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Frederick J. Tenbus

Publications and source records attributed to Frederick J. Tenbus.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2005

Design and analysis of a natural-gradient ground-water tracer test in a freshwater tidal wetland, West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

A natural-gradient ground-water tracer test was designed and conducted in a tidal freshwater wetland at West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The objectives of the test were to characterize solute transport at the site, obtain data to more accurately determine the ground-water velocity in the upper wetland sediments, and to compare a conservative, ionic tracer (bromide) to a volatile tracer (sulfur hexafluoride) to ascertain whether volatilization could be an important process in attenuating volatile organic compounds in the ground water. The tracer test was conducted within the upper peat unit of a layer of wetland sediments that also includes a lower clayey unit; the combined layer overlies an aquifer. The area selected for the test was thought to have an above-average rate of ground-water discharge based on ground-water head distributions and near-surface detections of volatile organic compounds measured in previous studies. Because ground-water velocities in the wetland sediments were expected to be slow compared to the underlying aquifer, the test was designed to be conducted on a small scale. Ninety-seven ?-inch-diameter inverted-screen stainless-steel piezometers were installed in a cylindrical array within approximately 25 cubic feet (2.3 cubic meters) of wetland sediments, in an area with a vertically upward hydraulic gradient. Fluorescein dye was used to qualitatively evaluate the hydrologic integrity of the tracer array before the start of the tracer test, including verifying the absence of hydraulic short-circuiting due to nonnatural vertical conduits potentially created during piezometer installation. Bromide and sulfur hexafluoride tracers (0.139 liter of solution containing 100,000 milligrams per liter of bromide ion and 23.3 milligrams per liter of sulfur hexafluoride) were co-injected and monitored to generate a dataset that could be used to evaluate solute transport in three dimensions. Piezometers were sampled 2 to 15 times each, from July 1998 through September 1999, to assess background conditions and monitor tracer movement. During the test, 644 samples were analyzed for fluorescein, 617 samples were analyzed for bromide with an ion-selective electrode, 213 samples were analyzed for bromide with colorimetric methods, and 603 samples were analyzed for sulfur hexafluoride, including samples collected prior to tracer injection to determine background concentrations. Additional samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (96 samples) and methane (37 samples) to determine the distribution of these contaminants and the extent of methanogenic conditions within the tracer array; however, these data were not used for the analysis of the test. During the tracer test, the fluorescein dye, bromide, and sulfur hexafluoride were transported predominantly in the upward direction, although all three tracers also moved outward in all directions from the injection point, and it is likely that some tracer mass moved beyond the lateral edges of the array. An analysis of the tracer-test data was performed through the use of breakthrough curves and isoconcentration contour plots. Results show that movement of the fluorescein dye, a non-conservative tracer, was retarded compared to the other two tracers, likely as a result of sorption onto the wetland sediments. Suspected loss of tracer mass along the lateral edges of the array prevented a straightforward quantitative analysis of tracer transport and ground-water velocity from the bromide and sulfur-hexafluoride data. In addition, the initial density of the bromide/sulfur hexafluoride solution (calculated to be 1.097 grams per milli2 Ground-Water Tracer Test, West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD liter) could have caused the solution to sink below the injection point before undergoing dilution and moving back up into the array. For these reasons, the data analysis in this report was performed largely through qualitative method

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2003

Lithologic coring in the lower Anacostia tidal watershed, Washington, D.C., July 2002

Little is known about the volumetric flux of ground water to the lower tidal Anacostia River, or whether ground-water flow is an important component of the contaminant load in this part of the Anacostia River. The watershed is in the eastern part of Washington, D.C., and has been subjected to over 200 years of urbanization and modifications of the river channel and nearby land areas. These anthropogenic factors, along with tidal fluctuations in the river, make ground-water data collection and interpretations difficult. The U.S. Geological Survey is cooperating with the District of Columbia Department of Health, Environmental Health Administration, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, in a study to assess nonpoint-source pollution from ground water into the lower tidal Anacostia River. Lithologic cores from drilling activities conducted during July 2002 in the study area have been interpreted in the context of geologic and hydrogeologic information from previous studies in the lower Anacostia tidal watershed. These interpretations can help achieve the overall project goals of characterizing ground-water flow and contaminant load in the study area. Hydrostratigraphic units encountered during drilling generally consisted of late Pleistocene to Holocene fluvial deposits overlying Cretaceous fluvial/deltaic deposits. Cores collected in Beaverdam Creek and the Anacostia River indicated high- and low-energy environments of deposition, respectively. Two cores collected near the river showed different types of anthropogenic fill underlain by low-energy deposits, which were in turn underlain by sand and gravel. A third core collected near the river consisted primarily of sand and gravel with no artificial fill.

