Subsurface Transport of Inorganic and Organic Solutes from Experimental Road Spreading of Oil-Field Brine

A study designed to evaluate ground water quality changes resulting from spreading oil-field brine on roads for ice and dust control was conducted using a gravel roadbed that received weekly applications of brine eight times during the winter phase and 11 times during the summer phase of the study. A network of 11 monitoring wells and five pressure-vacuum lysimeters was installed to obtain ground water and soil water samples. Thirteen sets of water- quality samples were collected and analyzed for major ions, trace metals, and volatile organic compounds. Two sets of samples were taken prior to brine spreading, four sets during winter-phase spreading, five sets during summer- phase spreading, and two sets during the interim between the winter and summer phases. A brine plume delineated by elevated specific-conductance values and elevated chloride concentrations developed downgradient of the roadbed during both the winter and summer phases. The brine plume caused chloride concentrations in ground water samples to exceed U.S. EPA public drinking-water standards by two-fold during the winter phase and five-fold during the summer phase. No other major ions, trace metals, or volatile organic compounds exceeded the standards during the winter or summer phases. More than 99 percent dilution of the solutes in the brine occurred between the roadbed surface and the local ground water flow system. Further attenuation of calcium, sodium, potassium, and strontium resulted from adsorption, whereas further attenuation of benzene resulted from volatilization and adsorption.     

Plume and lithologic profiling with surface resistivity and seismic tomography

Improved surface-based geophysical technologies that are commercially available provide a new level of detail that can be used to guide ground water remediation. Surface-based multielectrode resistivity methods and tomographic seismic refraction techniques were used to image to a depth of approximately 30 m below the surface at the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Field Research Center. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established the research center on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to conduct in situ field-scale studies on bioremediation of metals and radionuclides. Bioremediation studies are being conducted on the saprolite, shale bedrock, and ground water at the site that have been contaminated with nitrate, uranium, technetium, tetrachloroethylene, and other contaminants (U.S. DOE 1997). Geophysical methods were effective in imaging the high-ionic strength plume and in defining the transition zone between saprolite and bedrock zones that appears to have a significant influence on contaminant transport. The geophysical data were used to help select the location and depth of investigation for field research plots. Drilling, borehole geophysics, and ground water sampling were used to verify the surface geophysical studies.     

Utilization of Shallow Geophysical Sensing at Two Abandoned Municipal/Industrial Waste Landfills on the Missouri River Floodplain

In the past 30 to 40 years, floodplain areas of large rivers, such as the Missouri River, have been extensively used for large industrial and municipal landfills. Many of these sites are now causing varying degrees of ground water contamination. Rapid geophysical characterization techniques have proven useful for delineation of anomalous areas indicative of potential contaminant plumes. These methods have also resulted in a cost effective approach to the location and number of monitoring wells.
An effective technique to initially characterize ground water contamination at such landfills along the Missouri River in northwestern Missouri involved a combination of electrical resistivity and electromagnetic conductivity methods. Resistivity was used to obtain soundings of the alluvium by using a modified Wenner array and to corroborate shallow electromagnetic conductivity measurements by using short Wenner array electrode spacings.
Upon confirmation of similar measurements of the upper soils for the two methods, numerous electromagnetic conductivity traverses were made at each landfill site. The data generated from these surveys were graphed and contoured to delineate anomalous areas. Based on the geophysical study, a ground water monitoring well network was then designed for each landfill.
As a result, a minimal number of wells were required to initially characterize the ground water quality at these two sites. In general, analysis of water samples from these wells displayed good correlation with the geophysical results.     

