Aquifer Tests Research Articles

Caracterização Hidrogeológica de um Sistema de Filtração em Margem de Lago

Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a technique that has been successfully used in many countries, as a pre-treatment for water supply purposes, especially in regions under high demand. The technique comprises the construction of well(s) located at river/lake margins, and the water collected in the well is a mixture of surface water and groundwater. Hydrogeological approach is important in this context because it provides a better knowledge of the interaction between surface water and groundwater, and an evaluation of how physical environmental characteristics influence on water quality and quantity. Vicosa city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, has an increasing demand of water resources and a shortage of drinking water sources. In this context, the proposed pilot bank-filtration design under study was constructed in 2013 in the margins of a dam at Universidade Federal de Vicosa campus, with the main purpose of generating hydrogeological data for the complete characterization of the designed system. This paper presents the results of a detailed characterization based mainly on pumping and recovering hydrogeological aquifer tests and potentiometric monitoring. Results show that the hydrogeological characteristics of the study area favor the efficiency of the RBF system and can supply considerable amounts of water at low cost, especially during dry seasons.

An integrated GIS-based tool for aquifer test analysis

The quantification of the hydraulic parameters is important to support decision making in environmental impact assessment, water resources evaluation or groundwater contamination remediation, among others. These kind of parameters derived from aquifer tests usually encompasses a vast amount of data (spatial and non-spatial) for management and analysis. To achieve this in a clear and understandable manner, the GIS environment is a useful instrument. Development of innovative software to analyze pumping tests in a GIS platform environment to support the hydraulic parameterization of groundwater flow and transport models is presented in this paper. This new platform provides three interconnected modules to improve (a) pumping test interpretation code through a user-friendly interface, (b) pumping test data visualization supported by a set of tools that perform spatiotemporal queries in a GIS environment and (c) the storage and management of hydrogeological information. Additionally, within the GIS platform, it is possible to process the hydraulic parameters obtained from the pumping test and to create spatial distribution maps, perform geostatistical analysis and export the information to an external software platform. Finally, a real-world application in the area of Barcelona (Spain) has shown the usefulness of the tools developed in support of hydrogeological analysis.

Testing the suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic properties across regional scales

The suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic conductivity (K) to length scales commensurate with hydraulic data is difficult to assess. A novel method is presented for evaluating assumed relations between K and geologic interpretations for regional-scale groundwater modeling. The approach relies on simultaneous interpretation of multiple aquifer tests using alternative geologic frameworks of variable complexity, where each framework is incorporated as prior information that assumes homogeneous K within each model unit. This approach is tested at Pahute Mesa within the Nevada National Security Site (USA), where observed drawdowns from eight aquifer tests in complex, highly faulted volcanic rocks provide the necessary hydraulic constraints. The investigated volume encompasses 40 mi3 (167 km3) where drawdowns traversed major fault structures and were detected more than 2 mi (3.2 km) from pumping wells. Complexity of the five frameworks assessed ranges from an undifferentiated mass of rock with a single unit to 14 distinct geologic units. Results show that only four geologic units can be justified as hydraulically unique for this location. The approach qualitatively evaluates the consistency of hydraulic property estimates within extents of investigation and effects of geologic frameworks on extrapolation. Distributions of transmissivity are similar within the investigated extents irrespective of the geologic framework. In contrast, the extrapolation of hydraulic properties beyond the volume investigated with interfering aquifer tests is strongly affected by the complexity of a given framework. Testing at Pahute Mesa illustrates how this method can be employed to determine the appropriate level of geologic complexity for large-scale groundwater modeling.

Estimating hydraulic parameters of the Açu-Brazil aquifer using the computer analysis of micrographs

Summary The conventional way of obtaining hydraulic parameters of aquifers is through the interpretation of aquifer tests that requires a fairly complex logistics in terms of equipment and personnel. On the other way, the processing and analysis of digital images of two-dimensional rock sample micrographs presents itself as a promising (simpler and cheaper) alternative procedure for obtaining estimates for hydraulics parameters. This methodology involves the sampling of rocks, followed by the making and imaging of thin rock samples, image segmentation, three-dimensional reconstruction and flow simulation. This methodology was applied to the outcropping portion of the Acu aquifer in the northeast of Brazil, and the computational analyses of the thin rock sections of the acquired samples produced effective porosities between 11.2% and 18.5%, and permeabilities between 52.4 mD and 1140.7 mD. Considering that the aquifer is unconfined, these effective porosity values can be used effectively as storage coefficients. The hydraulic conductivities produced by adopting different water dynamic viscosities at the temperature of 28 °C in the conversion of the permeabilities result in values in the range of [ 6.03 × 10 - 7 , 1.43 × 10 - 5 ] m/s, compatible with the local hydrogeology.

Evaluating potential coal seam gas impacts to the Condamine Alluvium: an example of successful community involvement

The groundwater resources of the Condamine River Alluvial Aquifer (Condamine Alluvium) in Queensland have been developed in the past 60 years for irrigation, stock, domestic and other uses. Extraction of more than 55,000 mL/yr from this aquifer is critical to supporting the local irrigation industry. Existing and proposed coal seam gas development in the Surat Basin extends to underneath the western edge of the CA footprint and involves depressurisation of coals that form up to 10% of the Walloon Coal Measures (WCM) at some depth below the alluvium. Reduced groundwater availability from the already-stressed Condamine Alluvium is thus an oft-quoted concern of landholders when further development of the CSG industry is considered. An extensive study, led by the Queensland Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) and supported by Arrow Energy, was carried out to provide quantitative assessments of vertical hydraulic conductivity between the alluvium, coal measures and intervening formations. This extended abstract focuses on one element of the aforementioned study led by Arrow Energy, specifically, aquifer testing undertaken at two representative sites overlying the Condamine Alluvium. This included drilling and collection of core; geophysical, geomechanical and geochemical testing; test pumping and monitoring; and, modelling. An important element of this project, aside from sharing of data and results—was the involvement of local landholders in development of the investigations, and attendance at field days during drilling and presentation of results. Key findings included estimated ranges of vertical hydraulic conductivity derived from parameter estimation modelling that were lower than previously suggested.

제주도 공공 관정 지질주상도 DB 구축 소개

제주도 수문지질 종합 해석시스템 구축 연구의 일환으로 수행된 제주도 공공 관정 지질주상도 데이터베이스 구축결과를 소개한다. 1970년대부터 개발된 제주도 전역의1,200여 개 공공 관정의 지질주상도를 수문지질 조사소(炤)<TEX>${\Pi}$</TEX>맙<TEX>$^{\circ}$</TEX> 범용할 수 있도록 6개의 속성 테이블로 구분하여 세부 정보를 데이터베이스화하여 분석을 수행한 결과, 기존 공공 관정지질주상도 이용에 다음과 같은 문제점이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, (1) 지질주상도 암석명의 통일성 결여, (2) 화산쇄설층 및 사력층 개념 정립 필요, (3) 대수층 정보 불포함, (4) 상당수 관정에 대한 스크린설치 구간 심도 미기재, (5) 지질주상도 작성자별 기재 사항 및 내용상의 상이성 등이다. 연구팀은 상기와 같은 문제점들을 개선하기 위해 지질주상도상의 화산암 및 퇴적암 명칭을 재정립함과 아울러, 상용화된 데이터베이스 형식의 지질주상도 프로그램을 이용해 표준화된 입력과 출력형식 생성이 가능한 제주도 공공 관정 지질주상도 데이터베이스를 구축하였다. 새롭게 설계된 입력 테이블을 이용한 지질주상도 프로그램은 데이터베이스 입력 형식 기반을 가지고 있어, 사용자가 지정한 표준화된 입력 구조를 통해 지질, 관정 시추 및 시험 데이터들을 저장하여 데이터베이스화 함과 동시에 지질주상도와 단면도 출력에도 이용할 수 있다. 또한 지하수 관측 및 양수시험 결과 등의 새로운 자료도 데이터베이스 구조의 변경없이 쉽게 추가될 수 있다. 본 연구를 통해 구축된 지질주상도 데이터베이스는 향후 개발되는 관정들의 표준 데이터베이스 기준으로 활용됨으로써, 일관성 있는 지질주상도 작성과 수문지질 종합연구에 크게 도움이 될 전망이다. 또한, 현재 추진 중인 제주도 수문지질 해석시스템 개발과 기후변화에 대응한 통합수자원관리계획 기반기술을 뒷받침해 주는 초석이 될 것으로 기대된다. This study introduces newly implemented geological well logs database for Jeju public water wells, built for a research project focusing on integrated hydrogeology database of Jeju Island. A detailed analysis of the existing 1,200 Jeju Island geological logs for the public wells developed since 1970 revealed six major indications to be improved for their use in Jeju geological logs DB construction: (1) lack of uniformity in rock name classification, (2) poor definitions of pyroclastic deposits and sand and gravel layers, (3) lack of well borehole aquifer information, (4) lack of information on well screen installation in many water wells, (5) differences by person in geological logging descriptions. A new Jeju geological logs DB enabling standardized input and output formats has been implemented to overcome the above indications by reestablishing the names of Jeju volcanic and sedimentary rocks and utilizing a commercial, database-based input structured, geological log program. The newly designed database structure in geological log program enables users to store a large number of geology, well drilling, and test data at the standardized DB input structure. Also, well borehole groundwater and aquifer test data can be easily added without modifying the existing database structure. Thus, the newly implemented geological logs DB could be a standardized DB for a large number of Jeju existing public wells and new wells to be developed in the future at Jeju Island. Also, the new geological logs DB will be a basis for ongoing project 'Developing GIS-based integrated interpretation system for Jeju Island hydrogeology'.

