Cooperating Organizations:
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
International Association of Hydrogeologists, US Chapter (IAH)
National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
University of Waterloo

Much has been learned about the behavior of subsurface contaminants in the last three decades of laboratory and field research. Yet, site assessments performed at commercial sites in North America often still follow traditional site assessment practices established in the early 1980s. Those assessment practices, which were founded on early conceptual models of what subsurface contamination was thought to be like, often yield ambiguous data sets that prolong site characterization activities and delay corrective action and site closure decisions. In addition, traditional monitoring of in situ remediation often fails to provide conclusive evidence that the remediation is working as planned, further delaying regulatory decision-making and site closure.

Recently, new technologies have been developed that allow site investigators to perform rapid, high-resolution site assessments that provide unprecedented clarity regarding the nature, extent, and migration of contaminants in the subsurface, and the effectiveness of in situ remediation. Increasingly, these technologies, which include high-resolution geophysical methods, cone penetrometer testing (CPT), driven direct push (DP) chemical sensors, high-resolution vertical groundwater profilers, and multilevel groundwater monitoring systems, are being applied in new configurations, e.g., advanced or installed along transects orthogonal to the groundwater flow direction, that have been shown to be particularly effective at many contaminated sites.

This symposium, Second in GRA's new Tools and Technologies Series, will bring together an invited group of top researchers, practitioners, and regulatory experts from around the globe to describe the “state of the science” regarding efficient, high-resolution subsurface site assessments and remediation monitoring.

In addition to presentations on cutting-edge technologies, there will be a strong focus on the crucial issue of data quality versus data quantity. There will be several presentations on surface and borehole tomography and various techniques and algorithms to infer hydrogeologic and biogeochemical information between relatively sparse -- but high resolution -- data points (e.g., geostatistical correlations based on geologic facies; cross-borehole geologic and hydraulic tomography). Insights gained during this session will allow attendees to optimize the use of the new high-resolution site characterization tools to quickly generate conceptual models of the subsurface with unprecedented speed and clarity, thus helping overcome the perception by many that subsurface assessments performed using high resolution tools and technologies are more expensive than conventional methods.

• Session 1: High Resolution Characterization and Monitoring: Insights From Field Research Projects
• Session 2: High Resolution Characterization and Monitoring: Approaches, Technologies, & Case Studies (Part 1)
• Session 3: High Resolution Characterization and Monitoring: Approaches, Technologies, & Case Studies (Part 2)
• Session 4: Optimizing Data Collected from Existing Monitoring Networks
• Session 5: Managing, Modeling, and Visualizing High Resolution Subsurface Data; Strategies and Tools
• Session 6: High-Resolution Characterization and Monitoring: Applications for Groundwater Resources Investigations
• Session 7: Round Table Discussion: Overcoming Impediments to Better Subsurface Characterization and Monitoring

See the Symposium AGENDA for a list of confirmed speakers and titles of their presentations.

There will be exhibits by more than 30 invited manufacturers of innovative site characterization and monitoring technologies and software developers. Technical poster presentations will follow the platform presentations on Tuesday, November 14.

This symposium of world-class invited speakers and technology developers promises to be one of GRA’s most popular events ever. Make your reservation early to attend this one-time symposium.

Please feel free to contact Murray Einarson (meinarson@geomatrix.com; 650-400-0248) or Tim Parker (tparker2@slb.com; 916-329-9199) if you have any questions about this upcoming event.

Exhibitors:
Blaine Tech Services, Inc. | Boart Longyear Co. | Calscience Environmental Laboratories, Inc.
Cascade Drilling Inc. | EMS-I | Environmental Support Technologies, Inc.
Flexible Liner Underground Technologies, LLC  | Fugro | H&P Mobile Geochemistry | In-Situ
NORCAL Geophysical Consultants, Inc. | ProHydro, Inc. | Prosonic Corporation | RSI Drilling
Tecplot, Inc. | TestAmerica Analytical Corp. | U.S. Geological Survey | Vironex

Sponsors and Exhibitors

If you are interested in exhibiting your organization's services or products, or being an event sponsor, please contact Mary Megarry at mmegarry@nossaman.com or 916-446-3626. GRA welcomes co-sponsors, lunch, refreshment and reception sponsors.

> Sponsorship and Exhibitor Opportunities

The third day of the symposium will consist of a Hands-On Outdoor Field Demonstration of many of the technologies discussed during the symposium presentations, and will be held at a fuel-release site at the Long Beach Airport. Transportation will be provided to and from the outdoor field demonstration site, departure from and returning to the Westin Long Beach Hotel. Box lunches and beverages will be provided at the Hands-On Outdoor Field Demonstration.

Types of Technologies Demonstrated
The technologies demonstrated will include the latest technologies for obtaining high-resolution data regarding subsurface geology, hydrogeology, and contamination. These will include some or all of the following:

> Surface geophysics (e.g., earth resistivity, ground penetrating radar, seismic reflection)
> Borehole geophysics (e.g., natural gamma, electrical induction)
> In-well, depth-discrete groundwater sampling devices such as Snap Sampler, HydraSleeve, pressurized bailer, diffusion bags, etc.
> Mobile analytical laboratory
> Direct push sensors to define stratigraphy (e.g, electrical conductivity) and measure subsurface contamination (e.g., Geoprobe Membrane Interface Probe)
> Direct push tools for collecting depth-discrete samples of soil, soil gas, and groundwater
> Cone Penetrometer Testing (CPT), with sensors for measuring nature and extent of subsurface contamination
> Sonic drilling, coring, and depth-discrete groundwater sampling
> Multi-level well installation and sampling.

Click here for more information about the field demonstration.

This meeting will be held after the first day of the High Resolution Symposium.

This presentation describes high-resolution approaches involving analysis of cores, detailed multi-level monitoring for hydraulic head profiles, and other methods for assessing the capability of non-indurated aquitards and shale aquitards to restrict contaminant migration to underlying aquifers. Aquitard integrity depends on several main factors including geologic origin, post-depositional events, mineralogy, thickness, fractures and contaminant type (e.g. DNAPL versus solutes). This presentation uses case studies of contaminated industrial sites where aquitards have been “relied upon” for deeper groundwater resource protection. Detailed characterization of these field sites has been performed as part of a major research program, and complemented with laboratory and field experiments involving DNAPLs in both fractured and unfractured aquitards. This research demonstrates the scales of data acquisition necessary to indentify the features governing aquitard integrity and to better quantify the degree of protection provided by such units. Insights are provided regarding investigation techniques, “typical” characteristics and the importance of extremely small-scale heterogeneities.

Click here to submit your reservation for the branch meeting.