ABSTRACT
Because of the difficulties posed by both the nature of contaminant migration and ground water flow in karst settings, appropriate remediation of ground water will be largely determined by accurate characterization of ground water flow and contaminant distribution. Unfortunately, typical karst investigative techniques, such as tracer studies and shallow geophysical techniques, identify flow pathlines representative of dissolved solute transport. In addition, these traditional tools of the karst investigator often lend inconclusive results. Identification of travel pathlines of non-aqueous phase contaminant constituents within the subsurface is difficult if not impossible in the karst setting. Because successful implementation of ground water remediation cannot be achieved without a full understanding of dissolved and non-aqueous phase transport mechanisms, the hydrogeologist must rely on developing a site conceptual model based on interpretation of field data. Investigative techniques for predicting the probable location of both light- and dense-non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL and DNAPL) in the flow continuum of karst aquifers are presented in this paper within the framework of ground water remediation options.
