Photos and Graphics from the Bemidji Site

Photos from July 21-31, 2003 field work:

Group photo of the research team in front of the field tent and drill rig.
Panoramic view of the north, middle and south oil pools from the pipeline right-of-way near well 812.
Coring at the north pool near well 533.
Barbara Bekins and Ean Warren preparing media in the MSEA trailer.
Ean inoculating samples in the MSEA trailer.
Barbara processing a soil core outside the MSEA trailer.
Bill Herkelrath digging a pit with a rented backhoe to install soil moisture probes and tensiometers near well 9015 at the north pool.
Fred Murphy holding a newly constructed tensiometer prior to installation in the new pit.
Instruments in the pit. Note the black oil-contaminated sand on the pit walls.
Bill wiring unsaturated-zone instruments into the datalogger and multiplexers at well 9015.
Bill with an oil-saturated soil core collected from near well T1 in the unsaturated-zone tracer test area.
Phil Bennett running one of the gas chromatographs in the MSEA trailer.
Geoff operating backhoe to dig pit for unsaturated zone instruments.
Rich Amos running one of the gas chromatographs in the MSEA trailer.
Rich shaking water samples prior to analyzing the headspace gases.
Randi Williams processing a sample in the MSEA trailer.
Uli Meyer and Rich planning activities.
Jennifer Rogers and Rachel Mathes sampling at Lake Bemidji.
Todd Anderson collecting a soil core from Wally to be shipped back to the lab.
Todd and Alyssa preparing a suction lysimeter for installation near well 9014G.
Jeff Stoner locating field instruments using a differential GPS unit at the north pool tracer test site.
Wally Larson and Luke Stuewe preparing to pull a core from near well 530.
Alyssa Boock operating the Dig-R-Mobile to install a suction lysimeter near well 9014G.
Brian Hughes and Danny Bailey collecting a water sample from well 9017.
Dan Rosemore preparing the freeze-shoe core barrel for the next site.
Danny and Jen collecting a water sample at the north pool.
Spray zone showing effects of hydrophobic conditions, still evident 24 years after the spill.
Unnamed lake ?
Photos from July 2002 field work:
Group photos of the research team: week 1, in front of the tent and mobile home, and week 2 in front of the MSEA trailer.
Barbara Bekins processing a soil core.
Rich Amos, Uli Meyer, and Tracy Hendrickson processing a soil core at the north pool.
Ean Warren sonicating a sample in the MSEA trailer.
Jennifer Rogers processing a sample in a glove box.
Phil Bennett injecting a sample into a gas chromatograph.
Tom Hendrickson and Brian Chaplin collecting a water sample.
Geoff Delin injecting a sample into a gas chromatograph.
Luke Stuewe and Wally Larson pulling augers after collecting a core near well 530.
Tom, Tracy, and Vallerie Hendrickson innoculating samples in the MSEA trailer.
Installation of new pipeline through the north pool site (looking north). Shelter at well 9621 is in foreground; shelters at 604 and 9018 are in the middle of the image. The pipeline was installed about 5 meters to the left of these shelters. The flagging is marking the location of buried cables.
Backhoe installing the new pipeline (looking northeast). The shelter for well 9621 is visible in the foreground and the trailers are visible through the trees across the railroad grade in the background.
Locating buried cables at the north pool.
Trench and pipeline going through the north pool site.
Digging at the south pool tracer test site. Looking southeast.
View of the pipeline route through south pool.
Water ponded at north pool following an intense rain storm.

