contaminants strengthens the upward diffusion of sediment entrained contaminants and determines the extent to which inputs from the atmosphere mix into the water column. It acts in parallel with degradation and sinking fluxes, the combined effect yielding a surface enriched - depth depleted - benthic layer enriched region distribution, which presents similarities to reported experimental measures.
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