Quantification of Contaminant Mass Discharge in Groundwater - A Geostatistical Approach to Risk Assessment and Uncertainty Estimation

In my PhD I work with developing efficient Contaminant Mass Discharge quantification methods using advanced statistical and geostatistical methods, in order to improve cost-effective risk assessment of contaminated sites and remediation of groundwater contamination. Additionally I will work on assessing how different data types and at different scales, including (cheaper) semi-quantitative field data of hydraulic and chemical properties, can best be integrated into the uncertainty estimates in the developed method.

The project is funded by the Capital Region of Denmark and carried out as a collaborative effort between DTU Sustain, The James Hutton Institute, and the Capital Region of Denmark in the field of contaminated sites, risk assessment and remediation. The project work with data from real contaminated sites, and part of the project aims to develop a practical tool and guidelines, that can be used by consultants and decision makers for CMD estimates and overall uncertainty at contaminated sites using the developed geostatistical framework. The project therefore has both significant scientific potential and high practical relevance.