INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Science

Geosciences Research

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Researchers are designing

better remediation approaches, improving vadose

zone and groundwater

monitoring technologies, and

advancing modeling capabilities to provide more realistic

environmental risk assessments. Emphasis is on highly

cross-disciplinary, fieldoriented, DOE missionrelevant research resulting in

science and technology

advances and peer-reviewed

publications. The department

operates a seismic network to

monitor seismic activity on

the INL site and throughout

the Eastern Snake River Plain.

The department also maintains several field research

locations, as well as a mobile

laboratory, and oversees a

growing DOE complex-wide

vadose zone monitoring

network including a developing vadose zone research

park. In addition, INL has

established a Geocentrifuge

Research Laboratory in Idaho

Falls.

The Geosciences Research organization is improving our understanding of chemical,

biological, and geophysical processes in the subsurface, and how these processes

affect water and contaminant transport.

Geology and

Geophysics

Researchers are analyzing the

regional tectonic, volcanic,

and sediment accumulation

processes in the INL region to

better understand the geologic

hazards, both seismic and

volcanic, to provide conceptual understanding of the

subsurface hydrologic

processes, and to develop

better remedial strategies of

subsurface contaminants.

INL’s seismic monitoring

network is an important

contributor to this work.

Additional research is focused

on hydrocarbon reservoir

characterization, including

borehole seismic tools and

geophysical techniques for

imaging geopressured

reservoirs and basin modeling, and on enhancement of

characterization and exploration techniques for geothermal resources.

Biogeochemical

Processes

Research teams are studying

the coupled geochemical and

biological processes occurring

in subsurface environments.

The mobility of contaminants

in groundwater depends on

the chemical state of the

system and on the presence of

reactive minerals. The soil

zone carbon cycle is central to

this understanding as it links

soil moisture, microbial

Meso-scale research column.
INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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05-GA50193-01

activity, soil water pH

buffering, and retardation of

contaminants. Studies are

under way to define constitutive and thermodynamic

relationships among soil

moisture, carbon dioxide, and

contaminant transport. This

improved understanding

provides a higher level of

confidence in predictions of

the long-term fate of contaminants in the subsurface and

supports technically sound

remediation decisions. Such

research advances DOE’s

long-term environmental

stewardship mission.

Vadose Zone, Aquifer

Monitoring and

Characterization

Researchers are developing

integrated instrument systems

to characterize and monitor

subsurface environments to

better understand flow and

transport in deep vadose and

phreatic zones. Staff members

are developing new instruments to measure the spatial

and temporal distribution of

physical and chemical

parameters. Continuous

subsurface monitoring

systems are being deployed

throughout the United States

in cooperation with other

research institutions and

universities. Laboratory and

field experimental studies are

focused on measuring spatial

and temporal distribution of

chemical and soil physical

parameters, evaluating

subsurface microbial activities in unsaturated soil,

integrating geophysical

methodologies with soil

physical measurements, and

examining infiltration through

high-contrast media. These

advancements will lead to

better quantitative prediction

of contaminant transport

through vadose zone and

aquifer materials.

Geocentrifuge

Investigations

INL has established the

Geocentrifuge Research

Laboratory encompassing a

2-meter geocentrifuge user

facility in Idaho Falls.

Research conducted at this

laboratory will enable more

accurate modeling of a wide

range of complex porous

media and advance our

understanding of subsurface

contaminant transport. INL

and visiting researchers use

this laboratory to study fluid

flow through samples made

from soils, rock and other

materials, and for traditional

structural material testing.

Using the 2-meter

geocentrifuge to simulate an

accelerated passage of time

for a sample material, researchers can study in a few

days or weeks the effects of

tens of years of gravityinduced fluid movement. Test

samples can include intact

blocks and cores of geologic

materials and fabricated

models with idealized 2- and

3-D physical and chemical

heterogeneities.

The Geosciences Research

Department welcomes the

opportunity to participate in

collaborative research with

scientists from universities,

industry, and federal agencies.

Other opportunities include

post-doctoral fellowships,

sabbaticals, and staff positions.

Crew at field-scale site.

Experiment at bench scale.

Management Contact

Mark Ankeny

Department Manager

208-526-5748

Mark.Ankeny@inl.gov

For more information

INL is a U.S. Department of

Energy national laboratory

operated by Battelle Energy

Alliance