INVESTIGATING THE SPECTRAL INDUCED POLARIZATION RESPONSE OF A CRUDE OIL SPILL SITE UNDERGOING INTRINSIC BIOREMEDIATION

摘要

The spectral induced polarization (SIP) technique holds great promise for detecting oil contaminated sites due to its sensitivity to physicochemical processes occurring during intrinsic bioremediation. Many studies have investigated the SIP response due to oil contamination; however, the mechanisms resulting in the SIP response resulting from oil contamination are not completely understood. An oil spill at Bemidji, MN occurred in 1979, when a high pressure crude oil pipeline ruptured, releasing 1,700,000 L of oil. Oil pooled in low lying areas forming two main pools; the North and the South Pool and now, this spill is undergoing intrinsic bioremediation. In this study, we acquired SIP data in the frequency range between 0.001 and 1000 Hz on cores retrieved from two locations within the North Pool. One core was retrieved from the free phase plume and the other was retrieved from the dissolved phase.