Elements in Cottonwood Trees as an Indicator of Ground Water Contaminated by Landfill Leachate

Ground water at the Norman Landfill Research Site is contaminated by a leachate plume emanating from a closed, unlined landfill formerly operated by the city of Norman, Oklahoma, Ground water contaminated by the leachate plume is known to be elevated in the concentration of many, organic and inorganic constituents. Specific conductance, alkalinity, chloride, dissolved organic carbon, boron, sodium, strontium, and deuterium in ground water are considered to be indicators of the leachate plume at this site.
Leaf samples of broad-leafed cottonwood, Populus deltoides , were collected from 57 sites around the closed landfill. Cottonwood, a phreatophyte or "well plant," functions as a & surrogate well and serves as a ground water quality sampler. The leaf samples were combusted to ash and analyzed by instrumental neutron activation for 35 elements and by prompt-gamma instrumental neutron activation, for boron. A monitoring well was located within a few meters of a sampled cottonwood tree at 15 of the 57 sites, and ground water samples were collected from these monitoring wells simultaneously with a leaf sample. The chemical analyses of the ground water and leaf samples from these 15 sites indicated that boron, bromine, sodium, and strontium concentrations in leaves were significantly correlated with leachate indicator constituents in ground water. A point-plot map of selected percentiles indicated high concentrations of boron, bromine, and sodium in leaf ash from sites downgradient of the most recent landfill and from older landfills nearby.
Data from leaf analysis greatly extended the known areal extent of the leachate plume previously determined from a network of monitoring wells and geophysical surveys. This phytosgeochemical study provided a cost-effective method for assessing the extent of a leachate plume from an old landfill. Such a method may be useful as a preliminary sampling tool to guide the design of hydrogeochemical and geophysical studies.     

Delineating alluvial aquifer heterogeneity using resistivity and GPR data

Conceptual geological models based on geophysical data can elucidate aquifer architecture and heterogeneity at meter and smaller scales, which can lead to better predictions of preferential flow pathways. The macrodispersion experiment (MADE) site, with >2000 measurements of hydraulic conductivity obtained and three tracer tests conducted, serves as an ideal natural laboratory for examining relationships between subsurface flow characteristics and geophysical attributes in fluvial aquifers. The spatial variation of hydraulic conductivity measurements indicates a large degree of site heterogeneity. To evaluate the usefulness of geophysical methods for better delineating fluvial aquifer heterogeneities and distribution of preferential flow paths, a surface grid of two-dimensional ground penetrating radar (GPR) and direct current (DC) resistivity data were collected. A geological model was developed from these data that delineate four stratigraphic units with distinct electrical and radar properties including (from top to bottom) (1) a meandering fluvial system (MFS); (2) a braided fluvial system (BFS); (3) fine-grained sands; and (4) a clay-rich interval. A paleochannel, inferred by other authors to affect flow, was mapped in the MFS with both DC resistivity and GPR data. The channel is 2 to 4 m deep and, based on resistivity values, is predominantly filled with clay and silt. Comparing previously collected hydraulic conductivity measurements and tracer-plume migration patterns to the geological model indicates that flow primarily occurs in the BFS and that the channel mapped in the MFS has no influence on plume migration patterns.     

Geophysical mapping of hyporheic processes controlled by sedimentary architecture within compound bar deposits

Hyporheic exchange influences water quality and controls numerous physical, chemical, and biological processes. Despite its importance, hyporheic exchange and the associated dynamics of solute mixing are often difficult to characterize due to spatial (e.g., sedimentary heterogeneity) and temporal (e.g., river stage fluctuation) variabilities. This study coupled geophysical techniques with physical and chemical sediment analyses to map sedimentary architecture and quantify its influence on hyporheic exchange dynamics within a compound bar deposit in a gravel-dominated river system in southwestern Ohio. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) was used to quantify variability in electrical conductivity within the compound bar. EMI informed locations of electrode placement for time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) surveys, which were used to examine changes in electrical resistivity driven by hyporheic exchange. Both geophysical methods revealed a zone of high electrical conductivity in the center of the bar, identified as a fine-grained cross-bar channel fill. The zone acts as a baffle to flow, evidenced by stable electrical conditions measured by time-lapse ERI over the study period. Large changes in electrical resistivity throughout the survey period indicate preferential flowpaths through higher permeability sands and gravels. Grain size analyses confirmed sedimentological interpretations of geophysical data. Loss on ignition and x-ray fluorescence identified zones with higher organic matter content that are locations for potentially enhanced geochemical activity within the cross-bar channel fill. Differences in the physical and geochemical characteristics of cross-bar channel fills play an important role in hyporheic flow dynamics and nutrient processing within riverbed sediments. These findings enhance our understanding of the applications of geophysical methods in mapping riverbed heterogeneity and highlight the importance of accurately representing geomorphologic features and heterogeneity when studying hyporheic exchange processes.     

