Contaminant Fate and Transport Studies in Fractured Sedimentary Rock Aquifers at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J. Active
Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
Contaminants associated with industrial, airport, and other activities are present in groundwater in fractured-rock aquifers, posing long-term hazards to drinking-water supplies and ecosystems. The heterogeneous character of fractured rock challenges our understanding, monitoring, and remediation of such sites.
Since 1993, USGS has been providing technical assistance to the U.S. Navy and conducting research at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, N.J., where trichloroethene (TCE) has migrated in fractures and diffused into, and adsorbed onto, low-permeability mudstone strata, acting as a long-term residual source of contaminants. These studies have helped the Navy efficiently monitor the ongoing natural attenuation of TCE and improve the pump and treat system to remove contaminants and contain impacted groundwater.
Current investigations are focused on understanding flow and transport processes affecting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fractured-rock aquifers.
Research results include development of field methods to measure rates and coefficients associated with desorption, reaction, and diffusion of TCE and its degradation products in low-permeability strata (read more). In addition to research by USGS hydrologists, geochemists, and microbiologists, a broad range of studies on characterization, monitoring, and remediation of TCE in fractured rock have been conducted in collaboration with EPA, SERDP and ESTCP, academia, and private industry.
Background information and results prior to 2018 are provided in our Archive.
Related Science
A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
NAWC data and tools
Reported groundwater levels and groundwater pump-and-treat withdrawal volumes, former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are USGS publications associated with this project.
Bibliography at Environmental Health Mission Area
Porosity and pore size distribution in a sedimentary rock: Implications for the distribution of chlorinated solvents
Acetylene fuels TCE reductive dechlorination by defined Dehalococcoides/Pelobacter consortia
A fractured rock geophysical toolbox method selection tool
Imaging pathways in fractured rock using three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography
High-resolution delineation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in a dipping, fractured mudstone: depth- and strata-dependent spatial variability from rock-core sampling
Transmissivity and storage coefficient estimates from slug tests, Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Integration of stable carbon isotope, microbial community, dissolved hydrogen gas, and 2HH2O tracer data to assess bioaugmentation for chlorinated ethene degradation in fractured rocks
A biogeochemical and genetic survey of acetylene fermentation by environmental samples and bacterial isolates
Threshold amounts of organic carbon needed to initiate reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems
Microbial mineralization of cis-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride as a component of natural attenuation of chloroethene contaminants under conditions identified in the field as anoxic
Estimated trichloroethene transformation rates due to naturally occurring biodegradation in a fractured-rock aquifer
Enhanced dichloroethene biodegradation in fractured rock under biostimulated and bioaugmented conditions
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
Contaminants associated with industrial, airport, and other activities are present in groundwater in fractured-rock aquifers, posing long-term hazards to drinking-water supplies and ecosystems. The heterogeneous character of fractured rock challenges our understanding, monitoring, and remediation of such sites.
Since 1993, USGS has been providing technical assistance to the U.S. Navy and conducting research at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, N.J., where trichloroethene (TCE) has migrated in fractures and diffused into, and adsorbed onto, low-permeability mudstone strata, acting as a long-term residual source of contaminants. These studies have helped the Navy efficiently monitor the ongoing natural attenuation of TCE and improve the pump and treat system to remove contaminants and contain impacted groundwater.
Current investigations are focused on understanding flow and transport processes affecting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fractured-rock aquifers.
Research results include development of field methods to measure rates and coefficients associated with desorption, reaction, and diffusion of TCE and its degradation products in low-permeability strata (read more). In addition to research by USGS hydrologists, geochemists, and microbiologists, a broad range of studies on characterization, monitoring, and remediation of TCE in fractured rock have been conducted in collaboration with EPA, SERDP and ESTCP, academia, and private industry.
Background information and results prior to 2018 are provided in our Archive.
- Science
Related Science
A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program project ER-2533 In chlorinated-solvent-contaminated fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifers, low-permeability (low-K) strata typically act as long-term or secondary sources of contamination to mobile groundwater in the high-permeability fractures. The fate of dissolved trichloroethene (TCE) in the low-K matrix is controlled by abiotic... - Data
NAWC data and tools
Reported groundwater levels and groundwater pump-and-treat withdrawal volumes, former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018
This dataset contains U.S. Navy contractor-reported groundwater level data measured on June 18, 2018 and reported daily total groundwater pump-and-treat withdrawal volumes for calendar year 2018 at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey. This data release supports: Fiore, A.R., and Lacombe, P.J., 2020, Groundwater levels and generalized potentiometric surfaces, former Naval - Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are USGS publications associated with this project.
