Investigating the geoelectrical response of hydrocarbon contamination undergoing biodegradation

Werkema, D. Dale; Atekwana, Estella A.; Endres, Anthony L.; Sauck, William A.; Cassidy, Daniel P.

doi:10.1029/2003gl017346

Cited by 79 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…9b. We use a field example from an old oil refinery in Carson City, Michigan, USA to demonstrate the effectiveness of vertical geophysical profiling of microbial alteration of LNAPL at contaminated sites (Atekwana et al 2000;2004a, b, c;Werkema et al 2003). Over a 50 year period, continuous hydrocarbon releases (mostly JP4 jet fuel and diesel) from storage facilities and pipelines resulted in the seepage of petroleum hydrocarbons into the subsurface which contaminated soil and groundwater.…”

Section: Application Of Downhole Geophysical Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The smear zone can be several metres in thickness depending on the initial thickness of the free phase LNAPL and the extent of seasonal water table fluctuations. In one study, the smear zone was estimated at *120-cm thick for a free phase LNAPL thickness of *30 cm (Werkema et al 2003). Smearing also produces complexities in the LNAPL distribution causing changes in the saturation and concentration and resulting in isolated tongues or disaggregated blobs of free phase LNAPL.…”

Section: Factors Governing the Detection Of Subsurface Lnapl Contaminmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past two decades, geophysical techniques have been employed at several LNAPL contaminated sites to characterize both the spatial (e.g., Benson and Stubben 1995;Bermejo et al 1997;Sauck et al 1998;Atekwana et al 2000;2004a;Osella et al 2002;Werkema et al 2003;Tezkan et al 2005;Abdel Aal et al 2006;Sogade et al 2006;Bradford 2007;Cassidy 2007) and temporal (e.g., Lopes de Castro and Branco 2003;Che-Alota et al 2009) extent to understand the evolution of the contamination in the subsurface. Many of these geophysical studies have provided valuable insights into the behavior of LNAPL contamination; however, the results remain mixed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geophysical Signatures of Microbial Activity at Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sites: A Review

Atekwana

2009

Surv Geophys

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141

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Microorganisms participate in a variety of geologic processes that alter the chemical and physical properties of their environment. Understanding the geophysical signatures of microbial activity in the environment has resulted in the development of a new sub-discipline in geophysics called ''biogeophysics''. This review focuses primarily on literature pertaining to biogeophysical signatures of sites contaminated by light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL), as these sites provide ideal laboratories for investigating microbialgeophysical relationships. We discuss the spatial distribution and partitioning of LNAPL into different phases because the physical, chemical, and biological alteration of LNAPL and the subsequent impact to the contaminated environment is in large part due to its distribution. We examine the geophysical responses at contaminated sites over short time frames of weeks to several years when the alteration of the LNAPL by microbial activity has not occurred to a significant extent, and over the long-term of several years to decades, when significant microbial degradation of the LNAPL has occurred. A review of the literature suggests that microbial processes profoundly alter the contaminated environment causing marked changes in the petrophysical properties, mineralogy, solute concentration of pore fluids, and temperature. A variety of geophysical techniques such as electrical resistivity, induced polarization, electromagnetic induction, ground penetrating radar, and self potential are capable of defining the contaminated zones because of the new physical properties imparted by microbial processes. The changes in the physical properties of the contaminated environment vary spatially because microbial processes are controlled by the spatial distribution of the contaminant. Geophysical studies must consider the spatial variations in the physical properties during survey design, data analysis, and interpretation. Geophysical data interpretation from surveys conducted at LNAPL-contaminated sites without a microbial and geochemical context may lead to ambiguous conclusions.

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Section: Application Of Downhole Geophysical Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Factors Governing the Detection Of Subsurface Lnapl Contaminmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geophysical Signatures of Microbial Activity at Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sites: A Review

Atekwana

2009

Surv Geophys

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141

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“…Well 1 and Well 2, which are located on the west side of TC also had higher specific conductance (507 ± 94 µS cm ) on the east side (Table 1). Groundwater specific conductance can be influenced (increase) by the biodegradation of fuel products (Bermejo et al, 1997;Werkema Jr. et al, 2003). Soil microorganisms lower the redox potential of groundwater when a contaminant plume is oxidized, and electron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, and iron (Fe 3+ ) are depleted (Takahata et al 2006;Gomez et al 2009).…”

