Water Sampling Strategies

What are some reasons for monitoring?
Sampling strategies fall into two general categories. What are they? What are the pros and cons of these two approaches?
How do you address temporal variability in a large water quality survey and what are the pros and cons of each method?
Differentiate between the following types of sampling: simple random, stratified random, systematic spatial, adaptive cluster
If you are going to use existing water quality data for a regional assessment, what are some of the factors you have to consider and potentially adjust for?
What is NAQWA? How is it designed?
There are two designs often used in watershed studies. What are these and how do they work? What are the limitations?

QA/QC
What does QA and QC mean?
What are QAPP and QMP plans? What is in each?
What is an SOP?
What are the sections of a QMP? What is in some of these sections such as quality components, computers, assessment?
A QAPP is divided into 4 parts. What are those parts?
You have a water level logger in place for your project. What are some of the things that need to be addressed in the QAPP under sampling methods.
What are data quality indicators and what does each mean?
What is chain of custody all about?
What kind of errors can you have with analytical measurements?
Describe the types of blanks and what they are used for.
Define and describe the MDL and the PQL.
What is the difference between accuracy and precision?
We discussed 5 different methods for quality control sampling. What are these?
What is a matrix spike?
What number is considered typical for replicate samples for a project?
What is the difference between method detection limit and quantification limit?
How can you preserve a sample for transport?
What is the difference between data review, verification, and validation?

Artiola Chp 2: Q3, 4

Geophysics
You are in a glacial environment which you suspect consists of ice-contact till (a heterogeneous deposit of sand and clay). The site is at a military base where explosive hazards preclude random drilling. What geophysical methods could be used to delineate the geology to a depth of 75 feet or so. Justify your choice.

You are at a Superfund site and want to use geophysics to help define the suspected contaminant plume. What method would you use and why?

What can downhole geophysics data be used for in hydrogeologic investigations? Pick one of the following methods and discuss a little of how it works and list the advantages and disadvantages of the method: Electric Resistivity (any type), Induction, Gamma Ray, SP.

Discuss what surface geophysical methods you would use for the following situations and why. Include any assumptions you are making.
Detection of a contaminant plume of gasoline
Metals contamination in a clay soil
Buried drums of organic solvents
Buried ordinance

Discuss what the following surface geophysical methods are useful for in environmental work.
EM resistivity
EM conductivity
Seismic refraction or reflection
GPR

Explain the difference between profiling versus sounding in EM work.
What is the difference between EM resistivity and conductivity?
What are some of the factors that affect resistivity/conductivity?
Geophysicts are migrating more and more to projectile weapons (guns) for an energy source for shallow reflection. Why?
Discuss the pros and cons of reflection versus refraction for shallow (<100 feet) environmental work.
What is the basic principle behind refraction and where might that become a problem?

Discuss what surface geopysical methods you would use for the following situations to evaluate the geology down to about 75 feet or so and why.
A heterogeneous till deposit (clay, gravel with sand layers)
A karstic, fractured limestone

Discuss what surface geophysical methods you would use for the following situations and why. Include any assumptions you are making.
Detection of a contaminant plume of gasoline
Buried drums of organic solvents

What is the difference between spontaneous potential and induced polarization?
What are the limitations of GPR?
Data from gravity and magnetics surveys are often compared to models. Why is that true for these and not for other methods? What type of information can be gained from these studies?
What are some downhole geophysical methods? What are they used for? Can they be used in open or cased holes?

Remote Sensing
" Describe the three types of scattering that takes place in the atmosphere.
" What is the relationship between resolution and pixel size.
" Some of the radiation that comes to the earth is intercepted. What are the mechanisms for this? What can happen to the radiation that reaches the surface?

" What is radiometric resolution? MSS? Hyperspectral?
" What is the difference between across-track and along-track sensors?
" What are some environmental applications for satellites sensing?

" What is SAR? SLAR?
" What are these used for?
" What is LIDAR? What is it used for?

