Current Research

Dr Greg Davis is a Chief Research Scientist with CSIRO Land and Water.  He has interests in a number of areas of contaminants in groundwater and soil environments, especially where urban and industrial activities lead to impacts that require better characterisation and assessment techniques, and new remediation and management options. His interests extend to combining hydrogeology, soil physics, analytical and environmental chemistry, microbial and modeling disciplines to achieve improved environmental outcomes.

To help achieve this he is interested in combined industry, government and research efforts to direct priorities for effort and resource allocation. In addition he believes that laboratory bench, pilot and field scale demonstration and evaluation of remediation and assessment technologies (DERT) is required to enable uptake and adoption of techniques.

Some recent specific research interests are in the areas of:

• the natural attenuation (NA) of contaminants in groundwater, holistically combining aspects of fluid behaviour, geochemistry and biodegradation to reliably determine mass losses and concentration decreases in plumes;
•  the behaviour, biodegradation and potential exposures posed by hydrocarbon vapours near built environments,
• the quantification of fluxes and attenuation of contaminants in groundwater that discharge to surface water ecosystems, and;
• the trialing of aerobic in situ bioremediation in groundwater of lightly chlorinated hydrocarbons such as 1,2 DCA and vinyl chloride.

Research Expertise

• Contaminant hydrogeology – fate and transport of contaminants in subsurface soil and groundwater environments, particularly, natural attenuation studies in groundwater for petroleum hydrocarbons (e.g., BTEX, and source fuels and oils), industrial solvents and chlorinated hydrocarbons (e.g., TCE, PCE, 1,2 DCA, VC), nutrients (e.g., ammonium), some pesticides (e.g., atrazine), metals and acidic plumes, and munitions compounds (e.g., TNT, RDX).
• Design and evaluation of novel field-scale remediation technologies, for example permeable reactive barriers for nutrients, pesticides, metals, PAHs and VOCs, and air injection strategies for aerobic biodegradation;
• Development of innovative characterisation and monitoring tools, such as better groundwater sampling techniques, and in situ and on-line probes for oxygen and VOCs.
• The behaviour and potential exposure risks posed by petroleum and chlorinated hydrocarbon vapours.
• The behaviour and discharge estimation of contaminant plumes near surface water ecosystems, especially where density contrasts are present (e.g., near estuarine or marine environments), and where transients are apparent (e.g., tides and seasonal influences).
• Urban and industrial groundwater and soil issues – especially related to understanding land use impacts on groundwater quality.

Recent Professional Experience

• Research scientist, and group, team, stream and theme Leader, CSIRO Land and Water (1983 - )
• Seconded as Principal Contaminant Hydrogeologist to SMEC International (2003)
• Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Land and Water (2007 - )
• Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia (2007 - )
• Associate Editor, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (1998 - )
• Committee Chairman, 6^th IAHS International Groundwater Quality Conf. Fremantle 2007

Academic Qualifications

• 1979: B.Sc., University of Wollongong
• 1980: B.Math. (Hons) 1^st class, University of Wollongong
• 1983: Ph.D., Mathematical Modeling, University of Wollongong 

Professional Society Memberships

• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH)
• International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)

Publications Summary

Dr Davis has over 300 career publications, consisting of nearly 100 refereed journal and conference papers, 57 other conference papers, and over 150 reports to industry, government and community groups.  Selected publications are listed below:

1. Trefry, M.G., Svensson, T.J.A. and Davis, G.B. 2007. Hypoaigic influences on groundwater flux to a seasonally saline river. Journal of Hydrology 335, 330– 353.
2. Davis, G.B., Rayner, J.L., Trefry, M.G., Fisher, S.J. and Patterson, B.M. 2005. Measurement and modelling of temporal variations in hydrocarbon vapor behavior in a layered soil profile. Vadose Zone Journal 4, 225-239.
3. Westbrook, S.J., Rayner, J.L., Davis, G.B., Clement, T.P., Bjerg, P.L. and Fisher, S.J. 2005. Interaction between shallow groundwater, saline surface water and contaminant discharge at a seasonally- and tidally-forced estuarine boundary. J Hydrology 302 (1-4), 255-269.
4. Patterson, B.M., Grassi, M.E., Robertson, B.S., Davis, G.B., Smith, A.J. and McKinley, A.J. 2004. The use of polymer mats in series for sequential reactive barrier remediation of ammonium-contaminated groundwater: field evaluation. Env. Sci. Technol. 38, 6846-6854.
5. Prommer, H., Davis, G.B., Barry, D.A. and Miller, C.T. 2003. Modelling the fate of petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater. In: Health and Environmental Assessment of Site Contamination (Langley, A., Gilbey, M.  and Kennedy, B. – Eds), ( Proceedings of the Fifth National Workshop on the Assessment of Site Contamination. Adelaide 13-15 May 2002). Published by the Australian Environmental Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) incorporating the National Environmental Protection Council (NEPC), pp. 21-45.
6. Davis, G.B. and Patterson B.M. 2003. Developments in permeable reactive barrier technology. In: Bioremediation: A Critical Review. (I.M. Head, I. Singleton and M.G. Milner - Eds). Horizon Scientific Press, UK, Chapter 8, pp. 205-226.
7. Patterson, B.M., Davis, G.B. and McKinley, A.J. 2000. Volatile organic compounds in groundwater, probes for the analysis of. In: Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry: Instrumentation and Application (R.A Meyers Ed.). John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 3515-3526.
8. Davis, G.B., Barber, C., Power, T.R., Thierrin, J., Patterson, B.M., Rayner, J.L. and Qinglong Wu. 1999. The variability and intrinsic remediation of a BTEX plume in anaerobic sulphate-rich groundwater. J. Contaminant Hydrology 36(3/4), 265-290.
9. Prommer, H., Davis, G.B. and Barry, D.A. 1999. Geochemical changes during biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons: field investigations and biogeochemical modelling. Organic Geochemistry 30(6), 423-435.
10. Davis, G.B., Johnston, C.D., Patterson, B.M., Barber, C., and Bennett, M. 1998. Estimation of biodegradation rates using respiration tests during in situ bioremediation of weathered diesel NAPL. Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 18(2), 123-132.
11. Johnston, C.D., Rayner, J.L., Patterson, B.M. and Davis, G.B. 1998. The contribution of volatilisation and biodegradation during air sparging of dissolved BTEX-contaminated groundwater. J. Contaminant Hydrology 33, 377-404.
12. Barber, C., Patterson, B. M., Davis, G.B. and Power, T.R. 1998. Environmental monitoring of organic compounds. United States Patent No 5,773,713, 30 June 1998.
13. Benker, E., Davis, G.B. and Barry, D.A. 1997. Factors controlling the distribution and transport of trichloroethene in a sandy aquifer - hydrogeology and results of an in situ transport experiment. J. Hydrology 202(1-4), 315-340.
14. Rao, P.S.C., Davis, G.B. and Johnston, C.D. 1996. Technologies for enhanced remediation of contaminated soils and aquifers: overview, analyses and case studies. In: Naidu et al. (Eds) Contaminants and the Soil Environment in the Australasia-Pacific Region, Kluwer Academic Public. Dordrecht, Chapt 12, 361-410.
15. Thierrin, J., Davis, G.B. and Barber, C. 1995. A groundwater tracer test with deuterated compounds for monitoring in situ biodegradation and retardation of aromatic compounds.  Ground Water 33(3), 469-475.
16. Thierrin, J., Davis, G.B., Barber, C., Patterson, B.M., Pribac, F., Power, T.R and Lambert, M. 1993.   Natural degradation rates of BTEX compounds and naphthalene in a sulphate reducing groundwater environment.  Hydrological Sciences Journal 38(4), 309-322.
17. Barber, C. and Davis, G.B. 1987.  Representative sampling of groundwater from short-screened boreholes.  Ground Water 25(5), 581-587.
18. Davis, G.B. and Ritchie, A.I.M. 1986.  A model of oxidation in pyritic mine wastes: Part 1: equations and approximate solution.  Applied Mathematical Modelling 10(5), 314-322.