Numerical Speadsheet Modeling of Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Contaminant Plumes

摘要

Predictive modeling is an important part of evaluating natural attenuation for groundwater contaminant plume remediation. This paper presents a numerical groundwater contaminant fate and transport model that was developed within a spreadsheet program for this purpose. The model accounts for site heterogeneity and multiple degradation regions, offering flexibility and ease of application. A two dimensional finite difference approach integrated with a fourth order Runge-Kutta method for numerical solution was used as the mathematical foundation. The model was used to evaluate natural attenuation for removal of a trichloroethylene (TCE) plume from a surficial aquifer containing three regions with distinctly different processes for degradation of TCE. Model simulations were used to predict how far the TCE plume would migrate within the aquifer. Based on model results natural attenuation was judged to be sufficient to prevent migration to a potential receptor of the TCE plume.