Field Tracer Test for the Design of LNAPL Source Zone Surfactant Flushing

A field tracer test was carried out in a light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) source zone using a well pattern consisting of one injection well surrounded by four extraction wells (5‐spot well pattern). Multilevel sampling was carried out in two observation wells located inside the test cell characterized by heterogeneous lithology. Tracer breakthrough curves showed relatively uniform flow within soil layers. A numerical flow and solute transport model was calibrated on hydraulic heads and tracer breakthrough curves. The model was used to estimate an average accessible porosity of 0.115 for the swept zone and an average longitudinal dispersivity of 0.55 m. The model was further used to optimize the relative effects of viscous forces versus capillary forces under realistic imposed hydraulic gradients and to establish optimal surfactant solution properties. Maximum capillary number (N_Ca) values between injection and extraction wells were obtained for an injection flow rate of 16 L/min, a total extraction flow rate of 20 L/min, and a surfactant solution with a viscosity of 0.005 Pa?s. The unconfined nature of the aquifer limited further flow rate or viscosity increases that would have led to unrealistic hydraulic gradients. An N_Ca range of 3.8 × 10^?4 to 7.6 × 10^?3 was obtained depending on the magnitude of the simulated LNAPL‐water interfacial tension reduction. Finally, surfactant and chase water slug sizing was optimized with a radial form of the simplified Ogata‐Banks analytical solution (Ogata and Banks 1961) so that injected concentrations could be maintained in the entire 5‐spot cell.     

Paleogeographic and paleotectonic response to magmatic processes: a case history from the Archean sequence in the Chibougamau area,Quebec

The Chibougamau area, Québec, is characteristic of the internal zone of the Archean Abitibi Orogenic Belt. The paleogeographic, paleotectonic and magmatic history of the Archean sequence in the Chibougamau area is subdivided into three stages.In the first stage a submarine volcanic chain formed mainly by the effusion of submarine lava flows composed of primitive, potash-poor, tholeiitic basalt. The volcanic chain gradually grew to sea level. In the second stage, volcanic islands emerged and grew. Mainly pyroclastic eruptions of strongly differentiated, calc-alkaline andesite and dacite concentrated on the volcanic islands, whereas effusion of basalt continued at first in the surrounding basin. A felsic volcaniclastic apron was deposited around the volcanic islands. In the third stage, the volcanic islands were uplifted and were eroded to the level of their subvolcanic plutons. The debris derived from this volcanic-plutonic terrain was deposited in downfaulted marine and continental basins. The contemporaneous volcanism was shoshonitic.The first paleogeographic stage is interpreted as the growth of an immature island arc. During the second stage, the island arc became mature and its crust was thickened by accretion of plutonic material. The third stage is a period of back-arc extension.

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Zusammenfassung Das Gebiet von Chibougamau, Québec, ist characteristisch für die interne Zone des Archaischen Abitibi Orogens. Man kann seine paleogeographische, paleotectonische und magmatische Geschichte in drei Phasen gliedern.Eine submarine Vulkankette formte sich in der ersten Phase, hauptsächlich durch Effusion von submarinen Lavaergüssen aus primitivem, kaliarmen, tholeiitischem Basalt. Die Vulkankette wuchs langsam bis zum Meeresspiegel. Vulkanische Inseln bildeten sich und wuchsen während der zweiten paleogeographischen Phase. Vorwiegend pyroklastische Eruptionen von stark differenzierten, kalk-alkalischem Andesit und Dazit konzentrierten sich mehr und mehr auf den Inselvulkanen, während die Effusion von Basalt zunächst in den Becken noch stattfand. Ein Mantel aus felsitischen vulkanoklastischen Gesteinen wurde um die Inselvulkane abgelagert. Die dritte Phase begann mit einer Hebung der Inselvulkane und mit ihrer Erosion bis zum Niveau ihrer subvulkanischen Plutone. Der Detritus dieses vulkanisch-plutonischen Geländes wurde in marinen und kontinentalen Verwerfungsbecken abgelagert. Der gleichalte Vulkanismus ist shoshonitisch.Wir deuten die erste paleogeographische Phase als Wachstumsphase eines primitven Inselbogens. Während der zweiten Phase reifte der Inselbogen und seine Kruste verdickte sich durch Akkretion plutonischen Materials. Die dritte Phase ist eine Periode der Dehnung im Hinterland eines Inselbogens.

