Inorganic plume delineation using surface high-resolution electrical resistivity at the BC cribs and trenches site, Hanford

A surface resistivity survey was conducted on the Hanford Site over a waste disposal trench that received a large volume of liquid inorganic waste. The objective of the survey was to map the extent of the plume that resulted from the disposal activities approximately 50 yr earlier. The survey included six resistivity transects of at least 200 m, where each transect provided two-dimensional profile information of subsurface electrical properties. The results of the survey indicated that a low resistivity plume resides at a depth of approximately 25 to 44 m below ground surface. The target depth was calibrated with borehole data of pore-water electrical conductivity. Due to the high correlation of the pore-water electrical conductivity to nitrate concentration and the high correlation of measured apparent resistivity to pore-water electrical conductivity, inferences were made that proposed the spatial distribution of the apparent resistivity was due to the distribution of nitrate. Therefore, apparent resistivities were related to nitrate, which was subsequently rendered in three dimensions to show that the nitrate likely did not reach the water table and the bounds of the highest concentrations are directly beneath the collection of waste sites.