Physical controls on septic leachate movement in the vadose zone at the hillslope scale,Putnam County,New York,USA

The fate and transport of contaminants in the vicinity of septic fields remains poorly understood in many hydrogeomorphological environments. We report hydrometric data from an intensive hillslope‐scale experiment conducted between 29 August and 11 November 1998 at a residential leach field in New York State. The objective of our study was to characterize water flux within the vadose zone, understand the physical controls on the flux, and predict how this ultimately will affect subsurface water quality. Soil‐water flux was calculated using matric potential measurements from a network of 25 tensiometer nests, each nest consisting of three tensiometers installed to depths of 10, 50 and 130 cm. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curves were derived at each depth from field‐determined time‐domain reflectometry–tensiometry moisture‐release curves and borehole permeametry measurements. Flownets indicated that a strong upward flux of soil water occurred between rainstorms. Following the onset of (typically convective) rainfall, low near‐surface matric potentials were rapidly converted to near‐saturated and saturated conditions, promoting steep vertical gradients through the near‐surface horizons of the hillslope. Lateral hydraulic gradients were typically 10 times smaller than the vertical gradients. Resultant flow vectors showed that the flux was predominantly vertical through the vadose zone, and that the flux response to precipitation was short‐lived. The flux response was controlled primarily by the shape of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curves, which indicated a rapid loss of conductivity below saturation. Thus, soil water had a very high residence time in the vadose zone. The absence of rapid wetting at 130 cm and the delayed and small phreatic zone response to rainfall indicated that water movement through macropores did not occur on this hillslope. These results are consistent with a Cl tracing experiment, which demonstrated that the tracer was retained in the vadose zone for several months after injection to the system. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of recharge through complex vadose zone of a granitic aquifer by time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography

The vadose zone is the main region controlling water movement from the land surface to the aquifer and has a very complex structure. The use of non-invasive or minimally invasive geophysical methods especially electrical resistivity imaging is a cost-effective approach adapted for long-term monitoring of the vadose zone. The main aim of this work is to know the fractures in the vadose zone, of granitic terrene, through which the recharge or preferred path recharge to the aquifer takes place and thus to relate moisture and electrical resistivity. Time lapse electrical resistivity tomography (TLERT) experiment was carried out in the vadose zone of granitic terrene at the Indian Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad along two profiles to a depth of 18 m and 13 m each. The profiles are 300 m apart. Piezometric, rainfall and soil moisture data were recorded to correlate with changes in the rainfall recharge. These TLERT difference images showed that the conductivity distribution was consistent with the recharge occurring along the minor fractures. We mapped the fractures in hard rock or granites to see the effect of the recharge on resistivity variation and estimation of moisture content. These fractures act as the preferred pathways for the recharge to take place. A good correlation between the soil moisture and resistivity is established in the vadose zone of granitic aquifer. Since the vadose zone exhibits extremely high variability, both in space and time, the surface geophysical investigations such as TLERT have been a simple and useful method to characterize the vadose zone, which would not have been possible with the point measurements alone. The analyses of the pseudosection with time indicate clearly that the assumption of the piston flow of the moisture front is not valid in hard rocks. The outcome of this study may provide some indirect parameters to the well known Richard's equation in studying the unsaturated zone.     

Lateral moisture flow beneath a sandy hillslope without an apparent impeding layer

Part of a small drainage basin on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (about 25 km north of Socorro, NM) was intensively instrumented with soil monitoring equipment to estimate natural ground-water recharge. Soil-moisture data were analysed with special attention to characterizing the influence of topography on the direction of vadose water flow paths in fine to medium aeolian sand. Moisture content data were obtained by the neutron scattering technique, and hydraulic head data were obtained using tensiometers. In addition, tracer experiments were conducted on a sandy hillslope to delineate the flow paths of vadose water. The results indicate that there is a strong lateral component to unsaturated flow on a hillslope, even in the absence of apparent sublayers of much lower permeability. Darcian calculations estimate the long-term, steady, deep flux beneath a concave location to be about 4 per cent of an assumed mean annual precipitation of 20 cm. The deep soil water flux downward varied by several orders of magnitude during the 17 month period of record.     

