Analytical Modeling of Contaminant Transport through Vadose and Saturated Soil Zones
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 10
Abstract
Screening level analyses for risk-based corrective actions and preliminary remediation investigations and feasibility studies for contaminated sites require simple and conservative models for the transport of contaminants to potential receptor locations. A quasi-analytical method is presented to analyze the transport of contaminants originating at a source located near the ground surface separated from the water table by a relatively thick vadose zone. The method includes one segment to compute source decay rate, a second to simulate vertical transport through the vadose zone, and a third to simulate saturated zone transport to the receptor. Practical application of the method is demonstrated by an illustrative example. The method may be useful and convenient for situations where the objectives of the analysis do not warrant the use of sophisticated numerical models.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 126 • Issue 10 • October 2000
Pages: 773 - 777
History
Received: Jan 20, 1999
Published online: Oct 1, 2000
Published in print: Oct 2000
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