The drinking water in Feiring, Eidsvoll Kommune, has repeatedly been closed down because of high concentrations of coliform bacteria, far exceeding the drinking water limits even after chlorination in the water work. It is known that the chlorination of the waters has a reduced effect because of high concentrations of Mn and Fe in the waters.
The source of the drinking waters is a small lake, Damtjern, situated in the low mountains west of Feiring (Fig. 1). Damtjern is downstream of Åstjennet, another small lake, and a generally boggy terrain to the NE. Gentle to steep hillslopes to the E and V also drain into Damtjern. In this master thesis, the main objective is to identify the main sources of Mn and Fe draining into Damtjern, and to investigate if this is a diffuse (dispersed) transport into the lake, or if it is more concentrated.
This master thesis aims at:
- Mapping the hydrology of the catchment draining into Lake Damtjern. This involves modeling and field measurements
- Obtaining concentrations of Mn and Fe in surface- and soil waters draining into Lake Damtjern
- Estimating fluxes of Mn and Fe into Lake Damtjern, and evaluating if these are diffuse or concentrated
- Investigating temporal variations in the fluxes of Mn and Fe into Lake Damtjern.
- Modelling the complexation of the metals and Cl (simple PHREEQC modelling)
The MSc study will apply both field and laboratory work as well as transport calculations. This will give the student good experience with methods commonly used in environmental geology and geochemistry.
Requirements:
- Basic knowledge of hydrogeology (hydrology) and chemistry
- Students who want to work with this thesis are required to take GEO5900 – Chemical processes in soil and groundwater
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