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Characterising the distribution of dissolved and residual NAPL petroleum hydrocarbons in unconfined aquifers to effect remediation

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

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In this paper, petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at two field sites is characterised extensively to provide data for risk assessment, and remediation design and monitoring. A dissolved hydrocarbon plume in groundwater, emanating from a leaking underground storage tank, has been characterised in detail. The spatial and temporal variations of dissolved BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) compounds and naphthalene within the plume have been mapped. The plume extends greater than 420 m down hydraulic gradient from the site, is less than 3 m thick, and less than 40 m wide. Seasonal inundation of the residual non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) gasoline in the soil profile near the point of leakage, apparently provides an ongoing source for dissolved BTEX compounds in groundwater. Remediation would need to target the residual NAPL. Residual NAPL contents in the near-water table zone of a diesel/kerosene fuel spill also have been quantified. The NAPL contents of recovered cores have been correlated with soil particle size distributions, water table fluctuations and saturation-pressure (S-P) relations of soil cores. Cored profiles typically show residual NAPL contents over 0.5 to 1 m depth intervals with peak NAPL contents up to 26 % by weight, at or immediately above the water table. The mobility of the NAPL in these soil materials has been investigated. Such data have been essential for the planning, implementation and effective monitoring of a remediation strategy that targets this thin NAPL zone.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Characterising the distribution of dissolved and residual NAPL petroleum hydrocarbons in unconfined aquifers to effect remediation
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/b1369617-3615-413e-91b2-54852379f45f
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        115.17,
        -33.27
      ],
      [
        116.91,
        -33.27
      ],
      [
        116.91,
        -30.95
      ],
      [
        115.17,
        -30.95
      ],
      [
        115.17,
        -33.27
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Characterising the distribution of dissolved and residual NAPL petroleum hydrocarbons in unconfined aquifers to effect remediation". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/characterising-the-distribution-of-dissolved-and-residual-napl-petroleum-hydrocarbons-in-unconf