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Buried Containers, Waste Pits, and Ordnance

Magnetic and EM surveys have been used extensively to provide information on buried metallic objects and disturbed soils for characterization and remediation at hazardous waste sites. Nyquist and Blair [1991] used an ultrasonic positioning system to conduct a terrain conductivity meter (TCM) survey of Solid Waste Storage Area 4 at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The in-phase response was found to be superior to the quadrature response in delineating buried trench boundaries. Flynn et al. [1992] used the same equipment to survey the K1070A burial ground at the Oak Ridge Reservation. They found that the quadrature response best identified the boundaries of the burial areas. The positioning system was also used by Flynn et al. for a magnetic survey of a suspected artillery impact area at an arsenal. Doll et al. [1993] present preliminary results of an airborne magnetic and EM survey over the Waste Area Group 6 site at the Oak Ridge Reservation.

At DOE's Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Carpenter and Deignan [1993] used a ground magnetic gradient and EM survey to map buried pits and trenches containing radioactive and mixed waste at the Subsurface Disposal Area. The trenches and pits were well resolved in both magnetic and EM data sets, indicating that all the trenches contained at least some conductive and magnetic material. In addition the in-phase EM component contained longer wavelength anomalies identified as contaminant plumes due to dumping of free solvents and acids. Hoekstra and Lahti [1994] tested magnetic, GPR, and EM methods at the Cold Test Pit at INEL. The EM methods were found to be superior to the magnetic and GPR methods at delineating the known targets in this test area.

Gilkenson et al. [1992] conducted field and model studies to determine the characteristic responses of
magnetic total intensity, magnetic vertical gradient, EM quadrature, and EM in-phase measurements over buried drums. Pierce and DeReamer [1993] used a vertical magnetic gradient survey to locate isolated buried waste drums at a 100 acre site in California. Dwyer and Johnson [1993] located buried drums and underground tanks at an 80 acre Superfund site in New Jersey using a vertical magnetic gradient survey. MacLean et al. [1991] used magnetic total field, magnetic vertical gradient, and EM methods to detect buried fuel storage tanks at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii. Foley [1994] used a towed array of magnetometers, designed for locating unexploded ordnance, to search for buried waste containers at a 45 acre site on Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The resulting magnetic anomalies could be presented as an image with a 10 cm resolution. The same equipment was successfully used at a Department of Energy test range in Colorado, designed to evaluate the ability of different geophysical techniques to locate known buried objects [ Koppenjan and Martinez, 1994].



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Next: Landfill Delineation Up: Review of Current Previous: Aquifers



U.S. National Report to IUGG, 1991-1994
Rev. Geophys. Vol. 33 Suppl., © 1995 American Geophysical Union