Borehole Radar Monitoring of a Steam-Injection Remediation Pilot Study, Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, Maine - FY2003

[A comprehensive overview of this project is now available.]

As part of its applied research initiatives in FY2003, the USGS Office of Ground Water, Branch of Geophysics (OGW BG) continued geophysical monitoring of a steam-injection remediation pilot study at the Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, Maine.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is implementing a steam-injection remediation pilot study in fractured limestone contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of steam injection to flush the contaminated ground water into extraction wells and to vaporize volatiles that can then be removed through a vapor extraction system. The Branch of Geophysics is conducting borehole geophysical surveys to determine if borehole radar methods can be used to monitor steam-injection remediation.

During FY2003, the Branch of Geophysics collected borehole-radar, temperature, and electromagnetic-induction logs at end of the steam-injection period. Data processing and analysis is underway to explore the use of geophysical methods to image changes in subsurface material properties caused by the heat of the steam.

This research was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation; with support from the USAF and the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program; and in cooperation with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

This research was conducted by Colette Grégoire (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), Peter K. Joesten (USGS OGW BG), and John W. Lane, Jr. (USGS OGW BG), with assistance from OGW BG staff.

View the online photo gallery from this project.

For related information, see:

• Summary of OGW BG FY2002 research at Loring AFB