Course Overview
Major sources of groundwater contaminants and their flow in groundwater will be examined. Topics will include: terminology, water quality, chemical constituents of groundwater, natural chemical evolution of groundwater, instrumentation, LNAPLs and DNAPLs, transport mechanisms, measurement of parameters, sources of contamination, and an introduction to solutions employing analytical and numerical methods.
- Not offered this term
- This course is not offered this term. Notify me to receive email notifications when the course opens for registration next term.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Develop groundwater maps using trilinear diagrams and Stiff diagrams to display groundwater composition, based on important geochemical processes that pertain to contaminant fate.
- Conclude how saturation indices affect contaminant movement and how charge balance error impacts laboratory analysis.
- Differentiate between chemical and biotransformation reactions of organic chemicals by considering important chemical properties and how they affect the transport of contaminants in the subsurface.
- Discuss how partitioning affects the movement of organic solutes in the aqueous system.
- Differentiate between point and non-point sources of contaminant loading.
- Differentiate between reactive and non-reactive contaminants.
- Outline the main properties of Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLS) and how their transport and fate is controlled in the subsurface.
- Solve problems to determine the amount of contaminant mass contained in the subsurface.
- Outline how Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL) transport and fate is controlled in the subsurface in comparison with LNAPLS.
- Illustrate how capillary forces and wetability affect NAPL mobilization.
- Solve problems using simple one-dimensional mass transport equations.
Effective as of Fall 2009
Programs and courses are subject to change without notice. Find out more about BCIT course cancellations.