| Title | Characterization of a dismissed landfill via electrical resistivity tomography and mise-à-la-masse method |
| Abstract | Electrical resistivitymethods arewidely used for environmental applications, and they are particularly useful for the
characterization and monitoring of sites where the presence of contamination requires a thorough understanding
of the location and movement of water, that can act as a carrier of solutes. One such application is landfill studies,
where the strong electrical contrasts between waste, leachate and surrounding formations make electrical methods
a nearly ideal tool for investigation. In spite of the advantages, however, electrical investigation of landfills poses
also challenges, both logistical and interpretational. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on a
dismissed landfill, close to the city of Corigliano d'Otranto, in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). The landfill is located
in an abandoned quarry, that was subsequently re-utilized about thirty years ago as a site for urban waste disposal.
The waste was thought to be more than 20 m thick, and the landfill bottom was expected to be confined
with an HDPE (high-density poli-ethylene) liner. During the digging operations performed to build a nearby new
landfill, leachate was found, triggering an in-depth investigation including also non-invasivemethods. The principal
goal was to verify whether the leachate is indeed confined, and to what extent, by the HDPE liner.We performed
both surface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and mise-à-la-masse (MALM) surveys, facing the severe challenges
posed by the rugged terrain of the abandoned quarry complex. A conductive body, probably associated with
leachate,was found as deep as 40 mbelowthe current landfill surface i.e. at a depth much larger than the expected
20 mthickness of waste. Given the logistical difficulties that limit the geometry of acquisition,we utilized synthetic
forward modeling in order to confirm/dismiss interpretational hypotheses emerging from the ERT and MALM results.
This integration between measurements and modeling helped narrow the alternative interpretations and
strengthened the confidence in results, confirming the effectiveness of non-invasive methods in landfill investigation
and the importance of modeling in the interpretation of geophysical results. |
| Source | Journal of applied geophysics 98, pp. 1–10 |
| Keywords | LandfillConfinementElectrical methodsForward modeling |
| Journal | Journal of applied geophysics |
| Editor | Elsevier, Tokyo ;, Paesi Bassi |
| Year | 2013 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jappgeo.2013.07.010 |
| Authors | Lorenzo De Carlo, Maria Teresa Perri, Maria Clementina Caputo, Rita Deiana, Michele Vurro, Giorgio Cassiani |
| Text | 262130 2013 10.1016/j.jappgeo.2013.07.010 Landfill Confinement Electrical methods Forward modeling Characterization of a dismissed landfill via electrical resistivity tomography and mise a la masse method Lorenzo De Carlo, Maria Teresa Perri, Maria Clementina Caputo, Rita Deiana, Michele Vurro, Giorgio Cassiani Water Research Institute IRSA , CNR, Bari, Italy Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Universita di Padova, Italy Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali archeologia, storia dell arte, del cinema e della musica, Universita di Padova, Italy Electrical resistivitymethods arewidely used for environmental applications, and they are particularly useful for the characterization and monitoring of sites where the presence of contamination requires a thorough understanding of the location and movement of water, that can act as a carrier of solutes. One such application is landfill studies, where the strong electrical contrasts between waste, leachate and surrounding formations make electrical methods a nearly ideal tool for investigation. In spite of the advantages, however, electrical investigation of landfills poses also challenges, both logistical and interpretational. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on a dismissed landfill, close to the city of Corigliano d Otranto, in the Apulia region Southern Italy . The landfill is located in an abandoned quarry, that was subsequently re utilized about thirty years ago as a site for urban waste disposal. The waste was thought to be more than 20 m thick, and the landfill bottom was expected to be confined with an HDPE high density poli ethylene liner. During the digging operations performed to build a nearby new landfill, leachate was found, triggering an in depth investigation including also non invasivemethods. The principal goal was to verify whether the leachate is indeed confined, and to what extent, by the HDPE liner.We performed both surface electrical resistivity tomography ERT and mise a la masse MALM surveys, facing the severe challenges posed by the rugged terrain of the abandoned quarry complex. A conductive body, probably associated with leachate,was found as deep as 40 mbelowthe current landfill surface i.e. at a depth much larger than the expected 20 mthickness of waste. Given the logistical difficulties that limit the geometry of acquisition,we utilized synthetic forward modeling in order to confirm/dismiss interpretational hypotheses emerging from the ERT and MALM results. This integration between measurements and modeling helped narrow the alternative interpretations and strengthened the confidence in results, confirming the effectiveness of non invasive methods in landfill investigation and the importance of modeling in the interpretation of geophysical results. 98 http //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926985113001493 Characterization of a dismissed landfill via electrical resistivity tomography and mise a la masse method Journal_Applied_Geophysics_2013_.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier 0926 9851 Journal of applied geophysics Journal of applied geophysics J. appl. geophys. mariaclementina.caputo CAPUTO MARIA CLEMENTINA lorenzo.decarlo DE CARLO LORENZO michele.vurro VURRO MICHELE TA.P04.005.010 Metodi, dispositivi di stima dei parametri idrogeologici e modelli matematici |