Impact of Heterogeneity on Oxygen Transfer in a Fluctuating Capillary Fringe

We performed quasi‐two‐dimensional flow through laboratory experiments to study the effect of a coarse‐material inclusion, located in the proximity of the water table, on flow and oxygen transfer in the capillary fringe. The experiments investigate different phases of mass transfer from the unsaturated zone to anoxic groundwater under both steady‐state and transient flow conditions, the latter obtained by fluctuating the water table. Monitoring of flow and transport in the different experimental phases was performed by visual inspection of the complex flow field using a dye tracer solution, measurement of oxygen profiles across the capillary fringe, and determination of oxygen fluxes in the effluent of the flow‐through chamber. Our results show significant effects of the coarse‐material inclusion on oxygen transfer during the different phases of the experiments. At steady state, the oxygen flux across the unsaturated/saturated interface was considerably enhanced due to flow focusing in the fully water‐saturated coarse‐material inclusion. During drainage, a zone of higher water saturation formed in the fine material overlying the coarse lens. The entrapped oxygen‐rich aqueous phase contributed to the total amount of oxygen supplied to the system when the water table was raised back to its initial level. In case of imbibition, pronounced air entrapment occurred in the coarse lens, causing oxygen to partition between the aqueous and gaseous phases. The oxygen mass supplied to the anoxic groundwater following the imbibition event was found to be remarkably higher (approximately seven times) in the heterogeneous system compared with a similar experiment performed in a homogeneous porous medium.     

Field study of macropore flow processes using tension infiltration of a dye tracer in partially saturated soils

Macropores are important preferential pathways for the migration of water and contaminants through the vadose zone. The objective of this study was to examine small‐scale preferential flow processes during infiltration in macroporous, low permeability soils. A series of tension infiltration tests were conducted using Brilliant Blue dye tracer at two field sites in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The maximum applied pressure head was varied for each test and the resulting dye stain patterns and macropore networks were characterized by excavation, mapping, photography, and image analysis. Worm burrows were the dominant macropore type, with average macropore densities exceeding 400 m^?2 and peak densities of more than 750 m^?2 at 30 cm depth at both sites. Flow in macropores became significant at infiltration pressures > ? 3 cm, with corresponding increases in infiltration rate, soil water content variability (spatially and temporally), and depth of dye staining. The results demonstrated clear evidence for partially saturated macropore flow under porewater tension conditions and the associated importance of macropore–matrix interaction in controlling this flow. Field observations of transient infiltration showed that film and rivulet flow along macropores yielded vertical flow velocities exceeding 40 m d^?1. Simple calculations showed that film flow along the walls and corners of irregularly shaped macropores could explain the observed results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of Water Saturation, NAPL Content, Degradation Half-Life, and Lower Boundary Conditions on VOC Transport Modeling: Implications for Closure of Soil Venting Systems

Simulations using a one-dimensional, analytical, vadose zone, solute-transport screening code (VFLUX) were conducted to assess the effect of water saturation, NAPL saturation, degradation half-life, and boundary conditions at the vadose zone/ground water interface on model output. At high initial soil concentrations, model output was significantly affected by input parameters and lower boundary conditions yet still resulted in consistent decision-making to initiate or continue venting application. At lower soil concentrations, however, typical of what is observed after prolonged venting application, differences in model input and selection of lower boundary conditions resulted in inconsistent decision-making. Specifically, under conditions of low water saturation, use of a first-type, time-dependent lower boundary condition indicated that the primary direction of mass flux was from ground water to the vadose zone, suggesting little benefit from continued venting application. Use of a finite, zero-gradient lower boundary condition, though, indicated continued mass flux from the vadose zone to ground water, suggesting a continued need for venting application. In this situation, sensitivity analysis of input parameters, selection of boundary conditions, and consideration of overall objectives in vadose zone modeling become critical in regulatory decision-making.     

