What controls the apparent timescale of solute mass transfer in aquifers and soils? A comparison of experimental results

Estimates of mass transfer timescales from 316 solute transport experiments reported in 35 publications are compared to the pore‐water velocities and residence times, as well as the experimental durations. New tracer experiments were also conducted in columns of different lengths so that the velocity and the advective residence time could be varied independently. In both the experiments reported in the literature and the new experiments, the estimated mass transfer timescale (inverse of the mass‐transfer rate coefficient) is better correlated to residence time and the experimental duration than to velocity. Of the measures considered, the experimental duration multiplied by 1 + β (where β is the capacity coefficient, defined as the ratio of masses in the immobile and mobile domains at equilibrium) best predicted the estimated mass transfer timescale. This relation is consistent with other work showing that aquifer and soil material commonly produce multiple timescales of mass transfer.

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