A key objective of the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program is to understand the physical, chemical, and biological processes that control contaminant transport in ground water. Many Toxics Program scientists participate in multidisciplinary investigations of the reactive and non-reactive transport of contaminants in ground water. A part of many of these investigations is the development of simulation models to predict contaminant transport in ground water. Environmental professionals can use the results of these investigations to design better remediation plans at hazardous waste cleanup sites. The information presented on this page cuts across lines drawn by individual investigations and projects so that information on contaminant transport in ground water can be presented in one place.

Investigations and Research Activities

• Contamination in Fractured-Rock Aquifers
  • Transport Phenomena in Fractured Rock
  • Hydrology of Fractured Rocks
• Investigations of Petroleum Related Contamination
  • Geochemistry of Water in Fine Grained Sediments
  • Multiphase Contaminant Transport, Reaction and Biodegradation
• Chlorinated Solvents Contamination
• Contamination from Sources with Mixed Wastes
• Digital Modeling of Transport in the Saturated Zone
• Ground-Water Solute-Transport Simulation
• Reaction-Transport Modeling in Ground-Water Systems
• Modeling Crosscutting Topic
• Bacteria - Contaminant Interactions
• Partitioning of Solutes between Solid and Aqueous Phases
• Transport and Biogeochemical Fate of Organic Substances in Aquatic Environments
• Role of Lakes in the Hydrologic System, with Emphasis on Their Relation to Ground Water
• Dispersion of Toxic and Radioactive Wastes in Ground-Water Systems

Fact Sheets

• The Norman landfill environmental research site--What happens to the waste in landfills?: USGS Fact Sheet 040-03
• Fractured-Rock Aquifers--Understanding an Increasingly Important Source of Water: USGS Fact Sheet FS-112-02
• Robowell--Providing accurate and current water-level and water-quality data in real time for protecting ground-water resources: USGS Fact Sheet FS-053-02
• Characterizing Ground-Water Chemistry and Hydraulic Properties of Fractured-Rock Aquifers Using the Multifunction Bedrock-Aquifer Transportable Testing Tool (BAT³): USGS Fact Sheet FS-075-01
• Ground water contamination by crude oil near Bemidji, Minnesota: USGS Fact Sheet FS-084-98

Conceptualization of the transport of petroleum hydrocarbons in ground water (Source: Fact Sheet FS-019-98). The Toxic Substances Hydrology Program has several projects addressing the transport of petroleum compounds in ground water
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Bibliography

• Publications on Ground-Water Contaminant Transport (406 Publications)

Headlines

• New Report Presents a Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation
• What Mobilizes Arsenic in Ground Water
• Decades Required for Natural Processes to Clean Wastewater-Contaminated Ground Water
• New Information on the Long-Term Fate of Ammonium in Ground Water
• Land-Use Activities Release Naturally Occurring Arsenic
• New Diffusion Samplers Track Contamination Entering Lakes and Ponds
• Landmark Book Published on the Fate of Contaminants in the Environment: Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems
• Phosphorus Doesn't Migrate in Ground Water? Better Think Again!
• What Controls the Migration of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Rock?

USGS scientists installing a drive point well for contaminant transport studies at the Norman Landfill Research Site, Norman, OK
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Collecting sample of ground water as it is being pumped from well at deep test hole (UZB-3) at the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nevada
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