Argonne National Laboratory Tribal Internship Program

Argonne's research program in applied geosciences and environmental management is improving the characterization and remediation of contamination in complex geologic and hydroglic media through innovations in (1) sampling and analysis; (2) technologies for restoration of natural systems; (3) monitoring and evaluation of the performance of in-situ remediation systems; and (4) watershed-based methods for simulating large-scale hydrologic systems. Argonne's environmental site characterization process integrates targeted sampling, geologic a hydrologic systems analyses, and numerical modeling of flow and contaminant transport to improve delineation of contaminant migration and reduce remediation costs. Several advances in direct-push sampling technologies and chemical analysis have been awarded patents. Two innovative remediation technologies for groundwater that are now in field application in Nebraska, under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are (1) evaporation of carbon tetrachloride by spray irrigation equipment, with beneficial reuse of the treated water (http://www.cooperative/conservationamerica.org/viewproject). Development of both remediation technologies required innovative approaches to performance monitoring and geologic and hydrologic systems analysis. An improved approach for simulation of large-scale hydrologic systems being applied to Egypt's deserts couples groundwater and surface water systems combining satellite remote sensing data on climate, land use, and land cover with ground measurements.