A New Inverse Solution Assessment for the Recovery Test Using Radial Basis Function Collocation Method

Recovery pumping tests are still one of the most commonly preferred preliminary design steps in the assessment of aquifer hydraulics. The use of the existing methods would be insufficient under non-ideal aquifer conditions (i.e. heterogeneity, measurement errors, and boundary effect, etc.) which violate the Theis model assumptions developed for recovery test analysis. In this study, a new parameter estimation methodology based on the Radial Basis Collocation Method (RBFCM) was formulated to access the hydraulic parameters in a reliable, robust and accurate manner using recovery pump test. The suggested approach was established on the idea that the dimensionless time value at the pump-cessation which serves as a matching value is obtained by means of RFBCM. The proposed approach is straightforward to implement; which requires no data refinement, additional parameter, and visual match. The performance of the proposed method was tested with several aquifer conditions including homogeneous synthetic data, heterogeneous aquifer simulation and real field applications. The results confirm that the proposed method has a parameter estimation capacity as high as the available techniques in the literature and provides the practitioners to understand a more accurate portrayal of the effects of heterogeneity on the hydraulic parameters during the test process. In addition, the suggested methodology for the interpretation of aquifer recovery test can be evaluated to be employed as a diagnostic tool to identify non-ideal conditions. The potential use of RBFCM in this study was also presented as the supplement of aquifer test interpretation assessment.

The distributed-order fractional diffusion-wave equation of groundwater flow: Theory and application to pumping and slug tests

We present a distributed-order fractional diffusion-wave equation (dofDWE) to describe radial groundwater flow to or from a well, and three sets of solutions of the dofDWE for flow from a well for aquifer tests: one for pumping tests, and two for slug tests. The dofDWE is featured by two temporal orders of fractional derivatives, b1 and b2, which characterise small and large pores, respectively. By fitting the approximate solutions of the dofDWE to data from slug tests in the field, we determined the effective saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ke, transmissivity, Tf, and the order of fractional derivatives, b2 in one test and b2 and b1 in the second test. We found that the patterns of groundwater flow from a well during the slug tests at this site belong to the class of sub-diffusion with b2 < 1 and b1 < 1 using both the short-time and large-time solutions. We introduce the concept of the critical time to link Ke as a function of b2 and b1. The importance of the orders of fractional derivatives is obvious in the approximate solutions: for short time slug tests only the parameter b2 for flow in large pores is present while for long time slug tests the parameters b2 and b1 are present indicating both large and small pores are functioning.

Estimating aquifer properties using groundwater hydrograph modelling

AbstractEstimation of aquifer hydraulic properties is essential for predicting the response of an aquifer to extractions and hence estimating the availability of the groundwater resources. Aquifer tests are commonly used for the estimation of aquifer properties; however, they can be expensive and often only characterize the short‐term response of the aquifer. This paper presents a time series modelling approach to estimating aquifer hydraulic properties. It is applied to 42 bores monitoring an unconfined aquifer within an irrigation region of south‐eastern Australia, and the resulting probabilistic estimate of hydraulic properties are evaluated against pumping test estimates. It is demonstrated that the time series modelling can provide a reliable estimate of the hydraulic properties that are typical of a very long‐term pumping test. Furthermore, the application of the time series modelling to 42 bores provided novel insights into the aquifer heterogeneity. We encourage others to further test the approach and the source code is available from: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/48546‐peterson‐tim‐j‐groundwater‐statistics‐toolbox Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Non-Darcian effect on slug test in a leaky confined aquifer

