Developing an MNA Modeling Tool Based on RT3D: 3 Reports

Integral to the accept of MNA and EA as part of a remediation system is documenting the sustainability of the attenuation mechanisms. As many sites are located in complex hydrogeologic settings, documentation of sustainability will require the use of complex models that have the capabilities to mathematically represent the various attenuation mechanisms. To address this need a team of researchers developed specific reaction modules for complex chlorinated solvent reactions that occur in subsurface. These reaction modules support the RT3D model

Impacts of the 2004 tsunami on groundwater resources in Sri Lanka, Water Resour

[1] The 26 December 2004 tsunami caused widespread destruction and contamination of coastal aquifers across southern Asia. Seawater filled domestic open dug wells and also entered the aquifers via direct infiltration during the first flooding waves and later as ponded seawater infiltrated through the permeable sands that are typical of coastal aquifers. In Sri Lanka alone, it is estimated that over 40,000 drinking water wells were either destroyed or contaminated. From February through September 2005, a team of United States, Sri Lankan, and Danish water resource scientists and engineers surveyed the coastal groundwater resources of Sri Lanka to develop an understanding of the impacts of the tsunami and to provide recommendations for the future of coastal water resources in south Asia. In the tsunami-affected areas, seawater was found to have infiltrated and mixed with fresh groundwater lenses as indicated by the elevated groundwater salinity levels. Seawater infiltrated through the shallow vadose zone as well as entered aquifers directly through flooded open wells. Our preliminary transport analysis demonstrates that the intruded seawater has vertically mixed in the aquifers because of both forced and free convection. Widespread pumping of wells to remove seawater was effective in some areas, but overpumping has led to upconing of the saltwater interface and rising salinity. We estimate that groundwater recharge from several monsoon seasons will reduce salinity of many sandy Sri Lankan coastal aquifers. However, the continued sustainability of these small and fragile aquifers for potable water will be difficult because of the rapid growth of human activities that results in more intensive groundwater pumping and increased pollution. Long-term sustainability of coastal aquifers is also impacted by the decrease in sand replenishment of the beaches due to sand mining and erosion

Does sea-level rise have an impact on saltwater intrusion?

Climate change effects are expected to substantially raise the average sea level. It is widely assumed that this raise will have a severe adverse impact on saltwater intrusion processes in coastal aquifers. In this study we hypothesize that a natural mechanism, identified as the “lifting process” has the potential to mitigate or in some cases completely reverse the adverse intrusion effects induced by sea-level rise. A detailed numerical study using the MODFLOW-family computer code SEAWAT, was completed to test this hypothesis and to understand the effects of this lifting process in both confined and unconfined systems. Our conceptual simulation results show that if the ambient recharge remains constant, the sea-level rise will have no long-term impact (i.e., it will not affect the steady-state salt wedge) on confined aquifers. Our transient confined flow simulations show a self-reversal mechanism where the wedge which will initially intrude into the formation due to the sea-level rise would be naturally driven back to the original position. In unconfined systems, the lifting process would have a lesser influence due to changes in the value of effective transmissivity. A detailed sensitivity analysis was also completed to understand the sensitivity of this self-reversal effect to various aquifer parameters

Using Parallel Genetic Algorithms for Estimating Model Parameters in Complex Reactive Transport Problems

In this study, we present the details of an optimization method for parameter estimation of one-dimensional groundwater reactive transport problems using a parallel genetic algorithm (PGA). The performance of the PGA was tested with two problems that had published analytical solutions and two problems with published numerical solutions. The optimization model was provided with the published experimental results and reasonable bounds for the unknown kinetic reaction parameters as inputs. Benchmarking results indicate that the PGA estimated parameters that are close to the published parameters and it also predicted the observed trends well for all four problems. Also, OpenMP FORTRAN parallel constructs were used to demonstrate the speedup of the code on an Intel quad-core desktop computer. The parallel code showed a linear speedup with an increasing number of processors. Furthermore, the performance of the underlying optimization algorithm was tested to evaluate its sensitivity to the various genetic algorithm (GA) parameters, including initial population size, number of generations, and parameter bounds. The PGA used in this study is generic and can be easily scaled to higher-order water quality modeling problems involving real-world applications

Development of a field testing protocol for identifying Deepwater Horizon oil spill residues trapped near Gulf of Mexico beaches.