Section: Groundwater Biochemical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Health Threats Associated with Drainage from a Coastal Urban Watershed

Humphrey¹,

Blackmon²,

Kelley³

et al. 2018

ENRR

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The project goal was to determine if stormwater runoff and the legacy effects of leaking underground storage tanks (UST) posed an environmental health threat along an urban stream, Town Creek (TC). Baseflow and stormflow samples were collected from TC between March and October 2016 for physical and chemical characterization and E. coli analyses. Groundwater seeps and wells near the banks of TC were also sampled for E. coli and benzene analyses. Stormflow concentrations of E. coli were significantly (p < 0.05) elevated relative to preceding baseflow and groundwater concentrations. Overall, 80% of stormflow samples and 45% of baseflow samples exceeded the US EPA recommended standards for E. coli in recreational waters. Benzene was detected in all water samples analyzed and 50% of samples collected from a seep on the western bank of TC exceeded the maximum contaminant level. Concentrations of benzene emitted to air from contaminated soil exceeded short term exposure standards 75% of times sampled. Results suggest the drainage from TC may be a threat to environmental health. Implementation of stormwater control measures is suggested to reduce the delivery of runoff and E. coli to TC. Remediation of groundwater contaminated by leaking underground storage tanks is also suggested.

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“…Os resultados obtidos corroboram o modelo geoelétrico condutivo de pluma de LNAPLs (light non-aqueous phase liquids ) desenvolvido por Sauck (2000), sendo apoiado por diversos estudos em laboratório e em campo (Atekwana et al, 2000(Atekwana et al, , 2001(Atekwana et al, , 2004a(Atekwana et al, , 2004bCassidy et al, 2001;Legall, 2002;Werkema Jr, 2002;Abdel Aal et al, 2003, 2006Shevnin et al, 2003Shevnin et al, , 2006Werkema Jr et al, 2003, 2006Davis et al, 2006), tendo sido possível verificar correlação entre as anomalias geofísicas condutivas e asáreas impactadas por hidrocarboneto.…”

Section: Discussão Dos Resultadosunclassified

Imageamento Elétrico 3D em área contaminada por hidrocarbonetono polo industrial de Cubatão - SP

Baessa¹,

Oliva²,

Kiang³

2010

Rev. Bras. Geof.

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ABSTRACT. This work presents the results of geophysical surveys performed over an oil contaminated site in the Polo Industrial de Cubatão -São Paulo. The aim is to characterize geoelectrical signatures associated to hydrocarbon presence in order to delimit and calculate the volume of the contaminated area. For this study were used Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and 3D Electrical Imaging for characterization of geology and geoelectrical response of the contaminant. The results showed that the hydrocarbon presence is associated to conductive anomalies due to products from biodegradation. The conductive anomalies are disseminated over the area, totalizing 1365.3 m 3 volume. This volume, however, corresponds only to the residual phase contaminants, since it was not possible to map free-phase hydrocarbons.Keywords: applied geophysics, 3D Electrical Imaging, hydrocarbon biodegradation, conductive anomalies. RESUMO. Este trabalho mostra os resultados obtidos com ensaios geofísicos realizados em umaárea contaminada por hidrocarboneto no Polo Industrial de Cubatão-São Paulo, com objetivo de caracterizar as anomalias geoelétricas associadasà presença dos hidrocarbonetos, bem como delimitar e cubar tais anomalias. Para tanto, utilizou-se o método da eletrorresistividade, por meio das técnicas de Sondagem Elétrica Vertical (SEV) e Imageamento Elétrico 3D. Os resultados obtidos permitem indicar que a presença de hidrocarboneto está associada a anomalias condutivas devido aos produtos da biodegradação. As anomalias condutivas ocorrem de forma disseminada naárea, totalizando um volume de 1365,3 m 3 ; entretanto, este volume corresponde somenteà presença de contaminante em fase residual.Palavras-chave: geofísica aplicada, Imageamento Elétrico 3D, biodegradação de hidrocarbonetos, anomalias condutivas.

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Investigating the geoelectrical response of hydrocarbon contamination undergoing biodegradation

Cited by 79 publications

References 13 publications

Geophysical Signatures of Microbial Activity at Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sites: A Review

Geophysical Signatures of Microbial Activity at Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sites: A Review

Environmental Health Threats Associated with Drainage from a Coastal Urban Watershed

Imageamento Elétrico 3D em área contaminada por hidrocarbonetono polo industrial de Cubatão - SP

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