Summary Slug test has been commonly applied to determine the near-well aquifer properties because of its logistical and economic advantages over other aquifer tests. Instantaneously increasing or decreasing the water level inside a slug test well will generate a significant hydraulic gradient near the well screen-aquifer interface (particularly at early stage of slug test), which may result in near-well aquifer flow deviated from Darcian behavior. However, previous studies on slug test rarely considered non-Darcian flow process associated with the slug test. In this study, a transient model of slug test in a leaky confined aquifer was established considering non-Darcian horizontal flow in the aquifer, and Darcian and vertical flow in the aquitard. The non-Darcian flow in the aquifer was described by the Izbash (power-law) equation. A finite-difference solution was presented for solving the non-linear model of slug test, the accuracy of which was tested through comparison with a previous analytical solution. By analyzing the sensitivities of dimensionless aquitard leakance (αD), non-Darcian index (n), and ratio of well screen radius versus well casing radius (χ) on the water level recovery (WLR) of slug test, one could conclude that the rate of WLR increased with the decrease of n for a given time. The WLR curve of Darcian flow (n = 1) was above the curves of non-Darcian flow, including fully developed turbulent flow. There was a deflection point for each WLR curve without the aquitard leakance in log–log scales, and the slope of the curve approached a constant after such a point. The effects of aquitard leakance on WLR for non-Darcian case appeared later than Darcian case. The normalized sensitivity coefficients of WLR with respect to n, αD and χ were negative, and they were most sensitive to n and least to αD.

Stochastic analysis of the hydraulic conductivity estimated for a heterogeneous aquifer via numerical modelling

Abstract. The paper aims to evaluate the impacts of the average hydraulic conductivity of the heterogeneous aquifer on the estimated hydraulic conductivity using the observations from pumping tests. The results of aquifer tests conducted at a karst aquifer are first introduced. A MODFLOW groundwater flow model was developed to perform numerical pumping tests, and the heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity (K) field was generated using the Monte Carlo method. The K was estimated by the Theis solution for an unconfined aquifer. The effective hydraulic conductivity (Ke) was calculated to represent the hydraulic conductivity of a heterogeneous aquifer. The results of numerical simulations demonstrate that Ke increase with the mean of hydraulic conductivity (EK), and decrease with the coefficient of variation of the hydraulic conductivity (Cv). The impact of spatial variability of K on the estimated Ke at two observation wells with smaller EK is less significant compared to the cases with larger EK.

지하수위 변동 해석모델의 매개변수를 이용한 투수량계수 추정

As hydrogeologic parameters such as hydraulic conductivity and specific yield are estimated by aquifer test, these are dependent on specific points at which field test was conducted. To overcome these site-specific limitations, a method of estimating transmissivity of aquifer using distribution features for parameters in Water table fluctuation model is newly suggested. Distribution features in reaction factor, specific yield and transmissivity having the function of pore space in aquifer are used to derive empirical equation for estimating transmissivity. From the result for applying the equation for 10 groundwater stations in Northeast Jeju Island, this equation is available for estimating transmissivity compared to the value estimated by existing equations. The estimated transmissivity ranged from 14.2 to <TEX>$3,716.9m^2/day$</TEX>, and its average was <TEX>$821.8m^2/day$</TEX>.

The development of new composite material for the grouting treatment of ordovician limestone aquifer and performance tests

Fluidity and draining time of clay–coal waste rocks–cement aggregate composite grouting material were evaluated in this study. The characteristics of setting time and temperature, internal distribution of pore structure of the consolidation as well as impermeability, strength and softening coefficient were analysed. It was determined that the composition of the new composite material was clay 5–15%, coal waste rocks 45–60% and cement aggregate 20–50%. The permeability factor is <5·746×10−7 m s−1, the softening coefficient is larger than 0·8, and it is capable for the treatment of limestone water with a pressure of up to 8 MPa.

