Preferential flow dominates water movement and solute transport in boreal forest hillslopes.However, only a few model applications to date have accounted for preferential flow at forest sites. Here we present a parallel and coupled simulation of flow and transport processes in the preferential flow domain and soil matrix of a forested hillslope section in Kangaslampi, Finland, using a new, three-dimensional, physically based dual-permeability model. Our aim is to simulate lateral subsurface stormflow and solute transport at the slope during a chloride tracer experiment, and to investigate the role of preferential flow in the tracer transport. The model was able to mimic the observed tracer transport during tracer irrigation, but overestimated the dilution velocity of the tracer plume in the highly conductive soil horizons near the soil surface after changing the irrigation to tracer-free water. According to the model, 140 times more chloride was transported downslope in the preferential flow domain than in the soil matrix during the tracer irrigation. The simulations showed, together with reference simulations with a traditional one pore domain model, that a two pore domain approach was required to simulate the observed flow and transport event. The event was characterized by the transmissivity feedback phenomenon and controlled by preferential flow mechanisms, in particular by lateral by-pass flow. According to our results, accounting for the slowflow and fast-flow domains of soil, as well as the water and solute exchange between the domains, is essential for a successful simulation of flow and solute transport in preferential flow dominated hillslopes.

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Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) refers to intentional infiltration of surface water to an aquifer for facilitating natural water treatment and storage. MAR is often used as a treatment to remove natural organic matter from water in drinking water production. The sustainability of MAR depends on how the aquifer capacity to remove organic matter will evolve over the long term. This report explores the behavior of MAR systems by using a natural lake-aquifer system as a surrogate. Natural infiltration of lake water to groundwater has been going on for millennia at the research site in Finland chosen for this study. According to the measurements, the mean concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) in lake water was 3.0 mg/L. Within the distance of 3 m from the lake bank (retention time 7-15 days), already 46% of TOC was removed. At greater distances along the flow paths within the aquifer, 80-90% of TOC was removed. The observed TOC removal in the aquifer was slightly higher than the reported values at MAR sites, indicating that MAR can be an effective solution to the problem of removing natural organic matter in the long term. Signs of accumulation of organic matter were not observed in the aquifer, which suggests that biodegradation was the main removal method, and the role of sorption was minor. Several processes had an impact on oxygen levels in the aquifer, which led to spatial and seasonal changes in the redox conditions and in the iron and manganese concentrations in groundwater.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) provides means to remove natural organic matter (NOM) from surface waters. Recent studies have explored the degree of NOM removal in groundwater. In this study, we further elaborate the NOM removal at a lakeside natural bank infiltration site that functions as a surrogate for MAR. Our objective was to quantify the carbon budget in the aquifer based on concentration measurements of dissolved (in)organic carbon, and the molecular changes in NOM using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR MS). According to the carbon budget, only 25% of the dissolved carbon entering the aquifer was organic, and it predominantly originated from lake water. Of the inorganic majority, on average 40% was produced in the vadose zone above the groundwater table, 31% in the lake bank, 22% in the aquifer as a result of degrading organic matter of lake water, and 7% in the lake. Seasonal concentration variations suggested that the lake bank was the main carbon source in the summer, increasing the carbon concentration of infiltrating lake water, that is, 3.0 mg/L to 7.9 mg/L. FT‐ICR MS results showed 4960 to 5330 individual compounds in lake and groundwater. NOM removal in the aquifer was selective: the relative abundance of oxygen‐containing species decreased from 75 to 31%, while the relative abundance of sulfur‐containing species increased from 15 to 57%. The average molecular weights of both species remained unchanged. The study highlighted the role of lake bank processes and sulfur‐containing species in groundwater quality.