P. Allen Macfarlane

Kansas Geological Survey

undergraduate environmental geology or hydrogeology course for majors or non majors

Map reading skill and at a minimum a conceptual understanding of ground-water flow principles

This activity could be a capstone exercise following a segment on ground-water contamination in an environmental geology course or hydrogeology course or as a segue into environmental policy

1) application of ground-water principles to a practical problem
2) introduction to the world of the environmental consultant
3) The impact of technology on the cleanup of environmental problems

The student must directly apply the principles/concepts of ground-water flow to problem solution where there is significant uncertainty in the some of the data. This requires the student to make predictions based on estimated values of parameters.

PC or Macintosh computer skills

Environmental and earth science students seldom have an opportunity to apply what they learn in class to the solution of real-world problems. With NSF support we have developed the prototype Plume Busters software, in which students take on the role of an environmental consultant. Following a pipeline spill, the environmental consultant is hired by the pipeline owner to locate the resulting plume created by the spill and remediate the contaminated aquifer at minimum monetary and time cost. The contamination must be removed from the aquifer before it reaches the river and eventually a downstream public water supply. The software consists of an interactive Java application and accompanying HTML linked pages. The application simulates movement of a plume from a pipeline break through a shallow alluvial aquifer towards the river. The accompanying web pages establish the simulated contamination scenario and provide students with background material on ground-water flow and transport principles. To make the role-play more realistic, the student must consider cost and time when making decisions about siting observation wells and wells for the pump-and-treat remediation system.

Two modes of evaluation are possible: (1) students produce a screen of the Map View screen (the game board) at the end of each phase of the simulation and report the number of days and the amount of money spent for each phase of the game; or (2) students write up the simulation in the form of a consultant's report to the client pipeline owner.

The Teachers Guide to Plume Busters PDF can be downloaded from the Plume Busters web site. http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/GWtutor/index.html