Geology topics

J. Gibs

Publications and source records attributed to J. Gibs.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2005

Well-purging criteria for sampling purgeable organic compounds

The results indicate that 1) purgeable organic compound concentrations stabilized when three casing volume were purged in only 55% of the cases evaluated in this study, 2) purgeable organic compounds concentrations did not consistently follow the temporal variation of, nor stabilize at the same time as, the measure field characteristics, and 3) purging to achieve hydraulic equilibrium between casing and aquifer water consistently underestimated the time and casing volumes needed to achieve stable values of water-quality measurements in highly transmissive aquifers. The conclusion from these data is that none of the previously recommended criteria for purging a well can be applied reliably to collecting a "representative' sample of purgeable organic compounds. These results indicate that the criteria for purging a well prior to sampling for purgeable organic compounds must take into account other factors, such as the unique hydrogeologic characteristics of a site, the nature and extent of purgeable organic compounds present, and areal extent of the contamination, the well construction, and the sampling objectives of the investigation. -from Authors

Ground Water↗

USGS2005

Change in field turbidity and trace element concentrations during well purging

Various physical and chemical properties were monitored sequentially in the field during well purging as indicators of stabilization of the composition of the water in the well. Turbidity was monitored on site during purging of oxic water from three wells with screened intervals open to an unconfined aquifer system in the Coastal Plain of southern New Jersey to determine if stabilization of turbidity is a reliable indicator of the optimum purge time required to collect unbiased trace element samples. Concurrent split (one filtered, one unfiltered) samples collected during purging of the wells were analyzed for concentrations of trace elements so that the relationships between trace element concentrations and turbidity could be compared. Turbidity correlated with the whole water recoverable (WWR) concentration of trace element species, such as iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and manganese (Mn) in the oxic ground water. Turbidity appeared to be independent of other field-measured characteristics of water such as conductivity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. The WWR concentration of lead and copper, considered to be hydrophobic, correlated significantly with the sum of the WWR concentration of Fe, Al, and Mn. High values of field-measured turbidity were a key indicator of an overestimate of ambient hydrophobic trace element WWR concentrations. Stabilization of turbidity was a better indicator of stable, unfiltered trace element concentrations than were the other commonly measured field characteristics. At one well, turbidity was a better indicator of stable, filtered trace element concentrations than the other commonly measured field characteristics. As analytical methods for trace elements improve resulting in smaller MRLs (method reporting levels) and better precision, turbidity of ground water at values of less than 10 NTU (nepheiometric turbidity units) will become important in interpreting the significance of both unfiltered and filtered sample results.

New Jersey↗

USGS2001

Changes in sample collection and analytical techniques and effects on retrospective comparability of low-level concentrations of trace elements in ground water

Ground-water sampling techniques were modified to reduce random low-level contamination during collection of filtered water samples for determination of trace-element concentrations. The modified sampling techniques were first used in New Jersey by the US Geological Survey in 1994 along with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis to determine the concentrations of 18 trace elements at the one microgram-per-liter (μg/L) level in the oxic water of the unconfined sand and gravel Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system. The revised technique tested included a combination of the following: collection of samples (1) with flow rates of about 2L per minute, (2) through acid-washed single-use disposable tubing and (3) a single-use disposable 0.45-μm pore size capsule filter, (4) contained within portable glove boxes, (5) in a dedicated clean sampling van, (6) only after turbidity stabilized at values less than 2 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), when possible. Quality-assurance data, obtained from equipment blanks and split samples, indicated that trace element concentrations, with the exception of iron, chromium, aluminum, and zinc, measured in the samples collected in 1994 were not subject to random contamination at 1μg/L.Results from samples collected in 1994 were compared to those from samples collected in 1991 from the same 12 PVC-cased observation wells using the available sampling and analytical techniques at that time. Concentrations of copper, lead, manganese and zinc were statistically significantly lower in samples collected in 1994 than in 1991. Sampling techniques used in 1994 likely provided trace-element data that represented concentrations in the aquifer with less bias than data from 1991 when samples were collected without the same degree of attention to sample handling.

Water Research↗

USGS2001

Variation in aluminum, iron, and particle concentrations in oxic ground-water samples collected by use of tangential-flow ultrafiltration with low-flow sampling

Particulates that move with ground water and those that are artificially mobilized during well purging could be incorporated into water samples during collection and could cause trace-element concentrations to vary in unfiltered samples, and possibly in filtered samples (typically 0.45-um (micron) pore size) as well, depending on the particle-size fractions present. Therefore, measured concentrations may not be representative of those in the aquifer. Ground water may contain particles of various sizes and shapes that are broadly classified as colloids, which do not settle from water, and particulates, which do. In order to investigate variations in trace-element concentrations in ground-water samples as a function of particle concentrations and particle-size fractions, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, collected samples from five wells completed in the unconfined, oxic Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system of the New Jersey Coastal Plain. Samples were collected by purging with a portable pump at low flow (0.2-0.5 liters per minute and minimal drawdown, ideally less than 0.5 foot). Unfiltered samples were collected in the following sequence: (1) within the first few minutes of pumping, (2) after initial turbidity declined and about one to two casing volumes of water had been purged, and (3) after turbidity values had stabilized at less than 1 to 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units. Filtered samples were split concurrently through (1) a 0.45-um pore size capsule filter, (2) a 0.45-um pore size capsule filter and a 0.0029-um pore size tangential-flow filter in sequence, and (3), in selected cases, a 0.45-um and a 0.05-um pore size capsule filter in sequence. Filtered samples were collected concurrently with the unfiltered sample that was collected when turbidity values stabilized. Quality-assurance samples consisted of sequential duplicates (about 25 percent) and equipment blanks. Concentrations of particles were determined by light scattering.

New Jersey↗

USGS1986

BROAD SPECTRUM ANALYSIS FOR TRACE ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN LARGE VOLUMES OF WATER BY XAD RESINS-COLUMN DESIGN-FACTS AND MYTHS.

The 'rule of thumb' that large volumes of water can be sampled for trace organic pollutants by XAD resin columns which are designed by small column laboratory studies or pure compounds is examined and shown to be a problem. A theory of multicomponent breakthrough is presented as a frame of reference to help solve the problem and develop useable criteria to aid the design of resin columns. An important part of the theory is the effect of humic substances on the breakthrough character of multicomponent chemical systems.

Conference Paper↗