Mechanistic Relationships for Physical Nonequilibrium Phenomena in Vadose Zone Transport

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9309050 Mayer This is an award to support research, the objective of which is to formulate and validate mechanistic relationships for physical nonequilibrium movement of contaminants in groundwater as a function of the physical properties of the media through which flow occurs in the unsaturated zone above the water table. The project involves experiments with four different porous media derived from a silica sand obtained from Michigan's Keweenaw peninsula containing little or no organic matter and exhibiting little or no micro-porosity. The sand will be separated into four fractions based on particle sizing to obtain the requisite variations in pore-size characteristics necessary to validate the mathematical models of flow. The proposal leading to this award was submitted in response to NSF 92-122, Research Initiation Awards Program Announcement and Guidelines. Results are expected to improve the predictive capabilities for transport of solutes in the unsaturated zone. This in turn is expected to provide improvement in the ability to predict the movement characteristics of groundwater pollutants and contaminants for potential use in engineering design of remediation systems for groundwater polluted by seepage from ponds, surface and subsurface storage tanks and landfills.