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Taproot™ technology: Tree coring for fast, noninvasive plume delineations
Author(s) -
Burken Joel G.,
Bailey Sallie,
Shurtliff Matt,
McDermott Jeff
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.20216
Subject(s) - coring , vadose zone , environmental science , groundwater , plume , sampling (signal processing) , hydrology (agriculture) , contamination , geology , soil science , soil water , geography , drilling , engineering , ecology , geotechnical engineering , meteorology , mechanical engineering , electrical engineering , filter (signal processing) , biology
In efforts to evaluate the use of plants as a forensic tool for delineating contaminated soil and groundwater, a laboratory experiment and a field sampling effort were undertaken. Site assessments are often costly and inaccurate, requiring multiple mobilizations to hone in on source areas and getting accurate estimates of contaminant extent and distribution. As these extensive site delineations take place, valuable time and resources are lost. The findings of this study show that plants can be used as a tool to evaluate a variety of subsurface contaminants, either in the vadose zone or in the saturated zone. In the first field application of Taproot™ Technology, a large, heavily forested site was sampled in one day and the contamination on‐site was more accurately delineated than had been generated at the site in over a decade, with more than 26 wells installed. New source zones were detected on the site, and the presence of new waste depositions was uncovered for the first time showing the great value of tree coring as a contaminant detection tool. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.