Geophysical Discovery of a New LNAPL Plume at the Former Wurtsmith AFB, Oscoda, Michigan

Alight nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) ground water contaminant plume has been discovered by purely geophysical means at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (AFB) near Oscoda, Michigan. It is located near another plume called FT-02, which is a well-studied area undergoing natural bioremediation. The plume was discovered by ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiling while extending a long line from FT-02 to establish background variability around that plume. The new plume was apparent because of a high-conductivity "shadow' or GPR reflection attenuation observed below the conductive zone at the top of the aquifer, identical to the pattern observed at the FT-02 plume. Further GPR surveys were conducted by students of a Western Michigan University geophysics field course to outline the proximal part of the plume. The GPR survey was supplemented by an electromagnetic induction (EM) survey which showed a group of four cables crossing the area. Finally, a magnetometer survey was conducted to search for any buried steel objects which might have been missed by the EM survey. The results of the three geophysical surveys were then used by students of a University of Michigan field course to guide subsurface soil and fluid sampling, which verified the presence of residual LNAPL product and ground water with conductivities 2.5 to 3.3 times above background. The plume source is in the vicinity of a vaulted underground storage tank (UST) formerly used for the collection of waste solvents and fuels for subsequent use in the fire training exercises at FT-02. This newly discovered LNAPL plume, along with other "mature' plumes, fits the electrical model which predicts conductive ground water below the decomposing but electrically resistive LNAPLs. Finally, this is a fine example of the cooperative use of a dedicated research site for training by students of two different universities.     

Geophysical expression of natural recharge in different geological terrains

Behavior of the Dar-Zarrouk parameters--longitudinal unit conductance, transverse unit resistance, longitudinal resistivity, and transverse resistivity--has been compared with the behavior of the natural recharge in two geological terrains. Contour patterns of the geophysical parameters and those of natural recharge have been analyzed and a qualitative relation in their behavior was recognized. Graphical comparison of the geophysical and hydrogeological parameters clearly illustrates a qualitative relationship between the two parameters. Use of such qualitative relation in the field of ground water exploration and management studies is explained. A modest beginning is attempted to arrive at a quantitative relation between natural recharge and Dar-Zarrouk parameters.     

Integrated geophysical and chemical study of saline water intrusion

Surface geophysical surveys provide an effective way to image the subsurface and the ground water zone without a large number of observation wells. DC resistivity sounding generally identifies the subsurface formations-the aquifer zone as well as the formations saturated with saline/brackish water. However, the method has serious ambiguities in distinguishing the geological formations of similar resistivities such as saline sand and saline clay, or water quality such as fresh or saline, in a low resistivity formation. In order to minimize the ambiguity and ascertain the efficacy of data integration techniques in ground water and saline contamination studies, a combined geophysical survey and periodic chemical analysis of ground water were carried out employing DC resistivity profiling, resistivity sounding, and shallow seismic refraction methods. By constraining resistivity interpretation with inputs from seismic refraction and chemical analysis, the data integration study proved to be a powerful method for identification of the subsurface formations, ground water zones, the subsurface saline/brackish water zones, and the probable mode and cause of saline water intrusion in an inland aquifer. A case study presented here illustrates these principles. Resistivity sounding alone had earlier failed to identify the different formations in the saline environment. Data integration and resistivity interpretation constrained by water quality analysis led to a new concept of minimum resistivity for ground water-bearing zones, which is the optimum value of resistivity of a subsurface formation in an area below which ground water contained in it is saline/brackish and unsuitable for drinking.     