Photos from August - November 2001 field work:

Group photo of the research team.
Bill Herkelrath inspecting a soil core.
Barbara Bekins and Victor Paganelli cutting a soil core.
Geoff Delin pulling a vapor sample for gas chromatograph analysis.
Ron Baker injecting a sample into the GC in the MSEA trailer.
Alyssa Boock injecting a vapor sample into the GC for analysis.
Vic innoculating a sample in the MSEA trailer.
Jennifer Rogers pulling a newly-designed microcosm out of a well.
Fred Murphy programming and re-wiring a datalogger at well 9015.
Installing a small-diameter well at the tracer test site.
Wally Larson and Dan Rosemore drilling at tracer test well T10.
Bill and Tracy Hendrickson applying tracers near well 9015 on October 2nd. Rhodamine WT and potassium bromide tracers were used.
Finished application of tracers. The tracers were applied to a 5x12 meter area.
Wally filling in the pit near well 9014 using a backhoe after we installed soil moisture and temperature probes on October 29th.

Photos from August 2000 field work:

Group photo of the research team.
Bill Herkelrath studying a vile of crude oil and water.
Gary Curtis shoveling dry ice into the cryogenic chamber.
Bill Herkelrath, Brian Chaplin, and Gary Curtis cutting a frozen core.
Wally Larson and Dan Rosemore removing a core from the core barrel.
David Lord packing his sectioned core into a cooler.
Ean Warren, Victor Paganelli, and Barbara Bekins outside the "MSEA" trailler.
Phil Bennett with his GC equipment in the Haulmark trailler.
Cores collected at well 9014g.
Todd Anderson measuring his core.
Gary Curtis displaying his recently collected core.
Paul and Babe relaxing with Brian Chaplin, Lan Nguyen, and Victor Paganelli.

Photos from July 1999 field work:

Group photo of the research team.
Jennifer Roberts sampling a well.
Phil Bennett with his equipment set up on the back of an SUV.
Lili Nelson and Adelia Barber checking DO and Fe at a well near the tent.
Wally Larson, Dan Rosemore, and Ean Warren disassembling the coring equipment.
Bill Herkelrath working on UZ core sections in the "MSEA" trailer.
Mike Godsy showing the pipe fittings.
Vince, Tracy, and Mike getting their equipment ready.
Installation of a microcosm on the transect.
Adelia Barber shoveling dry ice into the cryogenic chamber.
Bill and Adelia cutting a core into small sections.

Photos from July-August 1998 field work:

Group photos of the research team: week 1, week 2, and week 3 .
Jennifer Roberts and Victoria Moses sampling at well 604b.
Kris Nelson sampling a well along the transect in the woods.
Brian Gunderson removing an oil-stained core that has been frozen in the cryogenic chamber.
Fred Murphy installing a tensiometer in a pit near well 9015.
Roger Lee conducting hydrogen analyses in the trailer.
Installation of a tensiometer using a hole drilled by the Dig-R-Mobile.
View of pit used to install tdr probes, shelter at well 9015, well 9813 (white pvc), and trench for wiring.
Ginger Amos and Linnae Moey sampling a well.
Bill Herkelrath examining an oil-stained core.
Drillers Brian Gunderson, Dan Rosemore, and Steve Fideldy removing a core.
Core analysis by Jeanne Jaeschke, Mary Voitek, Gary Curtis, and Isabelle Cozzarelli.
Todd Anderson sealing a core section so that oxygen cannot escape.
View to northeast of wells along the transect.
An example of the wildlife (a ruffed grouse) near the research site.

Photos from August 1997 field work:

Research team (41 KB) in front of the mobile home and tent, August, 1997.
Installation of TDR probes for Don Rosenberry, January 1997.
Gary Curtis using a jackhammer to install a well at the south pool, June 1997.
Drilling a test hole at the south pool using the Dig-R-Mobile, June 1997.
Installing a multi-level sampling (MLS) well at the south pool, June 1997.
Gary Curtis drilling a hole with the Dig-R Mobile, August 1979.
Kevin O'Connor and Chad Pierson installing a moisture point TDR probe near well 981, June 1979.
Ron Baker analyzing a vapor sample from the unsaturated zone with the gas chromatograph in the Haulmark trailer, August 1997. (28 KB)
Barbara Bekins extracting an oil sample from a soil core using a syringe, August 1997. (15 KB)
Phil Bennett and Jennifer Roberts analyzing and processing samples in the "MSEA" trailer, August 1997. (29 KB)
Ean and Vic (19 KB) processing samples in the "MSEA" trailer, August 1997.
Fred Murphy constructing a tensiometer that was installed at the south oil pool, August 1997.(23 KB)
Isabelle Cozzarelli analyzing samples in the mobile home, August 1997.(22 KB)
Matt Lahvis (26 KB) collecting a vapor sample from the unsaturated zone, August 1997.
Bill Herkelrath working with the equipment used for the tracer test at the north oil pool, August 1997. (39 KB).

