Simple techniques for estimating the AGE of groundwater contamination

摘要

Pollution is dynamic. The instant a contaminant enters the environment, it begins to change both chemically and physically. In an aquifer, the processes responsible for this change, the contaminant fate and transport mechanisms, include advection, diffusion, volatilization precipitation/dissolution, sorption, and chemical and biological reactions. Scientists and engineers are understandable enticed by the challenge of predicting the interactions between these processes. The desktop computer has made it possible for anyone with a basic understanding of hydrogeology to use complex mathematical models to predict how these variables might influence the future distribution of chemicals released into the groundwater. Indeed, many environmental consultants now use computer models as a routine component of nearly every project involving groundwater contamination. But is this always an appropriate problem-solving technique?