Calibrating a Salt Water Intrusion Model with Time‐Domain Electromagnetic Data

Salt water intrusion models are commonly used to support groundwater resource management in coastal aquifers. Concentration data used for model calibration are often sparse and limited in spatial extent. With airborne and ground‐based electromagnetic surveys, electrical resistivity models can be obtained to provide high‐resolution three‐dimensional models of subsurface resistivity variations that can be related to geology and salt concentrations on a regional scale. Several previous studies have calibrated salt water intrusion models with geophysical data, but are typically limited to the use of the inverted electrical resistivity models without considering the measured geophysical data directly. This induces a number of errors related to inconsistent scales between the geophysical and hydrologic models and the applied regularization constraints in the geophysical inversion. To overcome these errors, we perform a coupled hydrogeophysical inversion (CHI) in which we use a salt water intrusion model to interpret the geophysical data and guide the geophysical inversion. We refer to this methodology as a Coupled Hydrogeophysical Inversion‐State (CHI‐S), in which simulated salt concentrations are transformed to an electrical resistivity model, after which a geophysical forward response is calculated and compared with the measured geophysical data. This approach was applied for a field site in Santa Cruz County, California, where a time‐domain electromagnetic (TDEM) dataset was collected. For this location, a simple two‐dimensional cross‐sectional salt water intrusion model was developed, for which we estimated five uniform aquifer properties, incorporating the porosity that was also part of the employed petrophysical relationship. In addition, one geophysical parameter was estimated. The six parameters could be resolved well by fitting more than 300 apparent resistivities that were comprised by the TDEM dataset. Except for three sounding locations, all the TDEM data could be fitted close to a root‐mean‐square error of 1. Possible explanations for the poor fit of these soundings are the assumption of spatial uniformity, fixed boundary conditions and the neglecting of 3D effects in the groundwater model and the TDEM forward responses.     

Detection of Contaminant Plumes by Borehole Geophysical Logging

Two borehole geophysical methods—electromagnetic induction and natural gamma radiation logs—were used to vertically delineate landfill leachate plumes in a glacial aquifer. Geophysical logs of monitoring wells near two land-fills in a glacial aquifer in west-central Vermont show that borehole geophysical methods can aid in interpretation of geologic logs and placement of monitoring well screens to sample landfill leachate plumes.
Zones of high electrical conductance were delineated from the electromagnetic log in wells near two landfills. Some of these zones were found to correlate with silt and clay units on the basis of drilling and gamma logs. Monitoring wells were screened specifically in zones of high electrical conductivity that did not correlate to a silt or clay unit. Zones of high electrical conductivity that did not correlate to a silt or clay unit were caused by the presence of ground water with a high specific conductance, generally from 1000 to 2370 μS/cm (microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius). Ambient ground water in the study area has a specific conductance of approximately 200 to 400 μS/cm. Landfill leachate plumes were found to be approximately 5 to 20 feet thick and to be near the water table surface.     

Interpretation of VLF Resistivity Data for Ground Water Contamination Surveys

Very low frequency (VLF) military communications systems provide a primary field that can be used for shallow geophysical surveys to locate ground water contamination and vertical geologic contacts. Useful properties that can be easily obtained from the interaction of the earth and the primary field are the magnitude of the vertical secondary magnetic field, the surface impedence, and the phase angle between the electrical and magnetic horizontal components. The variations in the secondary magnetic field can be related to vertical geologic contacts, such as the edges of landfill trenches. The surface impedence yields an apparent terrain conductivity, which can be used to locate low-resistivity anomalies often associated with contaminated ground water. The phase angle gives information on vertical variations in resistivity, phase angles less than 45° indicating increasing resistivity with depth. The depth of penetration of the VLF field is about one skin depth. For a frequency of 20 kHz, the skin depth in meters is approximately equal to 3.67 where p is terrain resistivity in ohmmeters.     

