TICKET-UWM: a coupled kinetic, equilibrium, and transport screening model for metals in lakes

The tableau input coupled kinetic equilibrium transport-unit world model (TICKET-UWM) has been developed as a screening model for assessing potential environmental risks associated with the release of metals into lakes. The model is based on a fully implicit, one-step solution algorithm that allows for simultaneous consideration of dissolved and particulate phase transport; metal complexation to organic matter and inorganic ligands; precipitation of metal hydroxides, carbonates, and sulfides; competitive interactions of metals and major cations with biotic ligands; a simplified description of biogeochemical cycling of organic carbon and sulfur; and dissolution kinetics for metal powders, massives, and other solid forms. Application of TICKET-UWM to a generalized lake in the Sudbury area of the Canadian Shield is presented to demonstrate the overall cycling of metals in lakes and the nonlinear effects of chemical speciation on metal responses. In addition, the model is used to calculate critical loads for metals, with acute toxicity of Daphnia magna as the final endpoint. Model results show that the critical loads for Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn varied from 2.5 to 39.0 g metal/m(2) -year and were found to be one or more orders of magnitude higher than comparable loads for pesticides (lindane, 4,4'-DDT) and several polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. In sensitivity calculations, critical metal-loading rates were found to vary significantly as a function of the hydraulic detention time, water hardness, and metal dissolution kinetic rates.