Geophysical investigations at the engine test area of Camp Crowder, Missouri.

Abstract

Camp Crowder, which is located south of Neosho, Missouri, is currently a Missouri Army National Guard training facility (Figure 1). The site was established as Camp Crowder during World War II and served as a U.S. Army Signal Corps Replacement Training Center. During the height of the war, Camp Crowder occupied an area of about 43,000 acres, which is much larger than its current dimensions. From 1957 to 1972, a portion of Camp Crowder was operated for the federal government as a rocket and jet engine manufacturing plant and testing area. One testing area was known as the ETA (ETA) and remains a part of Camp Crowder (Figure 2). The other test area was termed the Components Test Area (CTA) and is now privately owned. Recent site investigations have indicated that contamination is present in both the soil and groundwater at the ETA and the CTA (Rust 1993). Dye tracer studies conducted on and near Camp Crowder show that the site provides groundwater recharge to several nearby springs (Vandike and Brookshire 1996). Photogeologic analysis by Frano (1999) indicates the presence of several lineament sets, which are likely to represent fracture systems in the underlying bedrock. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has been tasked to identify and apply appropriate geophysical techniques that will assist in the development of a more thorough understanding of the complex interrelationships between groundwater flow and geologic structure at the Camp Crowder site. The specific goal of this effort is to locate zones for preferential groundwater and/or contaminant migration.