HIGH-RESOLUTION GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENTATION FOR GROUND-WATER POLLUTION CONTROL

GROUNDWATER POLLUTION INVESTIGATIONS ARE A PRIORITY IN TODAY'S WORLD AS THE POPULATION GROWS RAPIDLY AND TECHNOLOGYRESPONDS WITH INCREASED PRODUCTION AND GENERATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS. IN MOST SITUATIONS, WASTE CONTAINMENT IS BY BURIAL OR INJECTION INTO THE SUBSURFACE. COMMONLY OVER TIME, GROUNDWATERS CAN PERCOLATE THROUGH THE WASTE, MOBILIZING THE CONTAMINANTS INTO LOCAL OR MUNICIPAL GROUNDWATER SUPPLIES. THE DEMAND FOR AQUIFER PROTECTION WITH TECHNIQUES TO DELINEATE AND MONITOR THE SPREAD OF CONTAMINANTS HAS NEVER BEEN HIGHER. MANY CONTROVERSIES AND LIMITATIONS EXIST WITH CURRENT GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND SAMPLING METHODS FOR POLLUTION CONTROL. GEOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS WHICH HAVE DEMONSTRATED REMARKABLE SUCCESS IN CONTAMINATION INVESTIGATIONS ALSO HAVE LIMITATIONS OF RESOLUTION, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, AND EASE OF OPERATION WHICH INHIBIT WIDE-SPREAD USE. THUS, THERE IS A LACK OF ADEQUATE TECHNIQUES TO SOLVE POLLUTION CONTROL PROBLEMS. ONE AVENUE WHICH HAS NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY EXPLORED FOR A SOLUTION TO THE POLLUTION DETECTION PROBLEM IS THE APPLICATION OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC (EM) GEOPHYSICAL METHODS. TWO POSSIBLE HIGH-FREQUENCY EM TECHNIQUES HAVE A LARGE POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS WITH GROUNDWATER POLLUTION INVESTIGATIONS. SIMILAR TECHNIQUES, ALTHOUGH LOWER IN FREQUENCY HAVE BEEN USED WITH SOME SUCCESS. BASIC RESEARCH OF THE DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS, CAPABILITIES, AND VIABILITY OF EACH OF THE TWO POSSIBLE STRATEGIES MAY PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR A METHOD SUPERIOR TO EXISTING TECHNIQUES.