Transfert des contaminants dans le sous-sol saturé : principaux mecanismes en jeu et modélisation mathématique ou numérique adaptée

Contaminant transfer in aquifer systems: operating mechanisms and applied mathematical or numerical modelling

Safege, Ingénieurs Conseils

Abstract

Contaminant plume migration in aquifer systems can sometimes occur leaving no time for the pollutants to react with the transport medium, but more often these undergo a series of mechanical, physico-chemical or biological processes which lead to (1) plume spreading in both space and time, (2) plume degradation or even (3) transformation into other species which could be more or less toxic. The relative weight of these mechanisms varies from one situation to the other and it is important to assess in each case the major operating processes in order to implement useful mathematical or numerical expressions for transport modeling. Theoretical backgrounds are given and applications are made to two case studies.