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ABSTRACT Soluble hydrocarbon and dissolved oxygen (DO) in a shallow aquifer beneath a field site were characterized by sampling ground water at 42 monitoring wells. Results from 10 sampling periods over three years showed a significant reduction in total benzene mass with time in ground water. These reduction and leakage rates from sources were determined from material balance and nonlinear least‐squares analyses. The natural attenuation rate was calculated to be 0.95%/day. Spatial relationships between DO and total benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) were shown to be strongly correlated by statistical analyses and solute transport modeling. In addition, laboratory microcosm biodegradation experiments were performed to determine possible threshold limits for aromatic hydrocarbon oxidation under varying levels of dissolved oxygen. The results were remarkably consistent with field data on the presence of high or low levels of BTX and DO in several monitoring well‐water samples.
Chiang et al. (1989) studied this question.