On the Displacement of NAPL Lenses and Plumes in a Phreatic Aquifer

The movement of an LNAPL lens above a sloping or horizontal water table, and a DNAPL lens above an impermeable surface is discussed. The governing equations are derived, using the vertical equilibrium approach and assuming the water mobility to be much greater than that of the NAPL. Analytical solutions are obtained for onedimensional movement of a lens along a sloping water table. They describe the lens movement with the formation of a jump at the leading front (large-scale approximation), and the distribution of NAPL in the transition zone near the jump (smallscale approximation). A model,describing the movement of a lens, taking into account NAPL retention,is proposed. Approximate onedimensional solutions for the movement of a NAPL lens along sloping or horizontal surfaces under such conditions are presented for this model. Some approximate analytical solutions for twodimensional lens (plume) formation and movement are obtained for the case of a point source at a sloping surface.