Hydraulic conductivity explored by factor analysis of borehole geophysical data

A multivariate statistical method is presented for providing hydrogeological information on groundwater formations. Factor analysis is applied to borehole logs in Hungary and the USA to estimate the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity of rocks intersected by the borehole. Earlier studies showed a strong correlation between a statistical variable extracted by factor analysis and shale volume in primary porosity rocks. Hydraulic conductivity as a related quantity can be derived directly by factor analysis. In the first step, electric and nuclear logs are transformed into factor logs, which are then correlated to hydraulic properties of aquifers. It is shown that a factor explaining the major part of variance of the measured variables is inversely proportional to hydraulic conductivity. By revealing the regression relation between the above quantities, an estimate for hydraulic conductivity can be given along the entire length of the borehole. Synthetic modeling experiments and field cases demonstrate the feasibility of the method, which can be applied both in primary and secondary porosity aquifers. The results of factor analysis show consistence with those of the Kozeny-Carman method and hydraulic aquifer tests. The application of the statistical analysis of well logs together with independent ground geophysical and hydrogeological methods serves a more efficient exploration of groundwater resources.

Lattice Boltzmann methods applied to large‐scale three‐dimensional virtual cores constructed from digital optical borehole images of the karst carbonate Biscayne aquifer in southeastern Florida

AbstractDigital optical borehole images at approximately 2 mm vertical resolution and borehole caliper data were used to create three‐dimensional renderings of the distribution of (1) matrix porosity and (2) vuggy megaporosity for the karst carbonate Biscayne aquifer in southeastern Florida. The renderings based on the borehole data were used as input into Lattice Boltzmann methods to obtain intrinsic permeability estimates for this extremely transmissive aquifer, where traditional aquifer test methods may fail due to very small drawdowns and non‐Darcian flow that can reduce apparent hydraulic conductivity. Variogram analysis of the borehole data suggests a nearly isotropic rock structure at lag lengths up to the nominal borehole diameter. A strong correlation between the diameter of the borehole and the presence of vuggy megaporosity in the data set led to a bias in the variogram where the computed horizontal spatial autocorrelation is strong at lag distances greater than the nominal borehole size. Lattice Boltzmann simulation of flow across a 0.4 × 0.4 × 17 m (2.72 m3 volume) parallel‐walled column of rendered matrix and vuggy megaporosity indicates a high hydraulic conductivity of 53 m s−1. This value is similar to previous Lattice Boltzmann calculations of hydraulic conductivity in smaller limestone samples of the Biscayne aquifer. The development of simulation methods that reproduce dual‐porosity systems with higher resolution and fidelity and that consider flow through horizontally longer renderings could provide improved estimates of the hydraulic conductivity and help to address questions about the importance of scale.

Una fuente de agua profunda, no potable, para el proyecto de la mina de sulfato de potasio (SOP) Ochoa, New Mexico, USA

Competing with communities, agriculture, and industry for potable-water resources can pose great challenges for mining companies seeking public and regulatory support for proposed projects. In semi-arid and arid regions of the world where freshwater resources are limited, using potable resources to supply water to mining operations often faces opposition from existing water users or is subject to lengthy regulatory reviews. Here we describe how Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA) developed a deep, non-potable water supply from the Capitan aquifer for its Ochoa SOP Mine Project (Ochoa Project) in southeastern New Mexico (USA) that safeguards the limited freshwater resources. Through a program of exploratory well drilling, aquifer testing, and groundwater flow modeling, we find that the Capitan aquifer can sustain the proposed pumping rate of 252 L/s for a 50 year period, and that drawdown is predicted to be up to 200 m in the area of the proposed well field. We also find that depletions from the Pecos River, a connected stream subject to interstate compact agreements for water deliveries, are predicted to be at a rate of up to 1.10 L/s. We attribute the minimal impacts of the proposed pumping on the Pecos River largely to a zone of low hydraulic conductivity (1.5 × 10−3 m/day) near the county line that separates the aquifer where pumping is proposed in Lea County, New Mexico, from the area where the aquifer is connected to the Pecos River in Eddy County, New Mexico.

Groundwater Resources Potential in Hard Rock Terrain: A Multivariate Approach.

Groundwater resources are limited and difficult to predict in crystalline bedrock due to heterogeneity and anisotropy in rock fracture systems. Municipal-level governments often lack the resources for traditional hydrogeological tests when planning for sustainable use of water resources. A new methodology for assessing groundwater resources potential (GRP) based on geological and topographical factors using principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was developed and tested. ANOVA results demonstrated statistically significant differences in classed variable groups as well as in classed GRP scores with regard to hydrogeological indicators, such as specific capacity (SC) and transmissivity. Results of PCA were used to govern the weight of the variables used in the prediction maps. GRP scores were able to identify 79% of wells in a verification dataset, which had SC values less than the total dataset median. GRP values showed statistically significant correlations using both parametric (using transformed datasets) and non-parametric methods. The method shows promise for municipal or regional level planning in crystalline terrains with high levels of heterogeneity and anisotropy as a hydrogeologically and statistically based tool to assist in assessing groundwater resources. The methodology is executed in a geographic information systems environment, and uses often readily available data, such as geological maps, feature maps and topography, and thus does not require expensive and time-consuming aquifer tests.

