In-Situ Monitoring Of Nitrate Fluxes Through Unsaturated Zone In Chalk Aquifer

Diffuse source nitrate leaching from agricultural land threatens groundwater quality worldwide. In the United Kingdom the source of up to 70% of nitrate found in surface and groundwater is thought to have been leached from agricultural land. Rising concentrations approaching or exceeding the maximum permissible concentration level of 11.3 mg/l NO3-N (EC Drinking Water Directive) have been observed in UK catchments on the Cretaceous Chalk in recent decades. Prediction of future nitrate concentration trends in chalk aquifers is desirable for groundwater abstraction management, but is particularly challenging due to their complex dual porosity nature. Contaminants such as nitrate are either rapidly moved through the system via preferential fracture pathways or more slowly through the porous matrix. We report in-situ nitrate monitoring within the top 1 m of the soil zone and within the deeper chalk unsaturated zone at depths between 30 and 45 m carried out over an entire hydrological year. Observed nitrate concentrations exceeded natural baseline concentration of NO3-N expected in the Cretaceous Chalk aquifer of northern England by nearly four times and were nearly double the legislated maximum permissible drinking water concentration. Soil zone nitrate monitoring (up to 1 m depth) indicated a strong relationship between NO3-N concentration and land management, annual cropping and hydrological cycles. Annual variation in NO3-N concentration were smaller in water from the deeper unsaturated zone (at 30 - 45 m depth) than in the soil zone, i.e. fluctuations are smoothed by travel through the chalk unsaturated zone. However, observations in the deep unsaturated zone indicate water flow is focused in specific fractures or conduits, so contaminants from the surface will rapidly reach the water table, even through thick unsaturated zones in chalk. Moreover, the low permeability of the matrix coupled with fracture flow can result in an accumulation of NO3-N in the unsaturated zone, prolonging the impact of historical NO3-N applications. Therefore, despite recent changes in land management imposed via regulatory and legislative authorities aimed at achieving good status of groundwater, it may take many decades before significant reductions in NO3-N groundwater concentrations are observed.