Robowell: An Automated Process for Monitoring Ground Water Quality Using Established Sampling Protocols

Robowell is an automated process for monitoring selected ground water quality properties and constituents by pumping a well or multilevel sampler. Robowell was developed and tested to provide a cost-effective monitoring system that meets protocols expected for manual sampling. The process uses commercially available electronics, instrumentation, and hardware, so it can be configured to monitor ground water quality using the equipment, purge protocol, and monitoring well design most appropriate for the monitoring site and the contaminants of interest. A Robowell prototype was installed on a sewage-treatment plant infiltration bed that overlies a well-studied u neon fined sand and gravel aquifer at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during a time when two distinct plumes of constituents were released. The prototype was operated from May 10 to November 13, 1996, and quality-assurance/quality-control measurements demonstrated that the data obtained by the automated method was equivalent to data obtained by manual sampling methods using the same sampling protocols. Water level, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved ammonium were monitored by the prototype as the wells were purged according to U.S. Geological Survey (LJSGS) ground water sampling protocols. Remote access to the data record, via phone modem communications, indicated the arrival of each plume over a few days and the subsequent geochemical reactions over the following weeks. Real-time availability of the monitoring record provided the information needed to initiate manual sampling efforts in response to changes in measured ground water quality, which proved the method and characterized the screened portion of the plume in detail through time. The methods and the case study described are presented to document the process for future use.     

Natural Gradient Tracer Test to Evaluate Natural Attenuation of MTBE Under Anaerobic Conditions

A natural gradient tracer test using perdeuterated MTBE was conducted in an anaerobic aquifer to determine the relative importance of dispersion and degradation in reducing MTBE concentrations in ground water. Preliminary ground water chemistry and hydraulic conductivity data were used to place the tracer within an existing dissolved MTBE plume at Port Hueneme, California. Following one year of transport, the tracer plume was characterized in detail.
Longitudinal dispersion was identified as the dominant mechanism for lowering the perdeuterated MTBE concentrations. The method of moments was used to determine the longitudinal and lateral dispersion coefficients (0.85 m²/day and 0.08 m²/day, respectively). A mass-balance analysis, carried out after one year of transport, accounted for 110% of the injected mass and indicated that no significant mass loss occurred. The plume structure created by zones of higher and lower hydraulic conductivity at the site was complex, consisting of several localized areas of high tracer concentration in a lower concentration plume. This is important because the aquifer has generally been characterized as exhibiting fairly minor heterogeneity. In addition, the tracer plume followed a curved flowpath that deviated from the more macroscopic direction of ground water flow inferred from local ground water elevation measurements and the behavior of the existing plume. Understanding the mass balance, plume structure, curvature of the tracer plume, and consequently natural attenuation behavior required the detailed sampling approach employed in this study. These data imply that a detailed understanding of site hydrogeology and an extensive sampling network may be critical for the correct interpretation of monitored natural attenuation of MTBE.     

Electrical Resistivity Studies to Delimit Zones of Acceptable Ground Water Quality

A total of four vertical electrical soundings were conducted in a layered andesitic rock aquifer known in places to yield ground water with total dissolved solids (TDS) in excess of 2,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The objective of the soundings was to locate zones of moderate to high permeability but with acceptable chemical quality.
The resistivity of a geologic unit is a function that includes the quantity of total dissolved solids in the interstitial water and the distribution of the water within the unit. Thus, the resistivity of most granular soils and rocks is controlled more by porosity, water content and water quality than by the conductivity of the matrix materials.
The electrical data delimited a drill site where it was believed that ground water of acceptable chemical quality could be expected. Completion and test pumping of two exploration wells confirmed the electrical sounding results.
The first test well drilled prior to the survey yielded only small amounts of ground water with total dissolved solids in excess of 2,000 mg/L. The second exploration well drilled at the site as a result of the electrical study yielded in excess of 100 gallons per minute of ground water with total dissolved solids of 830 mg/L.     