An analytical solution for predicting the transient seepage from a subsurface drainage system

Subsurface drainage systems have been widely used to deal with soil salinization and waterlogging problems around the world. In this paper, a mathematical model was introduced to quantify the transient behavior of the groundwater table and the seepage from a subsurface drainage system. Based on the assumption of a hydrostatic pressure distribution, the model considered the pore-water flow in both the phreatic and vadose soil zones. An approximate analytical solution for the model was derived to quantify the drainage of soils which were initially water-saturated. The analytical solution was validated against laboratory experiments and a 2-D Richards equation-based model, and found to predict well the transient water seepage from the subsurface drainage system. A saturated flow-based model was also tested and found to over-predict the time required for drainage and the total water seepage by nearly one order of magnitude, in comparison with the experimental results and the present analytical solution. During drainage, a vadose zone with a significant water storage capacity developed above the phreatic surface. A considerable amount of water still remained in the vadose zone at the steady state with the water table situated at the drain bottom. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that effects of the vadose zone were intensified with an increased thickness of capillary fringe, capillary rise and/or burying depth of drains, in terms of the required drainage time and total water seepage. The analytical solution provides guidance for assessing the capillary effects on the effectiveness and efficiency of subsurface drainage systems for combating soil salinization and waterlogging problems.     

Assessment of groundwater recharge processes through karst vadose zone by cave percolation monitoring

Recharge processes of karst aquifers are difficult to assess given their strong heterogeneity and the poorly known effect of vadose zone on infiltration. However, recharge assessment is crucial for the evaluation of groundwater resources. Moreover, the vulnerability of karst aquifers depends on vadose zone behaviour because it is the place where most contamination takes place. In this work, an in situ experimental approach was performed to identify and quantify flow and storage processes occurring in karst vadose zone. Cave percolation monitoring and dye tracing were used to investigate unsaturated zone hydrological processes. Two flow components (diffuse and quick) were identified and, respectively, account for 66% and 34% of the recharge. Quickflow was found to be the result of bypass phenomenon in vadose zone related to water saturation. We identify the role of epikarst as a shunting area, most of the storage in the vadose zone occurring via the diffuse flow component in low permeability zones. Relationship between rainfall intensity and transit velocity was demonstrated, with 5 times higher velocities for the quick recharge mode than the diffuse mode. Modelling approach with KarstMod software allowed to simulate the hybrid recharge through vadose zone and shows promising chances to properly assess the recharge processes in karst aquifer based on simple physical models.     

Constraining a Flow Model with Field Measurements to Assess Water Transit Time Through a Vadose Zone

The modeling of thick vadose zones is particularly challenging because of difficulties in collecting a variety of measured sediment properties, which are required for parameterizing the model. Some models rely on synthetic data, whereas others are simplified by running as homogeneous sediment domains and relying on a single set of sediment properties. Few studies have simulated flow processes through a thick vadose zone using real and comprehensive data sets comprising multiple measurements. Here, we develop a flow model for a 7-m-thick vadose zone. This model, combining the numerical codes CTRAN/W with SEEP/W, includes the measured sediment hydraulic properties of the investigated vadose zone and incorporates the actual climate and subsurface conditions of the study site (precipitations, water-table elevations, and stable isotope data). The model is calibrated by fitting the simulated and measured vertical profiles of water content. Our flow model calculates a transit time of 1 year for the travel of water through the 7-m vadose zone; this estimate matches stable isotope-based results obtained previously for this site. A homogeneous sediment domain flow model, which considers only a single set of sediment properties, produces a transit time that is approximately half the duration of that of the heterogeneous flow model. This difference highlights the importance of assuming heterogeneous material within models of thick vadose zones and testifies to the advantage gained when using real sediment hydraulic properties to parametrize a flow model.     

Three-Dimensional Simulation of Volatile Organic Compound Mass Flux from the Vadose Zone to Groundwater

Low-permeability layers of the vadose zone containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may persist as source zones for long time periods and may provide contamination to groundwater. At sites with low recharge rates, where vapor migration is the dominant transport process, the impact of vadose zone sources on groundwater may be difficult to assess. Typical assessment methods include one-dimensional numerical and analytical techniques. The one-dimensional approaches only consider groundwater coupling options through boundary conditions at the water table and may yield artificially high mass flux results when transport is assumed to occur by gas-phase diffusion between a source and an interface with a zero concentration boundary condition. Improvements in mass flux assessments for VOCs originating from vadose zone sources may be obtained by coupling vadose zone gas transport and dissolved contaminant transport in the saturated zone and by incorporating the inherent three-dimensional nature of gas-phase transport, including the potential of density-driven advection. This paper describes a series of three-dimensional simulations using data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site, where carbon tetrachloride is present in a low-permeability zone about 30 m above the groundwater. Results show that, for most cases, only a relatively small amount of the contaminant emanating from the source zone partitions into the groundwater and that density-driven advection is only important when relatively high source concentrations are considered.     

