Descr: The overall objective of this project is to detect the onset of contamination and progress of bioremediation in a groundwater system's vadose (unsaturated) zone. We propose using natural microseisms (~6 sec period) or induced groundroll as sources for collecting low frequency seismic attenuation data before and after chemically altering the groundwater system within a network of 3 seismometers. Our approach is motivated by the fact that trace amounts of contaminants on solid surfaces can significantly alter the resistance to meniscus (the fluid interface) motion, which leads to significant energy absorption.
