Ph. Nielsen et al., PERFORMANCE OF THE IN-SITU MICROCOSM TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING THE DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC-CHEMICALS IN AQUIFERS, Ground water monitoring & remediation, 16(1), 1996, pp. 130-140
An in situ microcosm (ISM) consists of a stainless steel cylinder isol
ating about 2 L of the aquifer and is equipped with valves allowing fo
r loading and sampling from the ground surface. During the last five y
ears, this technique has been used frequently to study the degradation
of organic chemicals in polluted and pristine aquifers representing d
ifferent redox environments. The ISM technique has great potential for
providing field-relevant degradation potentials and rate constants, b
ut care must be taken in using the equipment and interpreting the resu
lts. This paper provides details concerning the installation and opera
tion of an ISM and presents experiences concerning data interpretation
and monitoring of redox conditions.