Photos from 1996 field work:

Research team at the September, 1996, field trip.
View of the spray zone (35 KB) and the "MSEA" office trailer from near the railroad crossing at the north oil pool.
Ean Warren and Nate Eklund test drilling with the Dig-R mobile (32 KB) at the south oil pool.
Ean Warren, Mike Godsy, and Gary Curtis installing a Solinst drive point and sampling tube (38 KB) at the south oil pool.
Mike Godsy holding a soon-to-be installed multi-level sampling well (26 KB) at the south oil pool.
Bill Herkelrath making surface tension measurments (23 KB) in the "MSEA" trailer.
Barbara Bekins and Mike Godsy collecting a concentrated bacteria sample (30 KB).
Mary Jo Baedecker collecting a filtered water sample (20 KB).
View of TDR probes installed in a trench (37 KB) at the south pool, September 1996.
Close-up view of a TDR probe (45 KB) and a thermocouple insatlled in the trench wall.
Jeff Lucius conducting GPR work at the south pool, October 1996.

Photos from earlier field work at the Bemidji site:

Mary Jo Baedecker, and others, collecting water samples from the 532 well nest in 1984.
Bob Miller developing a well (or conducting an aquifer test) in 1984.
Mobile home, vehicles, and tent at the north pool in 1984.
Processing a soil core in 1984.
Don Siegel, Phil Bennett, and others collecting a water sample in 1984.
Don Siegel and others sampling a well in 1984.
Paul Bunyan in 1984 (he hasn't changed much over the years).
1987 picture of Mary Jo Baedecker, Isabelle Cozzarelli, and Don Siegel collecting a water sample near well 533 at the north pool.
Bailing a water sample at the north pool in 1987.
Extracting a water sample from a soil core at the north pool in 1987.
View of the north pool (pit) and spray zone in 1987. The picture was taken from the railroad grade looking west. Wells 301, 302, and 306 are in the foreground.
View of the north pool transect in 1987, looking east from about well 532.
Working with a soil core (34 KB) to extract oil and water samples, July 1995.

Aerial photos showing oil contamination at the Bemidji site:

Labeled aerial (25 KB) view of pipeline break, spray zone, drainage path, and remediation efforts, August, 1979.
Oblique aerial (distant) (174 KB) view of pipeline break, spray zone,and remediation efforts, 1979.
Oblique aerial (97 KB) view of pipeline break, spray zone, and remediation efforts, 1979.
Oblique aerial (close-up) (132 KB) view of pipeline break and remediation efforts, 1979.
Wide view (25 KB) of the spill site in 1979.
Removal (40 KB) of the oil by pumping from a trench, 1979.
View of pipelines in August 1979. (15 KB).
Initial efforts of the oil cleanup: cleanup.jpg and cleanup2.jpg.
Plan view aerial photo from 1991 - wide angle (437 KB).
Plan view aerial photo from 1991 (85 KB) showing topographic contours and well locations at the site.
Plan view showing features of Bemidji site, oil spill extent, and oil pools (85 KB) superimposed on an aerial photo from 1991.
Graphics:
A map showing the areal extent (157 KB) of the oil on the surface in August 1979.
Panoramic view taken in July 2003 of the north, middle and south oil pools from the pipeline right-of-way near well 812.