Analysis of partitioning interwell tracer tests
Partitioning interwell tracer tests (PITTs) have emerged as a useful tool in characterizing the volume of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in contaminated aquifers. More than 40 PITTs have been conducted in various NAPL-contaminated sites for both initial estimation of NAPL volume and postremediation performance assessment of various cleanup technologies. An effective interpretation of PITT results requires an accurate determination of the confidence limits of the volume of NAPL estimated from PITT data. This necessitates a description of the various errors, both systematic and random, associated with the measurement and analysis of PITT data. In this paper, an approach for performing this error analysis for both vadose-zone and saturated-zone PITTs is presented. This approach is based upon identifying the various sources of errors in both the measurement of PITT data and the errors from the data analysis using the method of temporal moments. Results are illustrated using the data from several soil column studies and two field PITTs, one saturated and one unsaturated.
- Research Organization:
- Duke Engineering and Services, Austin, TX (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20000710
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science and Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 33; ISSN ESTHAG; ISSN 0013-936X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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