Geology topics

A.J. Valocchi

Publications and source records attributed to A.J. Valocchi.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2005

Estimating Transmissivity from the Water Level Fluctuations of a Sinusoidally Forced Well

The water levels in wells are known to fluctuate in response to earth tides and changes in atmospheric pressure. These water level fluctuations can be analyzed to estimate transmissivity (T). A new method to estimate transmissivity, which assumes that the atmospheric pressure varies in a sinusoidal fashion, is presented. Data analysis for this simplified method involves using a set of type curves and estimating the ratio of the amplitudes of the well response over the atmospheric pressure. Type curves for this new method were generated based on a model for ground water flow between the well and aquifer developed by Cooper et al. (1965). Data analysis with this method confirmed these published results: (1) the amplitude ratio is a function of transmissivity, the well radius, and the frequency of the sinusoidal oscillation; and (2) the amplitude ratio is a weak function of storativity. Compared to other methods, the developed method involves simpler, more intuitive data analysis and allows shorter data sets to be analyzed. The effect of noise on estimating the amplitude ratio was evaluated and found to be more significant at lower T. For aquifers with low T, noise was shown to mask the water level fluctuations induced by atmospheric pressure changes. In addition, reducing the length of the data series did not affect the estimate of T, but the variance of the estimate was higher for the shorter series of noisy data.

Groundwater↗

USGS2004

Evaluation of multidimensional transport through a field-scale compacted soil liner

A field-scale compacted soil liner was constructed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Illinois State Geological Survey in 1988 to investigate chemical transport rates through low permeability compacted clay liners (CCLs). Four tracers (bromide and three benzoic acid tracers) were each added to one of four large ring infiltrometers (LRIs) while tritium was added to the pond water (excluding the infiltrometers). Results from the long-term transport of Br - "> Br - from the localized source zone of LRI are presented in this paper. Core samples were taken radially outward from the center of the Br - "> Br - LRI and concentration depth profiles were obtained. Transport properties were evaluated using an axially symmetric transport model. Results indicate that (1) transport was diffusion controlled; (2) transport due to advection was negligible and well within the regulatory limits of k sat ⩽ 1 × 10 - 7 cm / s ; "> k sat ⩽ 1 × 10 − 7 cm / s; (3) diffusion rates in the horizontal and vertical directions were the same; and (4) small positioning errors due to compression during soil sampling did not affect the best fit advection and diffusion values. The best-fit diffusion coefficient for bromide was equal to the molecular diffusion coefficient multiplied by a tortuosity factor of 0.27, which is within 8% of the tortuosity factor (0.25) found in a related study where tritium transport through the same liner was evaluated. This suggests that the governing mechanisms for the transport of tritium and bromide through the CCL were similar. These results are significant because they address transport through a composite liner from a localized source zone which occurs when defects or punctures in the geomembrane of a composite system are present.

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engin↗

USGS2002

Long-term tritium transport through field-scale compacted soil liner

A 13-year study of tritium transport through a field-scale earthen liner was conducted by the Illinois State Geological Survey to determine the long-term performance of compacted soil liners in limiting chemical transport. Two field-sampling procedures (pressure-vacuum lysimeter and core sampling) were used to determine the vertical tritium concentration profiles at different times and locations within the liner. Profiles determined by the two methods were similar and consistent. Analyses of the concentration profiles showed that the tritium concentration was relatively uniformly distributed horizontally at each sampling depth within the liner and thus there was no apparent preferential transport. A simple one-dimensional analytical solution to the advective-dispersive solute transport equation was used to model tritium transport through the liner. Modeling results showed that diffusion was the dominant contaminant transport mechanism. The measured tritium concentration profiles were accurately modeled with an effective diffusion coefficient of 6 ?? 10-4 mm2/s, which is in the middle of the range of values reported in the literature.

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engin↗