Flow in unsaturated random porous media,nonlinear numerical analysis and comparison to analytical stochastic models

This work presents a rigorous numerical validation of analytical stochastic models of steady state unsaturated flow in heterogeneous porous media. It also provides a crucial link between stochastic theory based on simplifying assumptions and empirical field and simulation evidence of variably saturated flow in actual or realistic hypothetical heterogeneous porous media. Statistical properties of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, soil water tension, and soil water flux in heterogeneous soils are investigated through high resolution Monte Carlo simulations of a wide range of steady state flow problems in a quasi-unbounded domain. In agreement with assumptions in analytical stochastic models of unsaturated flow, hydraulic conductivity and soil water tension are found to be lognormally and normally distributed, respectively. In contrast, simulations indicate that in moderate to strong variable conductivity fields, longitudinal flux is highly skewed. Transverse flux distributions are leptokurtic. the moments of the probability distributions obtained from Monte Carlo simulations are compared to modified first-order analytical models. Under moderate to strong heterogeneous soil flux conditions (σ²_y≥1), analytical solutions overestimate variability in soil water tension by up to 40% as soil heterogeneity increases, and underestimate variability of both flux components by up to a factor 5. Theoretically predicted model (cross-)covariance agree well with the numerical sample (cross-)covarianaces. Statistical moments are shown to be consistent with observed physical characteristics of unsaturated flow in heterogeneous soils.©1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved     

Vadose Zone Monitoring: An Early Warning System

Currently, vadose zone monitoring is required under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) only at land treatment facilities. Contaminant leak detection through ground water monitoring is very important, but it is considered to be after the fact. Remedial action costs can be reduced considerably by monitoring the vadose zone for compounds that exhibit high rates of movement. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exhibit this property and are present at many municipal landfills, recycling facilities, and treatment storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs). Through the authors'personal experience, it has been noted that gaseous phase transport of VOCs through the vadose zone is at least an order of magnitude greater than advective transport of VOCs in ground water. Therefore, VOCs in soil gas are an effective early warning leak detection parameter. Downward movement of leachate can be intercepted by porous cup lysimeters. Attenuation in the vadose zone slows the apparent movement of contaminants; however, it is only a matter of time before leachate reaches the water table. The authors believe that soil-gas and pore-water monitoring should and eventually will be required at all RCRA sites. If vadose zone monitoring becomes an additional requirement under RCRA, both the facility owner and the taxpayer will benefit. During the interim, facility owners can benefit by employing vadose zone monitoring techniques coupled with either qualitative or quantitative chemical analyses.     

Modeling unsaturated flow in a layered formation under quasi-steady state conditions using geophysical data constraints

The identification of vadose zone flow parameters and solute travel time from the surface to the water table are key issues for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability. In this paper we use the results of time-lapse monitoring of the vadose zone in a UK consolidated sandstone aquifer using cross-hole zero-offset radar to assess and calibrate models of water flow in the vadose zone. The site under investigation is characterized by a layered structure, with permeable medium sandstone intercalated by finer, less permeable, laminated sandstone. Information on this structure is available from borehole geophysical (gamma-ray) logs. Monthly cross-hole radar monitoring was performed from August 1999 to February 2001, and shows small changes of moisture content over time and fairly large spatial variability with depth. One-dimensional Richards’ equation modeling of the infiltration process was performed under spatially heterogeneous, steady state conditions. Both layer structure and Richards’ equation parameters were simulated using a nested Monte Carlo approach, constrained via geostatistical analysis on the gamma-ray logs and on a priori information regarding the possible range of hydraulic parameters. The results of the Monte Carlo analysis show that, in order to match the radar-derived moisture content profiles, it is necessary to take into account the vertical scale of measurements, with an averaging window size of the order of the antenna length and the Fresnel zone width. Flow parameters cannot be uniquely identified, showing that the system is over parameterized with respect to the information content of the (nearly stationary) radar profiles. Estimates of travel time of water across the vadose zone are derived from the simulation results.     

