School of Earth Sciences - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/316

Filters

2000 1
1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Start date: 2000 × End date: 2019 × Type: Honours thesis × Subject: aquifer ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    The potential for natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater: Shell Newport Terminal, Victoria
    Lavis, Amelia Jayne ( 2000-10)
    Groundwater in the fractured and jointed Quaternary Newer Volcanics basaltic aquifer system beneath the Shell Newport Terminal has been contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons. This petroleum hydrocarbon contamination has resulted from a number of different spill incidents over the terminal's long operation. Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination has led to the formation of a light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) floating on the water table. Associated dissolved and vapour phases have also developed within the basaltic aquifer. The effectiveness of natural attenuation processes to remediate the petroleum hydrocarbon contamination has been evaluated based on the gas chromatography / mass spectroscopy analysis of LNAPL samples and changes in groundwater geochemistry. Three distinct LNAPL plumes were identified within the Shell Newport Terminal jet facility plume (kerosene source); off-site plume along High 8t (mixed source of leaded petrol, kerosene, and diesel); and black oil fuel gantry plume, which is migrating off-site to Digman Reserve (mixed source of leaded petrol, shell sol A, and diesel). LNAPL ratio analysis revealed only that the samples were degraded compared to their estimated source composition. Further interpretation of ratios was difficult due to constraints involved in source compositions, sampling limitations, heterogeneity of the groundwater system, and high transport velocities of the groundwater compared to LNAPL migration. (For complete abstract open document)