Groundwater最新文献

Small island communities often rely on groundwater as their primary source of fresh water. However, the limited land area and high proportion of coastal zones pose unique challenges to groundwater management. A detailed understanding of the subsurface structure can provide valuable insights into aquifer structure, groundwater vulnerability, saltwater intrusion, and the location of water resources. These insights can guide groundwater management strategies, for example, pollution regulation, promotion of sustainable agriculture, establishment of coastal buffer zones, and re-naturalization of land cover. Ordinarily, structural characterization relies on geological mapping and boreholes, however, such approaches can have insufficient spatial resolution to aid groundwater management. In this study, transient electromagnetic (TEM) methods are used to map the subsurface of a small, 13.2 km², Danish Island. The approach successfully identified two previously unknown paleochannels, where the interface between Quaternary aquifer units and an underlying Paleogene Clay aquiclude had maximum depths of 100 and 160 m below sea level. Before this, the interface was assumed to be 15 to 25 m below sea level: therefore, these paleochannels present substantial potential groundwater resources. Resolving geological heterogeneity within the Quaternary deposits was less successful and future work will focus on addressing these limitations. Nonetheless, in several locations, evidence of saltwater intrusion was observed within the Quaternary units. This work demonstrates how TEM mapping can identify water resources, define aquifer boundaries, and aid water management decisions. Such approaches could be applied in other areas, particularly small islands, where similar groundwater challenges exist.

The step-drawdown pumping test often experiences a transition from confined to unconfined conditions due to the continuously increasing pumping rate. However, the current well hydraulics model has not accurately interpreted this phenomenon. In this study, we developed an analytical solution to address the confined-unconfined conversion in step-drawdown pumping tests based on Girinskii's potential and superposition theory. Additionally, a field step-drawdown pumping test featuring confined-unconfined conversion was conducted to apply the proposed analytical solution. The particle swarm optimization algorithm was employed to simultaneously estimate multiple parameters. The results demonstrate that the newly proposed solution provides a better fit to the observed drawdown in the pumping well compared to previous models. The hydrogeological parameters (K, S), well loss coefficient (B), and critical time for confined-unconfined conversion (t_c) were estimated to be K = 7.15 m/d, S = 6.65 × 10⁻⁵, B = 7.48 × 10⁻⁶, and t_c = 1152 min, respectively. Neglecting the confined-unconfined conversion in step-drawdown pumping tests leads to underestimation of drawdown inside the pumping well due to an overestimation of the aquifer thickness. After the conversion from confined to unconfined conditions, the estimated well loss coefficient decreased by 88% compared to its pre-conversion value. This highlights the necessity of adjusting the well loss coefficient in the step-drawdown pumping test model to account for confined-unconfined conversion. In summary, this study introduces a new method for interpreting parameters in step-drawdown pumping tests and provides field validation for its effectiveness.

This study enhances the understanding of riverbank filtration and improves management of the Mississippi River valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer during a managed aquifer recharge (MAR) pilot project at Shellmound, MS. Using high-resolution electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and self-potential (SP) geophysical methods, we characterized the heterogeneous MRVA aquifer and monitored groundwater flow near a pumping well. ERT was used to provide detailed spatial characterization, filling gaps left by airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data and soil boring logs, while SP techniques were used to monitor groundwater flow, predict drawdown trends, and investigate surface-groundwater interactions. Results showed that SP signals were influenced by groundwater flow, river infiltration, and water mixing due to pumping disturbance of natural geochemical stratification, with significant river interaction observed after 1 h of pumping. The integration of ERT and SP methods revealed lithologic heterogeneity, explaining greater drawdowns on the northern side of the well and increased flow from the riverside. This comprehensive approach offers valuable insights into aquifer management and sustainability.

Research into land subsidence caused by groundwater withdrawal is hindered by the availability of measured heads, subsidence, and forcings. In this paper, a parsimonious, linked data-driven and physics-based approach is introduced to simulate pumping-induced subsidence; the approach is intended to be applied at observation well nests. Time series analysis using response functions is applied to simulate heads in aquifers. The heads in the clay layers are simulated with a one-dimensional diffusion model, using the heads in the aquifers as boundary conditions. Finally, simulated heads in the layers are used to model land subsidence. The developed approach is applied to the city of Bangkok, Thailand, where relatively short time series of head and subsidence measurements are available at or near 23 well nests; an estimate of basin-wide pumping is available for a longer period. Despite the data scarcity, data-driven time series models at observation wells successfully simulate groundwater dynamics in aquifers with an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.8 m, relative to an average total range of 21 m. Simulated subsidence matches sparse (and sometimes very noisy) land subsidence measurements reasonably well with an average RMSE of 1.6 cm/year, relative to an average total range of 5.4 cm/year. Performance is not good at eight out of 23 locations, most likely because basin-wide pumping is not representative of localized pumping. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of a parsimonious, linked data-driven, and physics-based approach to model pumping-induced subsidence in areas with limited data.