Hydogeology and Environmental Geology
Faculty:
Gregory Baker
David Finkelstein
Larry McKay
Ed Perfect
Investigation of how physical, chemical, and biological processes influence soil development, groundwater flow, and the fate of microbial and chemical contaminants in modern surface and near-surface environments. Some examples of current research by our faculty in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology are shown below. Visit the faculty members’ pages through the above links to get more information about research in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology at UT.
Pore-scale Modeling: Dr. Perfect is developing fractal models to simulate the pore space geometry of structured soils and fractured rocks. The goal here is to establish theoretical and empirical relationships between relative saturation, transport phenomena and pore space geometry, as characterized by parameters such as the fractal dimension and lacunarity. The focus is on movement of water and dispersion of solutes in saturated and unsaturated media under steady state flow conditions. Both analytical solutions and computer (numerical and cellular automata) simulations are under investigation.
The Tennessee Products Superfund Site: The Tennessee Products plant property was occupied by several coal carbonization facilities from 1918 until 1987. At the plant, the coal carbonization process was used to remove gases from coal by heating, changing coal to coke, which was then used for other industrial purposes. Uncontrolled, off-site dumping of coal tar wastes generated at the Tennessee Products plant was a suspected practice at one time at the plant site, as is indicated by the discovery of coal tar deposits in and near Chattanooga Creek. Dr. McKay has initiated a multi-disciplinary, multi-institution effort to address environmental concerns related to former and present chemical manufacturing facilities.
Hydrogeophysics: Dr Baker is leading several projects that quantitatively integrate near surface geophysics with hydrologic parameter determination. For example, one project incorporates ground penetrating radar (GPR) with estimations of permeability in fractured media. Specifically, this project involves tracking high-salinity tracer in a subhorizontal mm-scale bedrock fracture through time (4D GPR). Another current project includes determination of bedrock topography using seismic and GPR techniques in several wet-meadow complexes in the central Great Basin of Nevada for hydroecological studies.
