Training
Mapping and estimating contaminated volumes using geostatistics
"A very good course, very useful, combining an academic statistical approach with practical examples. It will strengthen our expertise in contaminated site management and help us find the best way to carry out remediation work."
"This training course is useful for building a basic level of theoretical and practical knowledge and is intended for anyone interested in using geostatistics, particularly in contaminated sites and soils."
Objectives
- Characterize chemical pollution and radiological contamination with geostatistical methods.
- Produce contamination maps with a quantified level of uncertainty.
- Handle several pollutants within the same study.
- Delineate impacted areas objectively and quantify the uncertainty on the volumes and masses you calculate.
Target audience
Engineers and technicians, environmental consultancies, site owners, and the consultants who manage their projects, public bodies, and industrial operators who want a practical introduction to geostatistics for characterizing contamination.
Content
Day 1. Analyze data and its spatial variability
- Set pollution data in its environmental context: site history, lithology, aerial imagery, digital elevation model, and 2D/3D visualization.
- Validate the data: statistical analysis and quality control through correlations, histograms, and related checks.
- Understand spatial variability and what it means in practice for the feasibility of a given remediation method.
- Quantify the spatial variability of a pollutant: calculating, interpreting, and modeling the variogram.
Day 2. Map the contamination
- Review the common interpolation methods and where they stop working.
- Understand the principles and properties of 2D and 3D kriging, and apply them to map contamination rigorously.
- Use the uncertainty maps to pinpoint the areas that need further sampling.
- Extend the approach to multivariate geostatistics when several pollutants are involved.
Day 3. Quantify the contaminated volumes
- Understand what kriging and conditional simulations each give you: a single prudent estimate, or a set of equally probable outcomes to assess risk from.
- Run conditional simulations to:
– map the probability of exceeding a regulatory threshold, in 2D and 3D;
– build distribution curves for the surface and volume of soil to be treated, against the risk of exceeding a given threshold;
– calculate pollutant mass from soil density and pollutant concentration.
- Compare remediation scenarios by threshold, by sampling grid, and against the Pareto principle.
- Generate excavation plans from the 3D contamination maps.
What the course includes
- Half methodology, half practical work on real cases, with the emphasis on applying the concepts rather than deriving them.
- Hands-on exercises in Kartotrak.
- A temporary software licence, course notes and the exercise datasets.
- Assessment by multiple-choice test and case study. Certificate of completion issued at the end of the session.
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge of geostatistics is required. Basic statistics will help you get more out of the course.
The trainer
Meryem Meziane, PhD
Consultant, Geostatistics & Environment
Drawing on doctoral research in geostatistics applied to nuclear safety at ASNR and teaching experience at Mines Paris–PSL and Université Paris Cité, Meryem supports clients in implementing Kartotrak. She turns sampling data into reliable 3D contamination models, defensible volume estimates, and robust remediation decisions, tailored to the challenges of contaminated sites and nuclear decommissioning.
Register, or ask us first
This form handles all three: registration, a quote for yourself or your team, and questions about the content or the prerequisites.
Address
44 Avenue de Valvins, 77210 Avon, France