Washington DC↗
USGS2001

Simulation of ground-water flow and transport of chlorinated hydrocarbons at Graces Quarters, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Military activity at Graces Quarters, a former open-air chemical-agent facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, has resulted in ground-water contamination by chlorinated hydrocarbons. As part of a ground-water remediation feasibility study, a three-dimensional model was constructed to simulate transport of four chlorinated hydrocarbons (1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform) that are components of a contaminant plume in the surficial and middle aquifers underlying the east-central part of Graces Quarters. The model was calibrated to steady-state hydraulic head at 58 observation wells and to the concentration of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane in 58 observation wells and 101direct-push probe samples from the mid-1990s. Simulations using the same basic model with minor adjustments were then run for each of the other plume constituents. The error statistics between the simulated and measured concentrations of each of the constituents compared favorably to the error statisticst,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane calibration. Model simulations were used in conjunction with contaminant concentration data to examine the sources and degradation of the plume constituents. It was determined from this that mixed contaminant sources with no ambient degradation was the best approach for simulating multi-species solute transport at the site. Forward simulations were run to show potential solute transport 30 years and 100 years into the future with and without source removal. Although forward simulations are subject to uncertainty, they can be useful for illustrating various aspects of the conceptual model and its implementation. The forward simulation with no source removal indicates that contaminants would spread throughout various parts of the surficial and middle aquifers, with the100-year simulation showing potential discharge areas in either the marshes at the end of the Graces Quarters peninsula or just offshore in the estuaries. The simulation with source removal indicates that if the modeling assumptions are reasonable and ground-water cleanup within30 years is important, source removal alone is not a sufficient remedy, and cleanup might not even occur within 100 years.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2000

Hydrogeology and simulation of ground-water flow at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware

Dover Air Force Base in Kent County, Delaware, has many contaminated sites that are in active remediation. To assist in this remediation, a steady-state model of ground-water flow was developed to aid in understanding the hydrology of the system, and for use as a ground-watermanagement tool. This report describes the hydrology on which the model is based, a description of the model itself, and some applications of the model.Dover Air Force Base is underlain by unconsolidated sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The primary units that were investigated include the upper Calvert Formation and the overlying Columbia Formation. The uppermost sand unit in the Calvert Formation at Dover Air Force Base is the Frederica aquifer, which is the deepest unit investigated in this report. A confining unit of clayey silt in the upper Calvert Formation separates the Frederica aquifer from the lower surficial aquifer, which is the basal Columbia Formation. North and northwest of Dover Air Force Base, the Frederica aquifer subcrops beneath the Columbia Formation and the upper Calvert Formation confining unit is absent. The Calvert Formation dips to the southeast. The Columbia Formation consists predominately of sands, silts, and gravels, although in places there are clay layers that separate the surficial aquifer into an upper and lower surficial aquifer. The areal extent of these clay layers has been mapped by use of gamma logs. Long-term hydrographs reveal substantial changes in both seasonal and annual ground-water recharge. These variations in recharge are related to temporal changes in evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation. The hydrographs show areas where extensive silts and clays are present in the surficial aquifer. In these areas, the vertical gradient between water levels in wells screened above and below the clays can be as large as several feet, and local ground-water highs typically form during normal recharge conditions. When drought conditions persist, water drains off these highs and the vertical gradients decrease. At the south end of Dover Air Force Base, hydrographs of water levels in the Frederica aquifer show that off-Base pumping can cause the water levels to decline below sea level during part of the year.A 4-layer, steady-state numerical model of ground-water flow was developed for Dover Air Force Base and the surrounding area. The upper two layers represent the upper and lower surficial aquifers, which are in the Columbia Formation. In some areas of the model, a semi-confining unit is used to represent an intermittent clay layer between the upper and lower surficial aquifer. This semi-confining unit causes the local groundwater highs in the surficial aquifer. The third model layer represents the upper part of the Calvert Formation, a confining unit. The fourth model layer represents the Frederica aquifer. The model was calibrated to hydraulic heads and to ground-water discharge in Pipe Elm Branch, both of which were measured in September 1997. For the calibrated model, the root-mean-squared errors for the hydraulic heads and the ground-water discharge in the Pipe Elm Branch were 9 percent of the range of head and 3 percent of discharge, respectively. Heads simulated by use of the model were consistent with a map showing average water levels in the region. The U.S. Geological Survey?s MODPATH program was used to simulate ground-water-flow directions for several areas on the Base. This analysis showed the effects of the local groundwater highs. In these areas, ground water can flow from the highs and then dramatically change flow direction as it enters the lower surficial aquifer. The steady-state model has several limitations. The entire ground-water system is under transient hydraulic conditions, due mainly to seasonal and yearly changes in recharge and to withdrawal from irrigation wells. Yet this steady-state model is still considered to be an effective tool for understanding the ground-water-flow system u

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