Multidisciplinary characterization of chlorinated solvents contamination and in-situ remediation with the use of the direct current resistivity and time-domain induced polarization tomography

Soil contamination is a widespread problem and action needs to be taken in order to prevent damage to the groundwater and the life around the contaminated sites. In Sweden, it is estimated that more than 80,000 sites are potentially contaminated, and therefore, there is a demand for investigations and further treatment of the soil. In this paper, we present the results from a methodology applied in a site contaminated with chlorinated solvents, for characterization of the contamination in order to plan the remediation and to follow-up the initial step of in-situ remediation in an efficient way. We utilized the results from three different methods; membrane interface probe for direct measurement of the contaminant concentrations; seismic refraction tomography for investigating the depth to the bedrock interface; and direct current resistivity and time-domain induced polarization tomography to acquire a high-resolution imaging of the electrical properties of the subsurface. The results indicate that our methodology is very promising in terms of site characterization, and furthermore, has great potential for real-time geophysical monitoring of contaminated sites in the future.