Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods

Abstract As a precondition for groundwater remediation, pollution investigation of landfills requires enhanced accuracy and deeper understanding. Limited by the complexity of leachate and the inherent characteristics of each method, the application of a single method still has difficulty in comprehe...

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Main Authors: Fei Wang, Kai Song, Weiwei Lan, Tangshu Li, Jian Liu, Dan Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11189-2
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author Fei Wang
Kai Song
Weiwei Lan
Tangshu Li
Jian Liu
Dan Liu
author_facet Fei Wang
Kai Song
Weiwei Lan
Tangshu Li
Jian Liu
Dan Liu
author_sort Fei Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract As a precondition for groundwater remediation, pollution investigation of landfills requires enhanced accuracy and deeper understanding. Limited by the complexity of leachate and the inherent characteristics of each method, the application of a single method still has difficulty in comprehensively and accurately identifying groundwater pollution from landfills. To compensate for the limitations of a single method and enhance the accuracy, this study integrated survey, high-density resistivity exploration (HDR), and comprehensive analyses to develop a methodology. Using this methodology, the pollution area was identified to range from the landfill to Huang Jing River. The area from the landfill to 100 m downstream was identified as the core pollution area. The main inorganic chemical processes in polluted groundwater include the adsorption of K+, the exchange of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the aquifer by Na+ and K+ in the groundwater, and the supersaturation and precipitation of Ca2+ and Mg2+. The transformation of organic pollutants included the dispersion and migration of refractory humic acids and the decomposition of degradable matter into humic substances, proteins, and tryptophan. Among the various methods, HDR performed excellently in rapidly identifying the polluted area. Cl− and the contribution ratio (Ylandfill) of the leachate to the chemical composition of groundwater were the best indicators for defining the maximum pollution boundary.
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spelling doaj-art-cbdf29c9f62f4b868be5c7498cfde6aa2025-08-20T03:05:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-11189-2Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methodsFei Wang0Kai Song1Weiwei Lan2Tangshu Li3Jian Liu4Dan Liu5School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong UniversitySchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi Hua UniversitySchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong UniversitySchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong UniversitySchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong UniversitySchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong UniversityAbstract As a precondition for groundwater remediation, pollution investigation of landfills requires enhanced accuracy and deeper understanding. Limited by the complexity of leachate and the inherent characteristics of each method, the application of a single method still has difficulty in comprehensively and accurately identifying groundwater pollution from landfills. To compensate for the limitations of a single method and enhance the accuracy, this study integrated survey, high-density resistivity exploration (HDR), and comprehensive analyses to develop a methodology. Using this methodology, the pollution area was identified to range from the landfill to Huang Jing River. The area from the landfill to 100 m downstream was identified as the core pollution area. The main inorganic chemical processes in polluted groundwater include the adsorption of K+, the exchange of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the aquifer by Na+ and K+ in the groundwater, and the supersaturation and precipitation of Ca2+ and Mg2+. The transformation of organic pollutants included the dispersion and migration of refractory humic acids and the decomposition of degradable matter into humic substances, proteins, and tryptophan. Among the various methods, HDR performed excellently in rapidly identifying the polluted area. Cl− and the contribution ratio (Ylandfill) of the leachate to the chemical composition of groundwater were the best indicators for defining the maximum pollution boundary.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11189-2Landfill groundwaterPollution quantificationOrganic pollution identificationIsotopes
spellingShingle Fei Wang
Kai Song
Weiwei Lan
Tangshu Li
Jian Liu
Dan Liu
Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
Scientific Reports
Landfill groundwater
Pollution quantification
Organic pollution identification
Isotopes
title Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
title_full Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
title_fullStr Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
title_full_unstemmed Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
title_short Identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical, spectroscopy, and hydrogeochemical methods
title_sort identification and assessment of groundwater pollution from landfill leachate based on geophysical spectroscopy and hydrogeochemical methods
topic Landfill groundwater
Pollution quantification
Organic pollution identification
Isotopes
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11189-2
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AT tangshuli identificationandassessmentofgroundwaterpollutionfromlandfillleachatebasedongeophysicalspectroscopyandhydrogeochemicalmethods
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