Hydrogeology Research Group

Agricultural and industrial pressures on groundwater resources are evident from the widespread global contamination of aquifers. To mitigate that pressure we rely largely on natural attenuation, the ability of aquifers (via microbial reactions or other retention processes) to breakdown contaminants of concern. That reliance hinges on our ability to predict and monitor a system’s potential for natural attenuation.

The Hydrogeology Research Group seeks to improve the quantification and monitoring of reactive transport processes that govern natural attenuation in groundwater. Specifically, we integrate flow-through experiments in the laboratory and at field sites with reactive transport modeling and use the geophysical method spectral induced polarization (SIP) as a non-invasive tool that enables higher spatial- and temporal-resolution monitoring of reactive processes.