A hydraulic test device for free-flowing artesian boreholes with a case study in Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifers, South Africa

Accurate parameter estimation for aquifers is very challenging, particularly for artesian aquifers in which the potentiometric surface is above ground level. A common approach to parameter estimation for artesian aquifers is to make use of free-flowing and recovery tests. However, such aquifer tests on artesian boreholes are seldom carried out due to lack of an appropriate device readily available for data collection. This paper describes a hydraulic test device for recording flow rate, pressure, EC and pH measurements using an ultrasonic flowmeter, pressure transmitter, EC and pH meters. A procedure to set up the device in the field is outlined. To test the device, an artesian borehole in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifers of South Africa was chosen as a case study, where the device was applied to measure and record flow rate and pressure of the aquifer, as well as EC and pH. Compared with previous free-flowing test data measured manually, the flow data captured by the device was accurate and reliable, and can be utilised to estimate the hydraulic properties of an artesian aquifer. The advantages and disadvantages of the device are discussed, followed by suggestions for improvement. Given that a large number of flowing artesian boreholes are present in the TMG area in which the pressure head of the aquifer is often above ground level, the applicability of the device presented is likely to be widespread. With due improvement of the test device, its wider application in similar conditions, e.g. to artesian holes in the Karoo, would be expected in future.Keywords: flowing artesian borehole, hydraulic test device, free-flowing test, TMG aquifers, data capture

Aquifer Anisotropy in the Pen Argyl Member of the Martinsburg Formation, Pennsylvania

Anisotropy in aquifers has been shown to be common in deformed terrains. When structural fabrics and resulting secondary porosity are a result of regional tectonics, principal transmissivity tensor (T α ) orientation (θ) may be similar over a wide area. Recognition of domains with similar orientation and magnitude of transmissivity tensors is important for effective groundwater management. The Pen Argyl Member of the Martinsburg Formation is a thick sequence of claystone slate with subordinate intercalated quartzose slate and sub-graywacke. Time-drawdown data from four aquifer tests in the Pen Argyl Member exhibited anisotropic behavior at a scale of at least 600 m. The horizontal anisotropic properties were determined using analytical models. Statistical tests for anisotropy were applied, and variance formulas were used for uncertainty estimation and testing for differences in T α /T β and θ from tests at different locations in the aquifer. Principal transmissivity tensor orientation for four pumping tests within the Pen Argyl Member of the Martinsburg Formation were statistically indistinguishable (mean θ α = 41.5° ± 8.8°, 2σ) and aligned parallel to fold axes and the strike of joint sets and cleavage. An example of results from a single test shows the aquifer is anisotropic (H 0 : T α = T β rejected at P α /T β = 7.9 ± 5.5 (2σ), T α = 218 ± 441 (2σ) m 2 /d, and T β = 27 ± 53 (2σ) m 2 /d. This study is a step toward delineation of hydrostratigraphic units within the Martinsburg Formation.

Investigations on mobility of carbon colloid supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) in a column experiment and a laboratory 2D-aquifer test system.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has recently gained great interest in the scientific community as in situ reagent for installation of permeable reactive barriers in aquifer systems, since nZVI is highly reactive with chlorinated compounds and may render them to harmless substances. However, nZVI has a high tendency to agglomerate and sediment; therefore it shows very limited transport ranges. One new approach to overcome the limited transport of nZVI in porous media is using a suited carrier colloid. In this study we tested mobility of a carbon colloid supported nZVI particle "Carbo-Iron Colloids" (CIC) with a mean size of 0.63 μm in a column experiment of 40 cm length and an experiment in a two-dimensional (2D) aquifer test system with dimensions of 110 × 40 × 5 cm. Results show a breakthrough maximum of 82 % of the input concentration in the column experiment and 58 % in the 2D-aquifer test system. Detected residuals in porous media suggest a strong particle deposition in the first centimeters and few depositions in the porous media in the further travel path. Overall, this suggests a high mobility in porous media which might be a significant enhancement compared to bare or polyanionic stabilized nZVI.