HR: 13:55h
AN: H43H-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Stochastic fusion of information to characterize DNAPL source zones: conceptual framework and preliminary results from theoretical, computational, and experimental studies
AU: * Illman, W A
EM: walter-illman@uiowa.edu
AF: Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, 121 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
AU: * Illman, W A
EM: walter-illman@uiowa.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, 4105 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences , Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
AU: * Illman, W A
EM: walter-illman@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, 300 South Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
AU: Yeh, T J
EM: ybiem@mac.hwr.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, John Harshbarger Building 1133 E. North Campus Drive , Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AU: Zhu, J
EM: junfeng@email.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, John Harshbarger Building 1133 E. North Campus Drive , Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AU: Craig, A
EM: ajcraig@engineering.uiowa.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, 4105 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences , Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
AU: Craig, A
EM: ajcraig@engineering.uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, 300 South Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
AB: Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) are prevalent at a large number of sites throughout the world. The variable release history and geologic heterogeneity make the spatial distribution of DNAPLs in the source zone complex. This causes difficulties in cleanup and can contribute to long-term groundwater contamination for decades to centuries. Therefore, the spatial distribution, mass, and composition of DNAPLs present in the source zone need to be characterized in great detail so that efficient remediation schemes can be designed. Development of a cost-effective technology that provides detailed images of DNAPL distributions in the source zones thus is essential. We present here the conceptual framework and preliminary results of a technology that delineates DNAPL source zones in three-dimensions without extensive invasive sampling. This new technology based on the stochastic fusion of information methodology, assimilates results of hydraulic, conservative, and partitioning tracer tomography surveys to derive the best estimate of the DNAPL residual distribution and its uncertainty. Specifically, it first analyzes the information derived from hydraulic tomography to identify the three-dimensional hydraulic heterogeneity of the aquifer. It then improves the estimate of the heterogeneity by incorporating new information acquired from the conservative tracer tomography. Afterward, the improved estimate of heterogeneity is used to simulate the hydraulic tomography such that more detailed information about the response of the subsurface becomes available. This new information again is fed back to the technique to update the estimate of the heterogeneity. The iterative process continues until the available information and measurements are fully utilized to identify the heterogeneity that controls the spatial distribution of DNAPLs. The newly derived knowledge of heterogeneity is then used to design partitioning tracer tomography tests to accurately depict the spatial distribution of DNAPL residual saturation in the source zone. The proposed techniques are being tested and validated through numerical experiments and two sandboxes.
DE: 3210 Modeling
DE: 3260 Inverse theory
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1869 Stochastic processes
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting