Contaminated Sediment Dispersal Monitoring
Our client required a cost effective methodology to determine the transport rate and fate of mercury-bound sediments within a shallow canal system, in order to predict the infilling rate of a new section of canal with the contaminated material.
Partrac manufactured tracer particles possessing the same size, density and shape characteristics as the native fine sediment material; these were carefully placed on the canal bed in a narrow strip across the width of the canal. Concurrently, a series of sediment traps and monitoring instruments were placed in the water column at strategic locations along the axis of the canal in order to capture suspended sediments (and tracer particles) and monitor current flows. The study was conducted over an 8 week period.
Through analysis of the tracer distribution pattern we were able to determine the mass transport of fine sedimentary material within the canal system, providing data on the sediment transport rate resulting form residual water currents and turbulence generated by boat traffic.
This provided the client with a hitherto unavailable data set which directly determined the rate of sediment migration and principal transport direction of the contaminated sedimentary material.
Projects
Contact Address
Partrac Ltd
141 St James Road
Glasgow, G4 0LT
United Kingdom
+ 44 (0) 141 303 8255
+ 44 (0) 141 552 3886
