Neutrally buoyant tracers in hydrogeophysics: Field demonstration in fractured rock

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_169DF1398C0E
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Neutrally buoyant tracers in hydrogeophysics: Field demonstration in fractured rock
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Author(s)
Shakas A., Linde N., Baron L., Selker J., Gerard M.-F., Lavenant N., Bour O., Le Borgne T.
ISSN
0094-8276
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2017
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
44
Pages
3663-3671
Language
english
Abstract
Electrical and electromagnetic methods are extensively used to map electrically conductive tracers within hydrogeologic systems. Often, the tracers used consist of dissolved salt in water, leading to a denser mixture than the ambient formation water. Density effects are often ignored and rarely modeled but can dramatically affect transport behavior and introduce dynamics that are unrepresentative of the response obtained with classical tracers (e.g., uranine). We introduce a neutrally buoyant tracer consisting of a mixture of salt, water, and ethanol and monitor its movement during push-pull experiments in a fractured rock aquifer using ground-penetrating radar. Our results indicate a largely reversible transport process and agree with uranine-based push-pull experiments at the site, which is in contrast to results obtained using dense saline tracers. We argue that a shift toward neutrally buoyant tracers in both porous and fractured media would advance hydrogeophysical research and enhance its utility in hydrogeology.
Keywords
General Earth and Planetary Sciences, Geophysics
Web of science
Create date
20/10/2017 15:22
Last modification date
20/08/2019 13:46
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