Heat as a groundwater tracer in shallow and deep heterogeneous media: Analytical solution,spreadsheet tool,and field applications

Groundwater flow advects heat, and thus, the deviation of subsurface temperatures from an expected conduction‐dominated regime can be analysed to estimate vertical water fluxes. A number of analytical approaches have been proposed for using heat as a groundwater tracer, and these have typically assumed a homogeneous medium. However, heterogeneous thermal properties are ubiquitous in subsurface environments, both at the scale of geologic strata and at finer scales in streambeds. Herein, we apply the analytical solution of Shan and Bodvarsson ( 2004 ), developed for estimating vertical water fluxes in layered systems, in 2 new environments distinct from previous vadose zone applications. The utility of the solution for studying groundwater‐surface water exchange is demonstrated using temperature data collected from an upwelling streambed with sediment layers, and a simple sensitivity analysis using these data indicates the solution is relatively robust. Also, a deeper temperature profile recorded in a borehole in South Australia is analysed to estimate deeper water fluxes. The analytical solution is able to match observed thermal gradients, including the change in slope at sediment interfaces. Results indicate that not accounting for layering can yield errors in the magnitude and even direction of the inferred Darcy fluxes. A simple automated spreadsheet tool (Flux‐LM) is presented to allow users to input temperature and layer data and solve the inverse problem to estimate groundwater flux rates from shallow (e.g., <1 m) or deep (e.g., up to 100 m) profiles. The solution is not transient, and thus, it should be cautiously applied where diel signals propagate or in deeper zones where multi‐decadal surface signals have disturbed subsurface thermal regimes.     

Importance of the vadose zone in analyses of unconfined aquifer tests

Analytical models commonly used to interpret unconfined aquifer tests have been based on upper-boundary (water table) conditions that do not adequately address effects of time-varying drainage from the vadose zone. As a result, measured and simulated drawdown data may not agree and hydraulic parameters may be inaccurately estimated. A 72-hour aquifer test conducted in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in a slightly heterogeneous, coarse-grained, glacial outwash deposit was found to be a good candidate for testing models with different upper-boundary conditions. In general, under the commonly invoked assumption of instantaneous drainage, measured and simulated drawdowns were found to agree with one another only at late time and early time. In the intermediate-time range, because of delayed drainage, measured drawdowns always exceeded simulated values, most noticeably in piezometers located near the water table. To reduce these discrepancies, an analytical model was developed that can fully account for time-varying drainage given that the aquifer is not strongly heterogeneous. The approach is flexible as the model, which makes use of empirical relations, does not constrain drainage to follow any particular functional relation. By this approach, measured and simulated drawdowns agree over the complete time range, and the estimated parameters are consistent with prior studies and with what is known about the aquifer geometry, stratigraphy, and composition. By properly accounting for vadose zone drainage, it was found that realistic estimates of all hydraulic parameters, including specific yield, could be obtained with or without the use of late-time data.     

Characterization of Persistent Volatile Contaminant Sources in the Vadose Zone

Effective long‐term operation of soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems for cleanup of vadose‐zone sources requires consideration of the likelihood that remediation activities over time will alter the subsurface distribution and configuration of contaminants. A method is demonstrated for locating and characterizing the distribution and nature of persistent volatile organic contaminant (VOC) sources in the vadose zone. The method consists of three components: analysis of existing site and SVE‐operations data, vapor‐phase cyclic contaminant mass‐discharge testing, and short‐term vapor‐phase contaminant mass‐discharge tests conducted in series at multiple locations. Results obtained from the method were used to characterize overall source zone mass‐transfer limitations, source‐strength reductions, potential changes in source‐zone architecture, and the spatial variability and extent of the persistent source(s) for the Department of Energy's Hanford site. The results confirmed a heterogeneous distribution of contaminant mass discharge throughout the vadose zone. Analyses of the mass‐discharge profiles indicate that the remaining contaminant source is coincident with a lower‐permeability unit at the site. Such measurements of source strength and size as obtained herein are needed to determine the impacts of vadose‐zone sources on groundwater contamination and vapor intrusion, and can support evaluation and optimization of the performance of SVE operations.     

