Research Opportunities for Studies of Contaminant Transport in Fluvial Systems at the TIMS Branch - Steed Pond System, Savannah River Site

Abstract

A workshop to identify the scientific issues associated with contamination in riparian, fluvial, and hyporheic systems was held in March 2003 at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The workshop examined the general scientific remediation challenges and research opportunities in such systems and on Tims Branch - Steed Pond, a specific uranium- and heavy-metal-contaminated riparian system at SRS. A diverse group of scientists representing a wide range of scientific disciplines came from academia, national laboratories, and research centers to develop recommendations for future ERSD research opportunities. There was agreement among the workshop participants that riparian, fluvial, and hyporheic systems represent a unique opportunity to advance science and to enable progress on DOE's environmental cleanup of contaminated sites. The participants at this workshop documented both the critical need and the great promise for research on hydrological and biogeochemical processes controlling contaminant transport and fate in contaminated surface and near-surface systems. The approach of the workshop was to assess the Tims Branch - Steed Pond system at the SRS as an appropriate site to identify research needs that support potential remediation strategies.