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New Diffusion Samplers Track Contamination Entering Lakes and Ponds
USGS scientists developed, tested, and demonstrated the effectiveness of a new passive-diffusion sampler to delineate where plumes of contaminants are discharging into ground-water-fed lakes and ponds. The diffusion samplers are composed of glass vials surrounded by a permeable membrane. They have many advantages over conventional ground-water sampling methods because they are made of readily accessible and inexpensive materials, are simple to deploy, and do not require time-consuming well purging procedures. The sampler is left in place long enough for contaminants dissolved in the ground water flowing past the sampler to diffuse through the membrane into the water enclosed in the vial; thus, concentrations inside and outside the sampler become equal. This provides a simple way to analyze ground water that is discharging to a river, lake, or other surface water body for the presence of selected contaminants.
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