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Simulation of a reactive tracer experiment using stochastic hydraulic conductivity fields

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Reactive tracer tests are performed to derive flow, transport and in situ biodegradation parameters. This paper describes the 3D simulation of a reactive tracer test using the transition probability geostatistical approach. Fifty different equally probable aquifer realizations were generated based on the geological information of 107 boreholes in an area of 62,500 m2. One realization was chosen for the reactive transport simulation based on the results of groundwater flow modeling and on particle tracking calculations for the site. Field velocities at the site vary between 0.4 and 3 m/d. The transport of the reactive tracers deuterium ring labeled toluene-d5 and fully deuterated toluene-d8 was simulated and first-order biodegradation rates of 0.017 d−1 for toluene-d5 and 0.012 d−1 for toluene-d8 were determined.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our co-workers from the RETZINA Project team for their excellent co-operation. We are grateful for the funding of the RETZINA Project by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under reference numbers 02WT0040, 02WT0041 and 02WT0042. Additional funding for the project has been provided through the SAFIRA I (Remediation research in regionally contaminated aquifers) Project of the UFZ. We thank Holger Weiß (UFZ) for supporting the tracer test. We thank Olaf Böhme (GFE-Consult GmbH, Halle, Germany) and Ralf Trabitzsch (UFZ) for the site management. We thank Jasmine Rutherford (URS Corporation) for reviewing the manuscript. Product names are only mentioned for identification purposes.

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Author notes

  1. Stefan Gödeke

    Present address: URS Australia Pty Ltd, 20 Terrace Rd, East Perth, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Groundwater Remediation, UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Stefan Gödeke

  2. Department of Soil Physics, UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Helmut Geistlinger

  3. Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Anko Fischer & Hans-Hermann Richnow

  4. Department of Hydrogeology, UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Mario Schirmer

Authors
  1. Stefan Gödeke
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  2. Helmut Geistlinger
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  3. Anko Fischer
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  4. Hans-Hermann Richnow
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  5. Mario Schirmer
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Correspondence to Mario Schirmer.

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Gödeke, S., Geistlinger, H., Fischer, A. et al. Simulation of a reactive tracer experiment using stochastic hydraulic conductivity fields. Environ Geol 55, 1255–1261 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1073-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1073-3

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