Influence of non-aqueous phase liquid configuration on induced polarization parameters: Conceptual models applied to a time-domain field case study

Abstract

Resistivity and induced polarization (IP) measurements on soil contaminated with non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) show a great variety in results in previous research. Several laboratory studies have suggested that the presence of NAPLs in soil samples generally decrease the magnitude of the IP-effect, while others have indicated the opposite. A number of conceptual models have been proposed suggesting that NAPLs can alter the pore space in different ways, e.g. by coating the grain surfaces and thus inhibiting grain polarization, or by changing the pore throat size and thus affecting the membrane polarization mechanism. The main aim of this paper is to review previously published conceptual models and to introduce some new concepts of possible residual NAPL configurations in the pore space. Time domain induced polarization measurements were performed at a NAPL contaminated field site, and the data were inverted using the Constant Phase Angle (CPA) model and the Cole–Cole model respectively. No significant phase anomalies were observed in the source area of the contamination when the CPA inverted profiles were compared with soil sampling results of free-phase contaminant concentrations. However, relatively strong phase and normalized phase anomalies appeared next to the source area, where residual free-phase presence could be expected according to the chemical data. We conclude that depending on the NAPL configuration, different spectral IP responses can be expected. In previous research, the NAPL configurations in different samples or field sites are often unknown, and this may to some extent explain why different results have been achieved by different authors. In our field case, we believe that the NAPL forms a more or less continuous phase in the pore space of the source zone leading to an absence of IP anomalies. The increase in phase and normalized phase angle observed next to the source zone is interpreted as a degradation zone. The ongoing biodegradation may have led to a fractionation of the continuous NAPL in the outer part of the original source zone, leading to residual presence of isolated NAPL droplets in the soil pores. With such NAPL configurations, an increased polarization can be expected according to the electrochemical- and membrane polarization mechanisms. More research is needed to confirm the effects of different NAPL configuration on spectral IP parameters.