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Résumé La région de Chibougamau, Québec, est caractéristique de la zone interne de la ceinture orogénique archéenne de l'Abitibi. Son évolution paléogéographique, paléotectonique et magmatique se subdivise en trois phases.Lors de la première phase paléogéographique, une chaîne sous-marine de volcans se formait, essentiellement par l'émission de coulées de lave composée de basalte primitif, hypopotassique, tholéiitique. Graduellement cette chaîne volcanique s'élevait jusqu'au niveau de la mer. A la phase suivante, des îles volcaniques émergeaient et croissaient. Des éruptions essentiellement pyroclastiques d'andésites et de dacites calco-alcalines et fortement différenciées se concentraient sur les îles tandis que l'effusion de laves basaltiques continuaient dans le bassin. Un manteau de roches volcaniclastiques felsiques se déposait autour des îles volcaniques. Lors de la troisième phase, les îles volcaniques furent soulevées et furent érodées jusqu'au niveau des masses plutoniques sub-volcaniques. Le débris de ce terrain volcano-plutonique fut déposé dans des bassins de faille marins et continentaux. Des shoshonites dominaient le volcanisme contemporain.Nous interprétons la première phase paléogéographique comme une phase de croissance d'un arc insulaire immature. Lors de la deuxième phase, 1'arc insulaire devenait mature et sa croûte s'epaissît par accrétion de matériel plutoni-que. Enfin, la troisième phase est une période d'extension en arrière d'un arc insulaire.

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Territory and territorial transformation: the rural properties of the Dávalos-Bracamontes family in the Compostela region (Seventeenth Century)

This investigation seeks to analyse the territorial transformations, land uses, and land tenures in the region of Compostela, Nueva Galicia during the seventeenth century, using land grants for sites of cattle and sheep husbandry and farmland granted as the rural properties to the Dávalos-Bracamontes family, who in 1690 obtained the title of the Counts of Miravalle. The novohispanas haciendas served as territorial control mechanisms of the use and incorporation of new forms of exploitation of the area’s natural resources. The methodology is based on the analysis of the archival data, historical cartography, supplemented by information collected in fieldwork and use of historical modality of geographic information systems. The haciendas of La Lagunilla, Miravalle and San José were located and together represented 33,736.60 ha of land for livestock and agriculture. The territorial extension was possible due to the disappearance of villages, parse indigenous populations in the surroundings and commitments made by the Spanish Crown to the Dávalos-Bracamontes family.

     

The economic geography of institutional investment in the United States, 2010

The economic geography of United States’ institutional investments as of December 2010 is presented. With a self-declared value of almost $13 trillion, it is the largest class of equity investors. Included are all investors who file Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) form 13f, meaning they manage at least $100 million. Analysis is undertaken at both the firm and metropolitan levels. The largest firms and targets of investment are determined. Geographic concentrations of both investors and their major stock holdings occur in a small subset (the top 10 largest metropolitan areas). The rates of returns on investments are shown to differ by metropolitan area of investment and by urban rank in the urban hierarchy. Intra-metropolitan investment provides worse rates of returns, countering suggestions of informational advantages for local investment. The network of interurban investments shows a clear hierarchical structure, with New York City being the dominant investment centre.     

