Dielectric permittivity monitoring in a sandy aquifer following the controlled release of a DNAPL

Contamination of groundwater by DNAPLs, such as chlorinated solvents, is a serious environmental problem. After an accidental spill into the subsurface, a DNAPL will redistribute itself and form both isolated liquid-phase blobs known as residual, and connected-phase zones known as pools. The behaviour of liquid-phase DNAPLs in a sandy aquifer is controlled principally by variations in hydraulic conductivity(Kueper et aI1989). When groundwater flows through zones containing liquid-phase DNAPL, a small amount of the DNAPL dissolves into the water creating a more extensive plume of dissolved-phase contamination that usually poses the most serious threat to drinking water.