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Presentation Slides

This SERDP and ESTCP webinar focuses on DoD-funded research efforts to develop tools for contaminant source tracking and monitoring. Specifically, investigators will discuss modeling platforms used to predict PFAS leaching in source zones and optimize groundwater monitoring.

Abstracts

“Development and Demonstration of PFAS-LEACH, A Comprehensive Decision Support Platform for Predicting PFAS Leaching in Source Zones” by Dr. Bo Guo (ER21-5041)

This project develops and demonstrates PFAS-LEACH, an advanced, comprehensive decision support platform for predicting PFAS leaching in source zones. PFAS-LEACH accounts for the various PFAS-specific fate and transport processes in soil and groundwater, and has the capability to quantify source attenuation, spatial mass distribution, and long-term mass discharge from the vadose zone to groundwater at PFAS-impacted sites. It is comprised of four tiers of simulators spanning from a full-process 3D numerical simulator to analytical solutions implemented in Excel to simple dilution-attenuation calculations. A comprehensive parameter selection module supporting the simulators is also included. This presentation will describe the specific processes represented in each of the model tiers and will discuss how the different model tiers can be used to characterize source strengths and risks of groundwater contamination and derive soil screening levels. Illustrative examples of model applications will be presented. As a decision support platform, PFAS-LEACH can improve risk assessment and long-term site management, and will be useful for developing remedial action objectives and for evaluating anticipated impacts of different site remediation approaches at many DoD and other PFAS-impacted sites.

“Building the Next Generation Long-Term Monitoring Optimization Toolbox: Revitalizing the MAROS Platform on the Web” by Ms. Lila Beckley (ER22-7422)

This project supports ESTCP’s efforts to improve the efficiency of DoD long-term groundwater monitoring programs. Long-term groundwater monitoring is a requirement of the majority of site cleanups, necessary to verify remedy effectiveness. It is also expensive, with costs at DoD sites currently exceeding $100 million annually. DoD has previously funded the development of tools to assist with optimizing such monitoring networks. MAROS, originally developed starting in the 1990s, is one such tool. For the current project, MAROS is being used as inspiration for a free, web-based groundwater monitoring optimization toolbox programmed using the R Shiny framework. R Shiny is a powerful, new technology platform used to build interactive websites. It is particularly useful for dashboards and processing and display of geospatial data. Priorities of tool development are to (i) include modules with key functions including individual well trend statistics and plume-level statistics, and (ii) provide intuitive navigation and data visualizations. This presentation will describe the new tool and key features to help site managers understand their data, streamline the optimization process, improve reporting, and support stakeholder communication efforts and site decision-making.

Speaker Biographies

Dr. Bo Guo is an assistant professor in the department of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on the fundamental physics and mathematical modeling of fluid flow and transport in permeable geological materials, motivated by environmental and energy problems including fate and transport of emergent contaminants (e.g., PFAS) in soil and groundwater, shale gas/oil production, and geological carbon storage. Dr. Guo’s research has been funded by multiple federal agencies and industrial sponsors, including a recent NSF CAREER Award in 2023. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Dr. Guo worked in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Hydrology. He received a bachelor’s degree (with highest honor) in hydraulic engineering from Tsinghua University and a doctoral degree in civil and environmental engineering from Princeton University.

Ms. Lila Beckley is a senior associate geologist at GSI Environmental Inc. in Austin, Texas. She is a professional geoscientist, licensed in Texas and Louisiana. With more than 25 years in the environmental industry, Ms. Beckley has experience with environmental site characterization and risk assessment, vapor intrusion, and regulatory and litigation support. She has supported research projects funded by SERDP, ESTCP, and various industrial sponsors on topics including data mining, chemical fate and transport, temporal variability in environmental monitoring results, and vapor intrusion. She has also authored and co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics. Ms. Beckley is an active participant in regulatory and technical guidance development workgroups and is an instructor for the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. Prior to joining GSI, Lila worked in enforcement and remediation programs at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in various roles ranging from project to program management. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.