Coupled Effects of Vadose Zone Hydrodynamics and Anionic Surfactant Aerosol-22 on the Transport of Cryptosporidium parvum in Soil
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is a microbial pathogen that may be found in soil, surface and groundwater resources. We studied their transport behavior under conditions where both C. parvum oocysts and chemicals that may affect their mobility are present in soils. Surfactants occur widely in soils due to agricultural practices such as wastewater irrigation and application of agrichemicals. Surfactants decrease the surface tension of the soil solution, which may reduce the ability of C. parvum oocysts to be retained at gas-water interfaces. Understanding the fate and transport of C. parvum oocysts following land application of manure and use of surfactants in rural and agricultural watersheds is critical to assess the threat to water resources. We investigated the coupled effects of vadose zone hydrodynamics and an anionic surfactant Aerosol-22 on the transport of C. parvum oocysts in natural structured and non-structured agricultural or range soils from Illinois and Utah. Column transport experiments consisted of unsaturated flow subject to macropore and fingered flows resulting from simulated rainfall with and without surfactant. To assess the behavior of C. parvum oocysts in soils, the breakthrough and distribution of C. parvum oocysts in soil profiles were obtained using qPCR. We observed that surfactant enhanced the transport of C. parvum oocysts when preferential flow paths are present. However, when the interconnection between macropores is not established in the soils, surfactant limited the transport of C. parvum oocysts through the soil matrix by forming oocyst-surfactant-Ca flocs.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.H33C1372D
- Keywords:
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- 1875 HYDROLOGY Vadose zone;
- 1832 HYDROLOGY Groundwater transport;
- 1865 HYDROLOGY Soils;
- 1838 HYDROLOGY Infiltration