Applying the HPT‐GWS for Hydrostratigraphy,Water Quality and Aquifer Recharge Investigations

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate use of the hydraulic profiling tool‐groundwater sampler (HPT‐GWS) log data as an indicator of water quality (level of dissolved ionic species) in an alluvial aquifer. The HPT‐GWS probe is designed for direct push advancement into unconsolidated formations. The system provides both injection pressure logs and electrical conductivity (EC) logs, and groundwater may be sampled at multiple depths as the probe is advanced (profiling). The combination of these three capabilities in one probe has not previously been available. During field work it was observed that when HPT corrected pressure (P_c) indicates a consistent aquifer unit then bulk formation EC can be used as an indicator of water quality. A high correlation coefficient (R ² = 0.93) was observed between groundwater specific conductance and bulk formation EC in the sands and gravels of the alluvial aquifer studied. These results indicate that groundwater specific conductance is exerting a controlling influence on the bulk formation EC of the coarse‐grained unit at this site, and probably many similar sites, consistent with Archie's Law. This simple relationship enables the use of the EC and P_c logs, with targeted water samples and a minimum of core samples, to rapidly assess groundwater quality over extended areas at high vertical resolution. This method was used to identify both a brine impacted zone at the base of the aquifer investigated and a groundwater recharge lens developing below storm water holding ponds in the upper portion of the same aquifer. Sample results for trace level, naturally occurring elements (As, Ba, U) further demonstrate the use of this system to sample for low level groundwater contamination.     

Stochastic joint inversion of hydrogeophysical data for salt tracer test monitoring and hydraulic conductivity imaging

The assessment of hydraulic conductivity of heterogeneous aquifers is a difficult task using traditional hydrogeological methods (e.g., steady state or transient pumping tests) due to their low spatial resolution. Geophysical measurements performed at the ground surface and in boreholes provide additional information for increasing the resolution and accuracy of the inverted hydraulic conductivity field. We used a stochastic joint inversion of Direct Current (DC) resistivity and self-potential (SP) data plus in situ measurement of the salinity in a downstream well during a synthetic salt tracer experiment to reconstruct the hydraulic conductivity field between two wells. The pilot point parameterization was used to avoid over-parameterization of the inverse problem. Bounds on the model parameters were used to promote a consistent Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling of the model parameters. To evaluate the effectiveness of the joint inversion process, we compared eight cases in which the geophysical data are coupled or not to the in situ sampling of the salinity to map the hydraulic conductivity. We first tested the effectiveness of the inversion of each type of data alone (concentration sampling, self-potential, and DC resistivity), and then we combined the data two by two. We finally combined all the data together to show the value of each type of geophysical data in the joint inversion process because of their different sensitivity map. We also investigated a case in which the data were contaminated with noise and the variogram unknown and inverted stochastically. The results of the inversion revealed that incorporating the self-potential data improves the estimate of hydraulic conductivity field especially when the self-potential data were combined to the salt concentration measurement in the second well or to the time-lapse cross-well electrical resistivity data. Various tests were also performed to quantify the uncertainty in the inverted hydraulic conductivity field.     

Resolution of freshwater and saline water aquifers by composite geophysical data analysis methods

Abstract

The resolution of the freshwater and saline water aquifers in a coastal terrain (Mahanadi Basin, India) is updated. We analysed electrical borehole log data at four sites and compared the water resistivity regime of the freshwater and saline water zones obtained from electrical borehole logging, with the resistivity regime obtained by interpreting vertical electrical sounding (VES) data. The multilayer VES data interpretation is modified to a simple model, containing only the freshwater zone and the saline water zone. The composite geophysical parameters of the freshwater and saline water zones, in particular the resistivity and longitudinal unit conductance regime, are identified. The resolution obtained from the composite geophysical data analyses is very clear and convincing. The composite longitudinal unit conductance regime of the saline water zones is very high compared to that of the freshwater zones. This makes the identification of the two aquifers easy and increases its reliability. A technique which enables analysis of composite geophysical data of freshwater and saline water zones at VES sites in the vicinity of the borehole log sites is proposed. The significance of longitudinal unit conductance in resolving the freshwater and saline water aquifers is illustrated graphically. The proposed technique is validated by correlating the longitudinal unit conductance and resistivity with the total dissolved solids. The efficiency of the technique is validated by carrying out discriminant function analysis.

