The monitoring of the natural attenuation in contaminated areas has shown an alternative technique of low cost for the remediation of contaminated areas. The microorganisms degradation is one of the most important processes in the natural attenuation of contaminants, especially composites of Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL). In many cases, the action effective of this process results in generation of organic acid, under high concentrations causes the mineral dissolution presents in the subsurface where if it finds the contamination, with release of ions. The increase on the amount of ions collaborates for the increase of the electric conductivity of the environment. The physical principle of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is the emission of electromagnetic waves of high frequency. The propagation of the electromagnetic wave depends on the frequency of emitted signal and the electric properties of the subsurface. The increase of electrical conductivity in the subsurface results in the attenuation of the signal and, for consequence, in the reduction of the of penetration depth of electromagnetic wave. This factor allows the monitoring of contaminated areas with natural attenuation from temporal analyses with the GPR. This paper presents a comparative study between profiles of GPR acquired in 1998 and 2003 in an area contaminated for composites of Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL), in processes of the natural attenuation. The results indicate an increase of the conductivity in the subsurface, from the accented attenuation it signal GPR observe in the 2003 sections. This increase can be associated to the release of ions for mineral dissolution, for the attack of organic acid resultants of the biodegradation process.
GPR; monitoring; natural attenuation; biodegradation; hydrocarbons
