Soil remediation and dynamics hydraulic properties

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The remediation of contaminated lands is a complex and highly challenging scientific problem. Contaminates in soils not only pose a direct threat to the plants, animal, and humans that are in contact with them, but also are a serious and persistent source of contamination for groundwaters. There is a real and pressing need for us to better understand the fate and persistence of contaminants in soils and groundwaters. One of the complicating issues and limitations to our ability to predict the behavior of soil contaminants is that the rate water flows through the soil and the amount of water stored in the soil can change over time due to the presence of the contaminants themselves and their effects on soil properties. This research will advance our knowledge of those relationships and provide the foundation to better predict the risks and threats associated with our soil and groundwater resources. This research will be conducted as a combination of systematic highly instrumented laboratory experiments targeting the linkage and feedback between contaminants and water flow in soils and the development of new mathematical expressions and models to better predict the behaviors. Ultimately this research will lay the foundation for improved soil remediation practices and potentially new remediation methods to reclaim contaminated lands and protect groundwater resources. The eight students (undergraduates, Master's, and PhD) trained in this research program will have advanced knowledge of soil and groundwater contamination and will find employment in Canada's environmental sector which has demands for highly qualified personnel which substantially exceed the supply.