ISSN:
1432-0495
Keywords:
Groundwater
;
Porous aquifer
;
Heterogeneous
;
Biological tracers
;
Bacteriophage
;
Fluorescent dye
;
Naphthionate
;
Electromagnetic survey
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract This article presents an example of a tracing experiment using two bacteriophages, T7 and f1, and a fluorescent dye (naphthionate), in a saturated porous environment. The test field was equipped with an injection borehole and 22 sampling piezometers set in three concentric half-circles. The distribution of permeabilities and the thickness of the aquifer were indirectly determined by Radio-Magneto-Tellury (RMT, 12–240 kHz). The results reveal a good correlation between the distribution of permeabilities obtained by RMT and the breakthrough curves and speed of migration of all three tracers. The restitution levels are far superior (by two to three orders of magnitude) in the more permeable zones, as opposed to those observed in th piezometers situated in less permeable areas. The speed of migration of the biological tracers is much greater than that of the naphthionate. In the most extreme case, the T7 bacteriophage migrated about 3.15 times faster than the chemical solution. These results indicate that bacteriophages are able to travel considerable distances along permeable gravel channels. They may be used as biological tracers and as models for the migration of pathogenic viruses. The simultaneous use of tracing techniques and appropriate geophysical methods leads to a better knowledge of the hydrogeological parameters of the underground terrain. This combination allows for a better interpretation both of the speeds of migration and of the maximal concentrations of the tracers, and thus considerably increases the interpretability of hydrogeological impact studies.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00771788
