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Title: Groundwater contamination studies - The state-of-the-art

Journal Article · · CRC Critical Reviews in Environmental Control; (United States)
; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

A systematic study was made of the available theoretical and experimental works. The study of groundwater flow and contaminant transport requires knowledge of many of the basic principles of geology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics; there is a close kinship between groundwater hydrology, soil physics, soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and petroleum engineering. These interdisciplinary studies can be broadly categorized as theory and development of solute-transport phenomena, modeling of solute transport, and studies on model parameters. There are a number of important areas which need further research to predict the fate and the behavior of contaminants in the subsurface system, including: (1) additional work to derive field-scale models; (2) correlation between field and laboratory values of input parameters for solute transport models; (3) continued investigation of the geochemistry of contaminant reactions in both saturated and unsaturated subsurface environments; (4) further study of the chemical and biological reaction on the permeability of aquifer materials; (5) systematic comparison of all existing models and the advanced solution techniques; (6) development of an efficient model including all the biological processes; (7) better understanding of reaction rates in the subsurface environment. The necessity of interdisciplinary cooperation among investigators is essential for the future advancements in the ability to deal with groundwater contamination problems.

OSTI ID:
7064432
Journal Information:
CRC Critical Reviews in Environmental Control; (United States), Vol. 20:4; ISSN 0007-8999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English