this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
39 points (100.0% liked)
Science
13115 readers
31 users here now
Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
One thing they didn’t mention but I’ve seen on the news before is that flood waters often contain carcinogenic/other polluting chemicals leeched from the ground, and other waste streams. How much of that gets left in people’s soil (or wells if they have a well system), or even in their house after rebuilding?
With diffusion being a foundational aspect of solutes mixing in solutions, the water should have an even distribution of the contaminants. However, the tidal force of water associated with a storm surge probably throws a wrench in the plan here. But generally, it's evenly spread throughout and will be found in relatively even amounts everywhere the water settles.