Investigation of the vadose zone using barometric pressure cycles

This paper documents a technique for investigating one-dimensional airflow in the vadose zone. Variations in pore gas pressures resulting from barometric cycles were measured at depths as great as 180 m in several gas monitoring wells. The data were transformed to the frequency domain, enabling comparison with closed-form analytic expressions of one-dimensional pressure transport in layered porous media. The data reveal evidence for vertical fracture flow that was not apparent from in situ measurements of permeability. The data also reveal that the basalt underlying the site at depths greater than 100 m has permeability exceeding 1000 darcies, and is vented to the atmosphere at an estimated distance of a few kilometers from the site.