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STATE-OF-THE-ART FIELD TECHNIQUES FOR SITE CHARACTERIZATION
Citation:
Ross*, R R. STATE-OF-THE-ART FIELD TECHNIQUES FOR SITE CHARACTERIZATION. Presented at Scientist-to-Scientist MTBE Workshop, Chicago, IL, 6/19-21/2000.
Description:
Many of the traditional methods for characterizing the hydrogeologic properties and contaminant distribution of subsurface materials were derived from methods developed in the water supply industry. These methods generally result in the characterization of bulk aquifer properties, rather than relatively small-scale geologic features which may significantly influence the transport of contaminants in the subsurface. Recent developments have led to significant improvements in the ability to characterize the small-scale variations in the hydraulic properties and contaminant distribution within aquifers. Many of these methods center around the use of direct push techniques which allow the collection of discrete samples of subsurface materials, thereby allowing better definition of the three-dimensional distribution of hydraulic properties, contaminants, geochemical conditions and biological processes. The increased level of detail available from such tools and techniques allows hydrostratigraphic controls to be defined and contaminant transport and fate processes to be assessed with greater certainty.