Bibliography at Environmental Health Mission Area
Filter Total Items: 37Porosity and pore size distribution in a sedimentary rock: Implications for the distribution of chlorinated solvents
Characterizing properties of the rock matrix that control retention and release of chlorinated solvents is essential in evaluating the extent of contamination and the application of remediation technologies in fractured rock. Core samples from seven closely spaced boreholes in a mudstone subject to trichloroethene (TCE) contamination were analyzed using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry to investigateAuthorsAllen M. Shapiro, Chrsitopher E. Evans, Erin C. HayesAcetylene fuels TCE reductive dechlorination by defined Dehalococcoides/Pelobacter consortia
Acetylene (C2H2) can be generated in contaminated groundwater sites as a consequence of chemical degradation of trichloroethene (TCE) by in situ minerals, and C2H2 is known to inhibit bacterial dechlorination. In this study, we show that while high C2H2 (1.3 mM) concentrations reversibly inhibit reductive dechlorination of TCE by Dehalococcoides mccartyi isolates as well as enrichment cultures conAuthorsXinwei Mao, Ronald S. Oremland, Tong Liu, Abigail A Landers, Shaun Baesman, Lisa Alvarez-CohenA fractured rock geophysical toolbox method selection tool
Geophysical technologies have the potential to improve site characterization and monitoring in fractured rock, but the appropriate and effective application of geophysics at a particular site strongly depends on project goals (e.g., identifying discrete fractures) and site characteristics (e.g., lithology). No method works at every site or for every goal. New approaches are needed to identify a seAuthorsF. D. Day-Lewis, C. D. Johnson, L.D. Slater, J.L. Robinson, J.H. Williams, C.L. Boyden, D.D. Werkema, J. W. LaneImaging pathways in fractured rock using three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography
Major challenges exist in delineating bedrock fracture zones because these cause abrupt changes in geological and hydrogeological properties over small distances. Borehole observations cannot sufficiently capture heterogeneity in these systems. Geophysical techniques offer the potential to image properties and processes in between boreholes. We used three-dimensional cross borehole electrical resiAuthorsJudith Robinson, Lee Slater, Timothy B. Johnson, Allen M. Shapiro, Claire R. Tiedeman, Dimitrios Ntlargiannis, Carole D. Johnson, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Pierre Lacombe, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, John W. LaneHigh-resolution delineation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in a dipping, fractured mudstone: depth- and strata-dependent spatial variability from rock-core sampling
Synthesis of rock-core sampling and chlorinated volatile organic compound (CVOC) analysis at five coreholes, with hydraulic and water-quality monitoring and a detailed hydrogeologic framework, was used to characterize the fine-scale distribution of CVOCs in dipping, fractured mudstones of the Lockatong Formation of Triassic age, of the Newark Basin in West Trenton, New Jersey. From these results,AuthorsDaniel J. Goode, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Pierre J. LacombeTransmissivity and storage coefficient estimates from slug tests, Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Slug tests were conducted on 56 observation wells open to bedrock at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Aquifer transmissivity (T) and storage coefficient (S) values for most wells were estimated from slug-test data using the Cooper-Bredehoeft-Papadopulos method. Test data from three wells exhibited fast, underdamped water-level responses and were analyzed withAuthorsAlex R. FioreIntegration of stable carbon isotope, microbial community, dissolved hydrogen gas, and 2HH2O tracer data to assess bioaugmentation for chlorinated ethene degradation in fractured rocks
An in situ bioaugmentation (BA) experiment was conducted to understand processes controlling microbial dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater at the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. In the BA experiment, an electron donor (emulsified vegetable oil and sodium lactate) and a chloro-respiring microbial consortium were injected into a well in fractured mudstone of TriAuthorsKinga M. Révész, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Julie D. Kirshtein, Claire R. Tiedeman, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Daniel J. Goode, Allen M. Shapiro, Mary A. Voytek, Pierre J. Lancombe, Eurybiades BusenbergA biogeochemical and genetic survey of acetylene fermentation by environmental samples and bacterial isolates
Anoxic samples (sediment and groundwater) from 13 chemically diverse field sites were assayed for their ability to consume acetylene (C2H2). Over incubation periods ranging from ˜ 10 to 80 days, selected samples from 7 of the 13 tested sites displayed significant C2H2 removal. No significant formation of ethylene was noted in these incubations; therefore, C2H2 consumption could be attributed to acAuthorsLaurence G. Miller, Shaun M. Baesman, Julie Kirshtein, Mary A. Voytek, Ronald S. OremlandThreshold amounts of organic carbon needed to initiate reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems
Aquifer sediment and groundwater chemistry data from 15 Department of Defense facilities located throughout the United States were collected and analyzed with the goal of estimating the amount of natural organic carbon needed to initiate reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems. Aquifer sediments were analyzed for hydroxylamine and NaOH-extractable organic carbon, yielding a probable undereAuthorsFrancis H. Chapelle, Lashun K. Thomas, Paul M. Bradley, Heather V. Rectanus, Mark A. WiddowsonMicrobial mineralization of cis-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride as a component of natural attenuation of chloroethene contaminants under conditions identified in the field as anoxic
Chlororespiration is a key component of remediation at many chloroethene-contaminated sites. In some instances, limited accumulation of reductive dechlorination daughter products may suggest that natural attenuation is not adequate for site remediation. This conclusion is justified when evidence for parent compound (tetrachloroethene, PCE, or trichloroethene, TCE) degradation is lacking. For manyAuthorsPaul M. BradleyEstimated trichloroethene transformation rates due to naturally occurring biodegradation in a fractured-rock aquifer
Rates of trichloroethene (TCE) mass transformed by naturally occurring biodegradation processes in a fractured rock aquifer underlying a former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) site in West Trenton, New Jersey, were estimated. The methodology included (1) dividing the site into eight elements of equal size and vertically integrating observed concentrations of two daughter products of TCE biodegradaAuthorsFrancis H. Chapelle, Pierre J. Lacombe, Paul M. BradleyEnhanced dichloroethene biodegradation in fractured rock under biostimulated and bioaugmented conditions
Significant microbial reductive dechlorination of [1,2 14C] cis-dichloroethene (DCE) was observed in anoxic microcosms prepared with unamended, fractured rock aquifer materials, which were colonized in situ at multiple depths in two boreholes at the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. The lack of significant reductive dechlorination in corresponding water-only treatments iAuthorsPaul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Julie D. Kirshtein, Mary A. Voytek, Pierre J. Lacombe, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Francis H. Chapelle, Claire R. Tiedeman, Daniel J. Goode - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.