Ground water modeling of mise-a-la-masse delineation of contaminated ground water plumes

Abstract Finite-difference simulations of mise-a-la-masse electrical flow through conductive contaminant plumes show that the approximate dimensions of a plume and the approximate location of its center of mass can be derived from the resulting electrical potential fields. Contaminant plumes that exhibit `Gaussian' (statistically normal) concentration distributions form trending heterogeneities with respect to electrical conductivity. These plumes are relatively poor conductors with electrical conductivity decreasing continuously with distance outward from the contaminant source in the directions of plume migration. Thus, electrical flow from a single, current electrode placed in the source of a contaminant plume refracts continuously with distance from the source as the current flows preferentially through the plume. Changes in the electrical potential field that occur at the land surface due to the presence of an evolving plume can be used to monitor the growth of the plume.

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