Citation Hodlur, G. K., Dhakate, R., Sirisha, T. & Panaskar, D. B. (2010) Resolution of freshwater and saline water aquifers by composite geophysical data analysis methods. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(3), 414–434.     

A Practical Approach to Evaluating Natural Attenuation of Contaminants in Ground Water

The extent of natural attenuation is an important consideration in determining the most appropriate corrective action at sites where ground water quality has been impacted by releases of petroleum hydrocarbons or other chemicals. The objective of this study was to develop a practical approach that would evaluate natural attenuation based on easily obtained field data and field tested indicators of natural attenuation. The primary indicators that can he used to evaluate natural attenuation include plume characteristics and dissolved oxygen levels in ground water. Case studies of actual field sites show that plumes migrate more slowly than expected, reach a steady state, and decrease in extent and concentration when natural attenuation is occurring. Background dissolved oxygen levels greater than 1 to 2 mg/L and an inverse correlation between dissolved oxygen and contaminant levels have been identified through laboratory and field studies as key indicators of aerobic biodegradation. an important attenuation mechanism. Secondary indicators such as geochemical data, and more intensive methods such as contaminant mass balances, laboratory microcosm studies, and detailed ground water modeling can demonstrate natural attenuation as well. The recommended approach for evaluating natural attenuation is to design site assessment activities so that required data such as dissolved oxygen levels and historical plume flow path concentrations are obtained. With the necessary data, the primary indicators should be applied to evaluate natural attenuation. II the initial evaluation suggests that natural attenuation is a viable corrective action alternative, then a monitoring plan should be implemented to verify the extent of natural attenuation.     

Investigating changes of electrical characteristics of the saturated zone affected by hazardous organic waste

The Picillo Farm, EPA Superfund Site, in western Rhode Island was an unauthorized disposal site of hazardous organic chemicals. Predominantly organic contaminants have entered an aquifer comprised of layered glacial deposits and fractured bedrock and spread past the site boundaries with groundwater flow. Hydraulic conductivities in the glacial deposits range over two orders of magnitude and fractures and faults in the granitic bedrock further complicate the spreading of contaminants. Monitoring wells delineate two plumes that extend towards a fault-controlled valley with lakes and wetlands; one to the northwest and the other to the southwest. In this investigation we studied the electrical characteristics of both plumes.One dimensional Schlumberger depth soundings were conducted along several profile lines over the plumes and compared to those over non-contaminated sections of the site. With regard to the southwestern plume, high formation factors (ratio of bulk layer to pore water resistivity) between 12 and 45 were observed compared to values between 2.5 and 7.7 measured over the non-contaminated sections. Also, high values (> 5) of vertical electrical anisotropy (ratio of geoelectrically determined depth to high resistivity bedrock to drilled depth to bedrock) were measured over the contaminated part of the site. These values are extremely high compared to other non-contaminated sites (range: 2 to 3) in glacial stream channels of southern Rhode Island. Geoelectric measurements were affected by lateral effects. However, the consistency of high formation factors (11 to 35) and high vertical anisotropies (3 to 5) over the southwestern plume in comparison to low formation factors (3 to 8) and vertical anisotropies (1 to 1.5) over non-contaminated sites represents a marked difference between both sites. Overall, the Schlumberger depth soundings are less susceptible to near-surface lateral inhomogeneities than expected from other geoelectrical methods. Also, the disadvantage of a 1D interpretation was compensated by estimating resistivity and thickness ranges within the concept of non-uniqueness using the Dar Zarrouk parameters (Maillet, R., 1947. The fundamental equations of electrical prospecting. Geophysics, 12(4): 529–556.).The results over the northwestern plume, i.e. an area with higher contaminant concentration than the southwestern plume, were mixed and showed no consistent trends. Predominantly reducing conditions, as indicated by the presence of soluble ferric (FeII) iron hydroxides in ground water samples, increased the electrical conductivity. This is believed to have compensated the effect of high formation factors on the bulk saturated layer resistivity within the affected area.