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Quantifying Natural Attenuation at the Plume Scale
| Type |
- Natural Attenuation Evaluation
- Site Characterization
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| Location |
Galloway Township, NJ (30 miles northwest of Atlantic
City, NJ)
Laurel Bay, SC |
| Partners |
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| Technology |
- Monitored Natural Attenuation
- Computer Simulations
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| Contaminants |
Hydrocarbons, Gasoline |
| Description |
USGS scientists have developed a method to estimate microbial degradation
rates of hydrocarbons at the water table on a sitewide basis. The
method is based on the numerical analysis of the rate of transport
of biodegradation reaction products (O2 and CO2 gas) away from the
water table in the unsaturated
zone. The analysis involves simulating the transport of volatile
organic compounds and the reaction products using the computer
model R-UNSAT.
With the use of the R-UNSAT model, sitewide aerobic (with oxygen)
degradation rates of hydrocarbons near the water table and the rate
of the loss of contaminants from ground water to the unsaturated
zone by volatilization can be developed. Both rates are important
values for evaluating the feasibility of monitored natural attenuation
as the solution for hydrocarbon-spill remediation.
The method was applied at sites in Galloway
Township, NJ, and Laurel
Bay, SC. In the case of the Galloway Township site, data and
the analysis supplied by USGS scientists were instrumental in the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's acceptance of
monitored natural attenuation as the remediation method for the
site. The focus of investigations at the Laurel Bay site has been
the natural attenuation of methyl
tert-butyl ether (MTBE).
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| More Information |
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| Contact |
Arthur Baehr, USGS, New Jersey District, West Trenton,
NJ, |
| Publications |
- Baehr, A.L., and Baker, R.J., 1995,
- Use of a reactive gas-transport model to determine rates of
hydrocarbon biodegradation in unsaturated porous media: Water
Resources Research, v. 31, no. 11, p. 2877-2882.
- Baehr, A.L., and Fischer, J.M., 1996,
- Overview
of research on the transport, microbial degradation, and remediation
of hydrocarbons at a subsurface gasoline-spill site in Galloway
Township, New Jersey, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Aronson, D.A.,
eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings
of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September
20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 1-6.
- Baker, R.J., and Baehr, A.L., 1996,
- Use
of column studies and a reactive transport model to measure biodegradation
rates of hydrocarbons, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Aronson, D.A.,
eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings
of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September
20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 43-47.
- Baker, R.J., Baehr, A.L., and Lahvis, M.A., 2000,
- Estimation
of hydrocarbon biodegradation rates in gasoline-contaminated sediment
from measured respiration rates: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology,
v. 41, no. 1-2, p. 175-192.
- Fischer, J.M., Smith, N.P., and Baehr, A.L., 1996,
- Hydrogeology,
contaminant distribution, and biodegradation processes at a gasoline-spill
research site in Galloway Township, New Jersey, in Morganwalp,
D.W., and Aronson, D.A., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances
Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the technical meeting, Colorado
Springs, Colorado, September 20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Investigations Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 7-16.
- Joss, C.J., and Baehr, A.L., 1996,
- A
multispecies transport model to simulate vapor extraction and
bioventing remediation of unsaturated zones contaminated with
gasoline, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Aronson, D.A., eds., U.S.
Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings
of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September
20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 61-63.
- Lahvis, M.A., and Baehr, A.L., 1996,
- Estimation of rates of aerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation by
simulation of gas transport in the unsaturated zone: Water Resources
Research, v. 32, no. 7, p. 2231-2249.
- Lahvis, M.A., and Baehr, A.L., 1997,
- Documentation of R-UNSAT, A computer model for the simulation
of reactive transport in the unsaturated zone: U.S. Geological
Survey Open-File Report 97-630, 104 p.
- Lahvis, M.A., and Baehr, A.L., 1998,
- Simulating
transport of volatile organic compounds in the unsaturated zone
using the computer model R-UNSAT: U.S. Geological Survey Fact
Sheet FS-019-98, 4 p.
- Lahvis, M.A., and Baehr, A.L., 1999,
- Quantification of aerobic biodegradation and volatilization
rates of gasoline hydrocarbons near the water table under natural
attenuation conditions: Water Resources Research, v. 35, no. 3,
p. 753-765.
- Lahvis, M.A., Baehr, A.L., and Fischer, J.M., 1996,
- Method
for estimating the rate of microbial degradation of hydrocarbons
associated with bioventing at a gasoline-spill site in Galloway
Township, New Jersey, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Aronson, D.A.,
eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings
of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September
20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 27-34.
- Nolan, J.G., Baker, R.J., and Baehr, A.L., 1996,
- Method
for monitoring biodegradation of hydrocarbons in unsaturated porous
media, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Aronson, D.A., eds., U.S.
Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings
of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September
20-24, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 94-4015, v. 1, p. 49-54.
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| Links |
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Toxics Hydrocarbon Remediation Projects
Other USGS Natural Attenuation Projects
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