Seasonal dynamics of trophic relationships among co-occurring suspension-feeders in two shellfish culture dominated ecosystems

The temporal dynamics of carbon and nitrogen isotope values of co-occurring suspension-feeders in two shellfish culture areas (Normandy, France) were investigated over two years to evaluate the inter-specific trophic partitioning and relative contributions of organic matter sources to benthic suspension-feeders' diet. Oysters (Crassostrea gigas), mussels (Mytilus edulis), cockles (Cerastoderma edule), slipper limpets (Crepidula fornicata), and sand-mason worms (Lanice conchilega) were sampled in an estuarine environment (Baie des Veys, east Cotentin, Normandy), while oysters, mussels, slipper limpets, and honeycomb worms (Sabellaria alveolata) were sampled in an open-marine environment (Lingreville-sur-mer, west Cotentin, Normandy). Whatever the sampling period, the bivalves, C. gigas and M. edulis, exhibited the lowest values of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N compared with the other species. Feeding relationships among suspension-feeders in both C. gigas culture areas exhibited temporal variations due to the marine/estuarine influence and seasonal changes in food supply. In the open-marine ecosystem, the contribution of phytoplankton remained the most important for all species except S. alveolata, while in the estuarine ecosystem, microphytobenthos and/or macroalgae detritus contributed a larger extent to the organisms' diets. During phytoplankton bloom periods (e.g. May and July) suspension-feeders, except for S. alveolata, relied strongly on phytoplankton; however, the majority of suspension-feeders exhibited different opportunistic behaviour in winter when phytoplankton biomass might be a limiting factor. We hypothesized that differences in particle capture and selection by the suspension-feeders influenced their isotopic values. Feeding ecology of suspension-feeders partly explained why competition was limited and why ecosystems can often support unexpectedly large numbers of suspension-feeders. We also showed that understanding ecosystem characteristics of the organic matter sources is of primary importance to determine the extent to which members of the suspension-feeding guild potentially compete for food.     

Comparative study of methods for WHPA delineation

Human activities, whether agricultural, industrial, commercial, or domestic, can contribute to ground water quality deterioration. In order to protect the ground water exploited by a production well, it is essential to develop a good knowledge of the flow system and to adequately delineate the area surrounding the well within which potential contamination sources should be managed. Many methods have been developed to delineate such a wellhead protection area (WHPA). The integration of more information on the geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the study area increases the precision of any given WHPA delineation method. From a practical point of view, the WHPA delineation methods allowing the simplest and least expensive integration of the available information should be favored. This paper presents a comparative study in which nine different WHPA delineation methods were applied to a well and a spring in an unconfined granular aquifer and to a well in a confined highly fractured rock aquifer. These methods range from simple approaches to complex computer models. Hydrogeological mapping and numerical modeling with MODFLOW-MODPATH were used as reference methods to respectively compare the delineation of the zone of contribution and the zone of travel obtained from the various WHPA methods. Although applied to simple ground water flow systems, these methods provided a relatively wide range of results. To allow a realistic delineation of the WHPA in aquifers of variable geometry, a WHPA delineation method should ensure a water balance and include observed or calculated regional flow characteristics.     

Desalination of a sedimentary rock aquifer system invaded by Pleistocene Champlain Sea water and processes controlling groundwater geochemistry

The objective of this study was to identify geochemical processes and Quaternary geological events responsible for the variations in groundwater geochemistry observed in a sedimentary rock aquifer system, including brackish to saline groundwater. Inorganic constituents and environmental isotopes were analyzed for 146 groundwater samples. Dissolution of carbonates dominates in recharge areas, resulting in Ca-, Mg-HCO₃ groundwater. Further along flow paths, under confined conditions, Ca²⁺–Na⁺ ion exchange causes groundwater evolution to Na-HCO₃ type. Na-Cl groundwater is also found and it falls on a seawater mixing line. Using conservative tracers, Cl⁻ and Br⁻, the original Champlain Sea water is shown to have been, in the region, a mixture of about 34% seawater and 66% freshwater, a composition still retained by some groundwater. Na-Cl groundwater thus results from mixing with former Champlain Sea water and also from solute diffusion from overlying marine clay. The system is thus found to be at different stages of desalinization, from the original Champlain Sea water still present in hydraulically stagnant areas of the aquifer to fully flushed conditions in parts, where more flow occurs, especially in recharge zones. The geochemical processes are integrated within the hydrogeological context to produce a conceptual geochemical evolution model for groundwater of the aquifer system.     

