Effect of source variability and transport processes on carbon isotope ratios of TCE and PCE in two sandy aquifers

Chlorinated ethenes often migrate over extended distances in aquifers and may originate from different sources. The aim of this study was to determine whether stable carbon isotope ratios remain constant during dissolution and transport of chlorinated ethenes and whether the ratios can be used to li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of contaminant hydrology Vol. 74; no. 1-4; pp. 265 - 282
Main Authors:	Hunkeler, D., Chollet, N., Pittet, X., Aravena, R., Cherry, J.A., Parker, B.L.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-10-2004 Elsevier Science
Subjects:	Biodegradation, Environmental Biological Transport Canada Carbon Isotopes - analysis Chlorinated solvents CSIA Diffusion Earth sciences Earth, ocean, space Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics Environmental Monitoring Exact sciences and technology Groundwater Hydrogeology Hydrology. Hydrogeology Isotope geochemistry Isotope geochemistry. Geochronology Pollution, environment geology Soil Pollutants - metabolism Stable isotopes Tetrachloroethylene - chemistry Tetrachloroethylene - metabolism Trichloroethylene - chemistry Trichloroethylene - metabolism Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism Canada Ontario Eastern Canada Canada, Ontario Chlorinated solvents Groundwater Stable isotopes CSIA diffusion plumes ground water biodegradation pollution networks North America aquifers high resolution stable isotopes dense nonaqueous phase liquids isotope ratios trichloroethylene C-13/C-12 liquid phase dissolution sampling concentration transport depth isotope fractionation aquitards solubility
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Summary:	Chlorinated ethenes often migrate over extended distances in aquifers and may originate from different sources. The aim of this study was to determine whether stable carbon isotope ratios remain constant during dissolution and transport of chlorinated ethenes and whether the ratios can be used to link plumes to their sources. Detailed depth-discrete delineation of the carbon isotope ratio in a tetrachloroethene (PCE) plume and in a trichloroethene (TCE) plume was done along cross-sections orthogonal to groundwater flow in two sandy aquifers in the Province of Ontario, Canada. At the TCE site, TCE concentrations up to solubility were measured in one high concentration zone close to the bottom of the aquifer from where dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) was collected. A laboratory experiment using the DNAPL indicated that only very small carbon isotope fractionation occurs during dissolution of TCE (0.26‰), which is consistent with field observations. At most sampling points, the δ13C of dissolved TCE was similar to that of the DNAPL except for a few sampling points at the bottom of the aquifer close to the underlying aquitard. At these points, a 13C enrichment of up to 2.4‰ was observed, which was likely due to biodegradation and possibly preferential diffusion of TCE with 12C into the aquitard. In contrast to the TCE site, several distinct zones of high concentration were observed at the PCE site and from zones to zone, the δ13C values varied substantially from −24.3‰ to −33.6‰. Comparison of the δ13C values in the high concentration zones made it possible to divide the plume in the three different domains, each probably representing a different episode and location of DNAPL release. The three different zones could still be distinguished 220 m from the DNAPL sources. This demonstrates that carbon isotope ratios can be used to differentiate between different zones in chlorinated ethene plumes and to link plume zones to their sources. In addition, subtle variations in δ13C at plume fringes provided insight into mechanisms of plume spreading in transverse vertical direction. These variations were identified because of the high-resolution provided by the monitoring network.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0169-7722 1873-6009
DOI:	10.1016/j.jconhyd.2004.03.003