A ribbon NAPL sample cloth used to detect the presence of separate phase trichloroethylene (DNAPL) in boreholes (circa 2005). The cloth was stained when pure trichloroethylene and methanol was applied in the lab during a test of the technology.

USGS scientists connecting tubing to the Bedrock-Aquifer Transportable Testing Tool (BAT³). The BAT³ was used to conduct hydraulic tests on fractures and to collect water samples from fractures for chemical analysis (circa 2005).

USGS scientist collecting water samples for chemical analysis and measuring pH, specific conductance, and other field parameters of water pumped from a well (not in photo). The water sample was analyzed for contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (circa 2005).

USGS scientists conducted outcrop studies in 2003 and 2004 to gather information on the pattern of fracturing and its correlation with rock type in the rocks around the site. This information was used to better understand the migration of the trichloroethylene (TCE) plume at the site.

The Lockatong Formation, a cyclically deposited mudstone, is the host rock for the trychloroetylene (TCE) plume at the NAWC site. The formation is characterized by bedding-controlled fracturing as well as strata bound high-angle jointing.

A view of a mudstone of the Lockatong Formation, showing bedding (dipping gently to the left of the picture), bedding-plane parting fractures, and strata bound vertical jointing (rock face just to the left of the rock hammer). Fractures such as these control the transport of trichloroethylene (TCE) at the NAWC site.

In 2004, USGS drillers cored a hole just east of the site to determine the location of a fault that passes through the site, and to better understand its geologic and hydrogeologic properties. The fault zone impedes the flow of groundwater and is a major control on the groundwater flow system at the NAWC site.

Rock core of the heavily faulted Stockton Formation retrieved from a northeast-trending fault zone. The fault zone passes through the southeast corner of the site, separating the Stockton on the southeast from the Lockatong Formation on the northwest. The fault zone acts as a barrier to trichloroethylene (TCE) migration.

A close-up of the fault-zone core showing open joints perpendicular to bedding in the Stockton Formation sandstone. This core along with others was used to more accurately map the location of the fault zone at the NAWC site. Fractures in the core yield clues to the 3-dimentional orientation of the fault and its direction of movement.

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J., was originally a jet engine testing facility. The site is now used by a multidisciplinary team of scientists to study the fate of trichloroethylene (TCE) in fractured rock.

Jet engine testing equipment at the site was cooled with trichloroethylene (TCE). The NAWC site is now used by the USGS and its partners to study the fate of TCE that leaked into fractured rock.

Historical photo of the NAWC site during construction (circa 1950s). The site is no longer used by the U.S. Navy for jet engine testing.

Aerial view of the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J., when it was operating. The facility was closed as part of the base closure and realignment (BRAC) process.

View of the area above the plume of trichloroethylene in fractured sedimentary rock. Extensive piping and large conduits associated with jet engine testing were removed to facilitate the remediation of contaminants in fractured bedrock.

Above-ground trichloroethylene (TCE) pipes at the site. TCE was used as a coolant in the jet-engine testing equipment at the site. The pipes were cut during remedial activities.