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) accident, one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history, contaminated several beaches located along the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) shoreline. The residues from the spill still continue to be deposited on some of these beaches. Methods to track and monitor the fate of these residues require approaches that can differentiate the DWH residues from other types of petroleum residues. This is because, historically, the crude oil released from sources such as natural seeps and anthropogenic discharges have also deposited other types of petroleum residues on GOM beaches. Therefore, identifying the origin of these residues is critical for developing effective management strategies for monitoring the long-term environmental impacts of the DWH oil spill. Advanced fingerprinting methods that are currently used for identifying the source of oil spill residues require detailed laboratory studies, which can be cost-prohibitive. Also, most agencies typically use untrained workers or volunteers to conduct shoreline monitoring surveys and these worker will not have access to advanced laboratory facilities. Furthermore, it is impractical to routinely fingerprint large volumes of samples that are collected after a major oil spill event, such as the DWH spill. In this study, we propose a simple field testing protocol that can identify DWH oil spill residues based on their unique physical characteristics. The robustness of the method is demonstrated by testing a variety of oil spill samples, and the results are verified by characterizing the samples using advanced chemical fingerprinting methods. The verification data show that the method yields results that are consistent with the results derived from advanced fingerprinting methods. The proposed protocol is a reliable, cost-effective, practical field approach for differentiating DWH residues from other types of petroleum residues

Understanding the Changes in Hydraulic Conductivity Values of Coarse- and Fine-Grained Porous Media Mixtures

Low permeability clay-sand mixtures are often used to construct hydraulic barriers to prevent contaminated water leaching from landfills and other waste disposal sites from polluting local groundwater aquifers. In order to engineer effective hydraulic barriers, a proper knowledge of the hydraulic conductivity of clay-sand mixtures is required. While there are several empirical models available in the literature that can be used to predict reductions in hydraulic conductivity values of coarse sand due to the presence of clay and other fine minerals, all these models require measurement of multiple physical properties of the porous media. The resulting empirical expressions have several parameters that need to be individually evaluated using multiple soil characterization tests. In this study, we propose a single parameter model that can be used to capture the variations in hydraulic conductivity value of different types of porous media mixtures using a scalable modeling framework. Several laboratory tests were conducted to measure the hydraulic conductivity values of a variety of coarse and fine glass bead mixtures. The coarse glass beads were used to simulate sand and small glass beads were used to simulate fine minerals such as silt and clay. The model results were further validated using the data derived from experiments conducted with natural sand and clay mixtures, and also using multiple literature-derived datasets. Our results show that the proposed model is a useful tool for describing the hydraulic conductivity values of various types of coarse- and fine-grained porous media mixtures

An analytical framework for quantifying aquifer response time scales associated with transient boundary conditions

A major challenge in studying coupled groundwater and surface-water interactions arises from the considerable difference in the response time scales of groundwater and surface-water systems affected by external forcings. Although coupled models representing the interaction of groundwater and surface-water systems have been studied for over a century, most have focused on groundwater quantity or quality issues rather than response time. In this study, we present an analytical framework, based on the concept of mean action time (MAT), to estimate the time scale required for groundwater systems to respond to changes in surface-water conditions. MAT can be used to estimate the transient response time scale by analyzing the governing mathematical model. This framework does not require any form of transient solution (either numerical or analytical) to the governing equation, yet it provides a closed form mathematical relationship for the response time as a function of the aquifer geometry, boundary conditions, and flow parameters. Our analysis indicates that aquifer systems have three fundamental time scales: (i) a time scale that depends on the intrinsic properties of the aquifer; (ii) a time scale that depends on the intrinsic properties of the boundary condition, and; (iii) a time scale that depends on the properties of the entire system. We discuss two practical scenarios where MAT estimates provide useful insights and we test the MAT predictions using new laboratory-scale experimental data sets

Understanding time scales of diffusive fluxes and the implication for steady state and steady shape conditions

The diffusion equation is one of the most commonly used models for describing environmental problems involving heat, solute and water transport. A diffusive system can be either transient or steady state. When a system is transient, the dependent variable (e.g., temperature, concentration or hydraulic head) varies with time; whereas at steady state, the temporal variations are negligible. Here, we consider an intermediate state, called steady shape, corresponding to the situation where temporal variations in diffusive fluxes are negligible but the dependent variable may remain transient. We present a general theoretical framework for identifying steady shape conditions, and propose a novel method for evaluating the time scale needed for a diffusive system to approach both steady shape and steady state conditions