AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PREVENTION OF VERTICAL CAPILLARY TRANSPORT OF SALT FROM BRINE CONTAMINATION

Disposing of produce water, or brine, by surface discharging was once a common practice by U.S. oil producers. This has resulted in extensive damage to the environment in the form of brine scars which are incapable of supporting plant life. Remediation of a brine scar typically involves the removal of salt from the surface layers of soil. However, salt located in deeper layers is rarely removed and can migrate vertically to the surface via capillary forces. This results in the re-contamination of a site and negates remediation efforts. The purpose of this project is to investigate a possible method of preventing vertical capillary movement of salt from deeper soil layers to the surface. Soil cores were taken from a number of naturally existing soil pedestals within brine-contaminated sites. These pedestals rise above the floor of the brine scar and support significant amounts of vegetation at the top of the pedestals. The composition of these cores were analyzed at approximately six-inch intervals to correlate soil texture and salt concentration. Particular attention was focused on the soil interval that separates salt contaminated layers from those that are uncontaminated. The soil texture of this interval seems to be preventing the capillary migration of salt up to the root zone, thus allowing plants to thrive at the top of the soil pedestals. The identification of the soil texture responsible for this capillary break will aid in the restoration of other historic brine scars.