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Background/Objectives. Both the Hydraulic Profiling Tool (HPT) and the Waterloo Advanced Profiling System (WaterlooAPS) have gained widespread acceptance in the environmental industry as means to generate real-time hydrostratigraphic logs while advancing a high-resolution site characterization boring. On a site with overburden comprising coastal plain sediments in North Carolina, a WaterlooAPS program was conducted and compared to historical HPT data in an attempt to rapidly characterize a downgradient plume area while also providing the opportunity to collect groundwater samples. These overlapping data sets provided an opportunity to compare the output from both tools to soil borings conducted by a field geologist. The ability to combine these similar types of data, generated by different tools using alternate approaches, would provide a higher level of flexibility in the design and implementation of high resolution site characterization (HRSC) projects.

Approach/Activities: Cascade’s WaterlooAPS tool was used in the field to advance 14 investigation locations to depths of up to 100 feet below ground surface. The resulting Index of Hydraulic Conductivity (IK) logs were compared to the results of a previously conducted HPT investigation for locations sited in the vicinity of one another. Graphical comparisons were conducted between the two HRSC tools, as well as a comparison to the geological interpretations of the field geologist and the existing site conceptual model.

Results/Lessons Learned: Despite their differing methods for collecting, analyzing, and presenting the hydrostratigraphy data, the HPT and WaterlooAPS data sets were compatible and highly comparable to one another and to the data collected from soil borings conducted at the site. This compatibility will allow greater flexibility when managing an HRSC program dynamically, particular in opening up the possibility of switching between tools combined with the HPT (e.g., the Membrane Interface Probe) and the WaterlooAPS.

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