A scale‐invariant property of the water retention curve in weakly heterogeneous vadose zones

Abrupt changes of hydraulic properties in a vadose zone are modelled within a stochastic framework, which regards the saturated conductivity and parameters related to the distribution of soil pores as stationary, log‐normally distributed, random space functions. As a consequence, flow variables become random fields, and we aim at deriving an effective Richards equation. To obtain the latter, we adopt a perturbation expansion truncated at the first order (weakly heterogeneous media), which leads to the effective hydraulic conductivity and water retention curves. Overall, the effective properties are scale dependent. However, within the proposed framework, we demonstrate that the inflection point of the laboratory scale retention curve is not affected by the heterogeneity of the vadose zone. Finally, to illustrate the quantitative implications of our results, we consider a monitoring experiment at field scale, and we show how our approach leads to an effective water retention curve, which differs significantly from that which would be obtained without accounting for the above scale‐invariance property.     

Study of water tension differences in heterogeneous sandy soils using surface ERT

Herbaceous vegetation in the Sahel grows almost exclusively on sandy soils which preferentially retain water through infiltration and storage. The hydrological functioning of these sandy soils during rain cycles is unknown. One way to tackle this issue is to spatialize variations in water content but these are difficult to measure in the vadose zone. We investigated the use of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) as a technique for spatializing resistivity in a non-destructive manner in order to improve our knowledge of relevant hydrological processes. To achieve this, two approaches were examined. First, we focused on a possible link between water tension (which is much easier to measure in the field by point measurements than water content), and resistivity (spatialized with ERT). Second, because ERT is affected by solution non-uniqueness and reconstruction smoothing, we improved the accuracy of ERT inversion by comparing calculated solutions with in-situ resistivity measurements. We studied a natural microdune during a controlled field experiment with artificial sprinkling which reproduced typical rainfall cycles. We recorded temperature, water tension and resistivity within the microdune and applied surface ERT before and after the 3 rainfall cycles. Soil samples were collected after the experiment to determine soil physical characteristics. An experimental relationship between water tension and water content was also investigated. Our results showed that the raw relationship between calculated ERT resistivity and water tension measurements in sand is highly scattered because of significant spatial variations in porosity. An improved correlation was achieved by using resistivity ratio and water tension differences. The slope of the relationship depends on the soil solution conductivity, as predicted by Archie's law when salted water was used for the rain simulation. We found that determining the variations in electrical resistivity is a sensitive method for spatializing the differences in water tension which are directly linked with infiltration and evaporation/drainage processes in the vadose zone. However, three factors complicate the use of this approach. Firstly, the relation between water tension and water content is generally non-linear and dependent on the water content range. This could limit the use of our site-specific relations for spatializing water content with ERT through tension. Secondly, to achieve the necessary optimization of ERT inversion, we used destructive resistivity measurements in the soil, which renders ERT less attractive. Thirdly, we found that the calculated resistivity is not always accurate because of the smoothing involved in surface ERT data inversion. We conclude that further developments are needed into ERT image reconstruction before water tension (and water content) can be spatialized in heterogeneous sandy soils with the accuracy needed to routinely study their hydrological functioning.     

Mass Flux Analysis of Abiotic Tetrachloroethene Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid Pool Dissolution in a Heterogeneous Flow Environment

Porous aquifer materials are often characterized by layered heterogeneities that influence groundwater flow and present complexities in contaminant transport modeling. Such flow variations also have the potential to impact the dissolution flux from dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) pools. This study examined how these heterogeneous flow conditions affected the dissolution of a tetrachloroethene (PCE) pool in a two-dimensional intermediate-scale flow cell containing coarse sand. A steady-state mass-balance approach was used to calculate the PCE dissolution rate at three different flow rates. As expected, aqueous PCE concentrations increased along the length of the PCE pool and higher flow rates decreased the aqueous PCE concentration in the effluent. Nonreactive tracer studies at two flow rates confirmed the presence of a vertical flow gradient, with the most rapid velocity located at the bottom of the tank. These results suggest that flow focusing occurred near the DNAPL pool. Effluent PCE concentrations and pool dissolution flux rates were compared to model predictions assuming local equilibrium (LE) conditions at the DNAPL pool/aqueous phase interface and a uniform distribution of flow. The LE model did not describe the data well, even over a wide range of PCE solubility and macroscopic transverse dispersivity values. Model predictions assuming nonequilibrium mass-transfer-limited conditions and accounting for vertical flow gradients, however, resulted in a better fit to the data. These results have important implications for evaluating DNAPL pool dissolution in the field where subsurface heterogeneities are likely to be present.