Contaminated site investigation solution Aug 2020

An integrated solution that enables geoscientists to easily and intuitively create robust 3D models of subsurface contamination plumes is at the heart of a new extension to the Leapfrog Works software by geoscience company Seequent. The new Contaminants extension enables reliable definition and estimates of contamination and its location to create highly visual 3D models that can be shared readily with project stakeholders to aid communication and understanding at each stage of contaminated site management.

Contaminant extension for Leapfrog Works software system

“By combining 3D dynamic geological models with best practice geostatistical methods, we are enabling people to build, maintain, communicate and track defensible interpretations and mitigation strategies for contamination resolution,” said Dr Thomas Krom, the Environmental Segment Director of Seequent. “This enables better, more transparent decision-making.”

“Currently,” he added, “environmental scientists estimate contaminate plumes in a spreadsheet or by using GIS geographic information systems, or they rely on one or two people in their organisation to create 3D models. The Contaminants extension leverages the intuitive workflows of Leapfrog to allow users to be productive almost immediately, making industry-standard geostatistics accessible for everyone and valuable on any sized project.”

Report of a contaminant mass and volume

Leapfrog Works with the new Contaminants extension forms part of the wider set of contaminated site solutions by Seequent. Leapfrog Works allows users to build 3D models from environmental data in hours, which dynamically updates each project lifecycle. Robust and intuitive geostatistical tools in the Contaminants extension allow users to create transparent and defensible estimates of contaminant mass and location in saturated and unsaturated zones.

Cloud-based data and the Seequent Central model management solution enables teams and project stakeholders to share data seamlessly and collaborate on models from any location to ensure that contamination resolution decisions are based on the latest information.

Eryn Torres, Senior Professional at Geosyntec Consultants, was one of the environmental scientists who worked closely with Seequent to test Leapfrog Works and the Contaminants extension on a variety of contaminated site projects.

Usable kriging estimators

“The organized workspace and powerful algorithms, as well as the reporting capabilities, have made Leapfrog and Contaminants solution invaluable tools for our team,” said Torres. “I have been impressed by the level of enthusiastic support and engagement that Seequent has provided. I have become a user of the solution during this early phase, and it is now a part of our daily workflows, especially for contaminated sites with the need to compute reliable mass estimates in complex scenarios.”

“Seequent solutions enable clear communication to clients, regulators, and the general public,” added Krom, “presenting 3D models of contaminated sites and associated groundwater systems in a fully auditable data-driven approach across the entire lifecycle of site management.”