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Alaska Section, American Water Resources Association Richard Kemnitz, Alaska Section AWRA Northern-Region Director I would like to invite you to the February 2000 Brown-Bag presentation by Craig McCauley, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Please note this meeting is the second Wednesday in February. Craig's talk will be a presentation of his graduate thesis efforts on fuel infiltration characteristics in frozen soils. This research has applications in areas of waste-containment systems in the arctic and assessment of environmental spills in permafrost areas . We look forward to seeing you, please feel free to bring a colleague to the meeting. January 10, 2000 "Fuel Penetration Rates in Frozen and
Unfrozen Soils: Bethel, Alaska" Alaska fuel storage facilities are required by law to provide secondary containment for the largest tank-volume. Secondary containment at these facilities commonly includes berms, catchment basins, and ditches. A fuel-storage facility in Bethel, Alaska is presently undergoing secondary containment design and construction. To predict potential fuel-migration pathways, one must know the fuel-penetration rates in site soils. Field and lab tests identified potential fuel-penetration depths with time. Field tests followed ASTM Method D 5093-90 and measured fuel infiltration rates in ice-saturated soils. The average infiltration rate was 4.3x10-8 cm/sec. Laboratory tests measured hydraulic conductivities in frozen and unfrozen soils at various moisture contents using a falling head permeameter. Unfrozen samples were tested at room temperature. Hydraulic conductivities were similar regardless of moisture contents. Tests for frozen samples occurred at 25oF. Hydraulic conductivities decreased as ice saturation increased. The permeant used for each test was Jet A-50/Diesel #2 (heating fuel). |