Consistent past half-century trends in the atmosphere, the sea ice and the ocean at high southern latitudes

Simulations performed with the climate model LOVECLIM, aided with a simple data assimilation technique that forces a close matching of simulated and observed surface temperature variations, are able to reasonably reproduce the observed changes in the lower atmosphere, sea ice and ocean during the second half of the twentieth century. Although the simulated ice area slightly increases over the period 1980–2000, in agreement with observations, it decreases by 0.5 × 10⁶ km² between early 1960s and early 1980s. No direct and reliable sea ice observations are available to firmly confirm this simulated decrease, but it is consistent with the data used to constrain model evolution as well as with additional independent data in both the atmosphere and the ocean. The simulated reduction of the ice area between the early 1960s and early 1980s is similar to the one simulated over that period as a response to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere while the increase in ice area over the last decades of the twentieth century is likely due to changes in atmospheric circulation. However, the exact contribution of external forcing and internal variability in the recent changes cannot be precisely estimated from our results. Our simulations also reproduce the observed oceanic subsurface warming north of the continental shelf of the Ross Sea and the salinity decrease on the Ross Sea continental shelf. Parts of those changes are likely related to the response of the system to the external forcing. Modifications in the wind pattern, influencing the ice production/melting rates, also play a role in the simulated surface salinity decrease.     

Combining isotopic tracers (222Rn and δ13C) for improved modelling of groundwater discharge to small rivers

In regions where aquifers sustain rivers, the location and quantification of groundwater discharge to surface water are important to prevent pollution hazards, to quantify and predict low flows and to manage water supplies. ²²²Rn is commonly used to determine groundwater discharge to rivers. However, using this isotopic tracer is challenging because of the high diffusion capacity of ²²²Rn in open water. This study illustrates how a combination of isotopic tracers can contribute to an enhanced understanding of groundwater discharge patterns in small rivers. The aim of this paper is to combine ²²²Rn and δ¹³C_DIC to better constrain the physical parameters related to the degassing process of these tracers in rivers. The Hallue River (northern France) was targeted for this study because it is sustained almost exclusively by a fractured chalk aquifer. The isotopes ²²²Rn, δ¹³C_DIC, δ²H and δ¹⁸O were analysed along with other natural geochemical tracers. A mass balance model was used to simulate ²²²Rn and δ¹³C_DIC. The results of δ²H and δ¹⁸O analyses prove that evaporation did not occur in the river. The calibration of a numerical model to reproduce ²²²Rn and δ¹³C_DIC provides a best‐fit diffusive layer thickness of 3.21 × 10^?5 m. This approach is particularly useful for small rivers flowing over carbonate aquifers with high groundwater DIC where the evolution of river DIC reflects the competing processes of groundwater inflow and CO₂ degassing. This approach provides a means to evaluate groundwater discharge in small ungauged rivers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of thermal response test analysis using pumping test concepts

The design of ground-coupled heat pump systems requires knowledge of the thermal properties of the subsurface and boreholes. These properties can be measured with in situ thermal response tests (TRT), where a heat transfer fluid flowing in a ground heat exchanger is heated with an electric element and the resulting temperature perturbation is monitored. These tests are analogous to standard pumping tests conducted in hydrogeology, because a system that is initially assumed at equilibrium is perturbed and the response is monitored in time, to assess the system's properties with inverse modeling. Although pumping test analysis is a mature topic in hydrogeology, the current analysis of temperature measurements in the context of TRTs is comparatively a new topic and it could benefit from the application of concepts related to pumping tests. The purpose of this work is to review the methodology of TRTs and improve their analysis using pumping test concepts, such as the well function, the superposition principle, and the radius of influence. The improvements are demonstrated with three TRTs. The first test was conducted in unsaturated waste rock at an active mine and the other two tests aimed at evaluating the performance of thermally enhanced pipe installed in a fully saturated sedimentary rock formation. The concepts borrowed from pumping tests allowed the planning of the duration of the TRTs and the analysis of variable heat injection rate tests accounting for external heat transfer and temperature recovery, which reduces the uncertainty in the estimation of thermal properties.