A Multi-stage Spatial Sampling Strategy With Multiple Criteria for the Quantification of Contaminant Mass Discharge Uncertainty
Abstract
Contaminant mass discharge across a control plane downstream of a dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone has great potential to serve as a metric for the assessment of the effectiveness of source zone treatment technologies and for the development of risk-based source-plume remediation strategies. However, field estimated mass discharge is always subject to great uncertainty arising from non- exclusive sampling. The accuracy of the mass discharge estimate and the magnitude of its quantifiable uncertainty depend upon the amount of information provided by the sample data. A multi-stage spatial sampling strategy is proposed to select optimal sampling locations and determine the minimal sampling density for accurate quantification of mass discharge uncertainty. Two sampling criteria are incorporated to ensure coverage of the entire control plane and the delineation of highly concentrated areas (hot spots). Relative weights are assigned according to the amount of information provided by each criterion, and these weights are automatically updated as the sampling progresses. Application of this methodology to numerically simulated transects shows that this sampling strategy yields a 50% reduction in sampling density in comparison to one stage sampling. The developed interactive computer program can be used in real-time to guide field sampling progress for mass discharge estimation.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFM.H11C1263L
- Keywords:
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- 1831 Groundwater quality;
- 1873 Uncertainty assessment (3275);
- 3252 Spatial analysis (0500)