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DEVELOPMENT OF A BACTERIAL TRANSPORT MODEL FOR COARSE SOILS 1
Author(s) -
Peterson Thomas C.,
Ward Robert C.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1989.tb03071.x
Subject(s) - soil water , monte carlo method , hydraulic conductivity , soil science , environmental science , probability distribution , hydrology (agriculture) , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , statistics , geology
A bacterial transport model, developed to analyze bacterial translocation in coarse‐grained soils, is presented. The complex governing equation is presented first, followed by analyses of each of the major processes influencing bacterial transport. These analyses suggest simplification of the governing equation is feasible when input data on specific processes are limited or unavailable. Model parameters, including bacterial die‐off, bacterial distribution, input bacterial concentration, and saturated hydraulic conductivity, were randomly generated using a procedure known to produce either a normal or log‐normal distribution of random numbers. Monte Carlo simulations were completed, and the resulting output was used to generate cumulative frequency distributions showing the probability of bacterial transport beyond various soil depths. Results from these simulations indicate that bacteria have a high probability of traveling through coarse‐grained soils when low clay content and soil water temperatures limit bacterial retention and die‐off.