Artiola Chp 11: Q 1, 3, 5, 9, 10

Soil/Soil water Sampling
You are about to embark on a Phase II investigation where you will be collecting samples - soil, water. Discuss the preliminary steps that you should do before ever setting foot in the field.

Discuss what shallow soil sampling methodology you would use for the following situations and why. Include instruments used and how you would store and preserve the sample.
a) Stony shallow soil, dry for geotechnical analysis
b) Clay-rich soil, moist for pesticides or other soil-adsorbing compounds
c) Sandy soil, moist for inorganics
d) Very wet pond muck for complete chemical analysis including volatiles

Describe the four types of soil samples and what they are useful for.
What are the pros and cons of soil sampling equipment we discussed?
What is the vadose zone and why is it difficult to sample?
There are a few commonly used methods for obtaining a water sample from the vadose zone. These fall into three classes suction lysimeters, free drainage or zero tension devices, and passive capillary samplers. Discuss the general principles of operation and the advantage/disadvantages of these samplers.

What types of soil gas surveys are there? How do they work? What are their advantages/disadvantages?
Vapor pressure and Henry's law constants are often used to determine if soil gas surveys methods will be effective. What do these tell us?
In addition there are hydro-geological factors which influence soil gas surveys. What are these and how do they affect soil-gas?
Rather than put in wells DP technology is now commonly used for soil-gas survey. What is this and what are some of the methods?
What type of soil gas sampling devices are available?

Artiola, Chp 7: Q3, 4, 5, 6

Wells
When do you need to decontaminate your drilling equipment? What should you decontaminate?
What would you decontaminate with if your previous drill site had:
Organics
Metals
Excess clays
Bacteria

For each of the following geologic situations in which you either have to do a geologic site appraisal or install monitoring wells what drilling method would you use? Justify your choices. If there could be limitations depending on site conditions, discuss them.
Shallow bedrock
Cobbly gravel
Very deep gypsum, shale, salts
Gulf Coast sediments - sands, muds

We discussed several types of well installations including single screened wells, well clusters, multiple screened wells, and tubing samplers (multi layer samples). Discuss two of these and their disadvantages and advantages.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of air rotary drilling versus mud rotary drilling.
Why develop a well?

Know all the parts of a completed well
Why do we worry about the material the well casing and screen is composed of? What can happen if we choose the wrong material?
What are some common casing materials and what are their relative advantages/disadvantages?
Describe three methods, plus their advantages/disadvantages for developing a well.

Artiola Chp 8: Q2, 3, 4, 5, 6

GW Sampling
"There are a myriad of sampling devices available for groundwater studies. What are the advantages/disadvantages of these? What are they useful for in terms of contaminants?
Bailers
Peristaltic pumps
Inertial pumps
Submersible pumps
Double valve pumps - air or gas
Bladder pumps
Syringe samplers

What are the relative merits of sample filtering versus not filtering?
Discuss the relative merits of purging versus not purging prior to sample collection. We discussed three methods for purging including volume, indicator parameters, and transmissivity. Discuss how these work, advantages, disadvantages.

Artiola Chp 8; Q 1, 7

Surface Water Sampling

What criteria do we use to locate sampling sites in still-water? In flowing water?
What is transparency and how do we measure it?
How can we obtain water samples from a lake?
How can you sample sediment in a pond or lake?

Why do we need to know discharge if we are sampling water quality in a river?
How can discharge be calculated, measured?
What is stage?
How is river velocity measured?
Why do incremental sampling in a river?
Where does TCEQ recommend river sampling occur?
How can you sample suspended sediment in a river?

Air Sampling

What is ambient sampling, passive sampling, active sampling? How would you collect a time-integrated sample?
Describe the two types of National Ambient Air Quality Standards?
What is the focus of the new National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy? Why are we changing from NAMS and SLAMS. What is the new NCORE monitoring network?
List the criteria air pollutants and for two of them what are their health and environmental effects?
What is the AQI scale? Ho does it work?
What is the NADP program?
How does a wet/dry collector work? What are some of the rules for placement of such a monitor?