Hydrology Commons^™

Investigating Epikarst Recharge Dynamics Under Agricultural Landuse Using Hydrometeorological And Isotopic Tracers, Austin Shane Deering

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Epikarst systems have complex recharge – discharge processes in telogenetic karst systems, including highly variable storage, flowpaths, and mixing dynamics. This research aimed to characterize the epikarst zone using hydrogen and oxygen isotopic tracers of these processes within south-central Kentucky’s Crumps Cave system located in the Pennyroyal Sinkhole Plain. Data and statistical analyses were applied to highresolution rainfall (RF), lysimeter (10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm depths), and an epikarst Waterfall 1 (WF1) isotope data collected on a weekly basis between 2011-2018. These data were coupled with WF1 discharge measurements and weather station data collected at Crumps Cave Preserve during …

Molecular Genetic Analysis Of Stygobiotic Shrimps Of The Genus Xiphocaridinella (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) Reveals A Connection Between Distant Caves In Central Abkhazia, Southwestern Caucasus, Ivan Marin, Ilya Turbanov

International Journal of Speleology

Based on the morpho-genetic study of stygobiotic shrimps from the genus Xiphocaridinella Sadowsky, 1930 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae), a hydrogeological connection of a number of distant caves in Central Abkhazia of the southwestern Caucasus is satisfied, which indicates the possibility of using biospeleological studies in some cases to identify karst hydrosystems together with traditional hydrogeological methods. Moreover, a new stygobiotic atyid shrimp from the genus Xiphocaridinella, X. kelasuri sp. n., is described based on morphology and analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I DNA sequences from three distant caves. The new species is genetically divergent from relatives and phylogenetically related to …

Fractured Rock Groundwater Wa Wheatbelt: Data And Methodology Review, Louise Hopgood, Richard Nixon

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) in partnership with Water Corporation, working with Murdoch and Curtin universities, are looking at new options to improve farm water security in the wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Winter rainfall has declined since 2000 and dams, traditionally used for farm water supply, no longer provide sufficient or reliable water, especially after 1 to 2 below average years. Increasingly, groundwater supplies are being considered to supply farm needs, including those from fractured rock aquifers, with opportunities to desalinate to improve water quality.

This project undertook to review groundwater availability in fractured rock aquifers …

Characterization Of Surface Geology And Hydrogeology In The Upper Ulua River Basin, Honduras, C. Renee Sparks, Issac J. Jacques, Cheryl L. Verbree, Thomas J. Timmermans, Stuart Dykstra

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

This research includes a hydrogeologic assessment in and around La Union, Honduras to determine the contribution of groundwater to the surface water system and understand the geological control of groundwater storage and movement. Field methods were employed and focused on spring characterization, geochemical signatures, and structural data. Field data was gathered, and locations determined using cellular-integrated GPS signal and the Fulcrum mapping software mobile application. During the summer of 2017, data on 111 geologic points and 34 water points were collected to understand the hydrogeology of the region. Streams and springs were monitored for pH, flow characteristics and conductance as …

Using Low-Flow Sampling Data To Estimate Hydraulic Conductivity In Aquifers, Joy Kiefer

Masters Theses

Hydrogeologists sample wells to test aquifer water quality and use slug tests to estimate aquifer permeability. Robbins et al. (2009) proposed a more efficient way to obtain the goals of the two tests—the use of low-flow sampling and the use of the resulting flow rate and drawdown data to estimate aquifer hydraulic conductivity (K). The Robbins et al. method calculates K by using the slope of the best fit line from the graph of flow rate vs. drawdown for all low-flow pumping data collected at a well. When the method was applied to low-flow data from four Kalamazoo, MI, it …

Spatiotemporal Patterns In Water Yield From The Humid Puna: A Case Study In The Agrarian District Of Zurite, Perú, Wyeth Wunderlich

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The humid puna is a seasonally dry alpine grass- and shrub-land biome that exists at the altitudinal limits of plant survival, hosts peat-forming wetlands known as bofedales, and yields water to streams used by small and large communities throughout the central and southern Peruvian Andes. Despite the importance of the humid puna in supplying water resources, particularly to perennial streams, few studies have quantified water yield and no studies have explored relationships between the structure of puna landscapes and spatial patterns in water yield. Zurite (population: 3,640, elevation: 3,011 m.a.s.l., annual precipitation: 855 mm) is an agrarian district in …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Interpretation Of Airborne Electromagnetic (Aem) Data, Aaron C. Davis, Mike Donn, John A. Simons, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Olga Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report focusses on hydrogeophysical and geological interpretation of the inversion results of an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey conducted north of Newman, Western Australia, in October and November 2019. The interpretation of the inversions is regional in scale, although we pay specific attention to interpretation of the near-surface transported cover sequences north and west of the Fortescue River. Specifically, we attempt to locate aquifers and near-surface geological structures that are likely to provide good quality groundwater for future extraction and storage. Analysis of the electrical conductivity structure of the ground also provides an estimate of the depth of the groundwater …

Relating Streamflow Discharge To Surface Elastic Response Under Hydrologic Loading Using Single Gps Vertical Displacement And The Storage-Discharge Relationship At Local Watershed Scales, Noah B. Clayton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Uncertainties associated with climate change and increasing demands for water resources require better methods for estimating water availability at small to intermediate watershed scales (<1500 km²). Temporal changes in watershed storage and transport across various watersheds in the western U.S. were investigated using the hydrologic loading signal from GPS vertical displacements as a proxy for changes in watershed total terrestrial storage. GPS vertical displacement and streamflow discharge relationships were analyzed at daily to monthly temporal resolution. Stream connected storage changes were inferred using discharge using a first-order dynamical system model. Storage inferred from discharge, GPS vertical displacement and storage …

Exploring Sediment Compaction In Experimental Deltas: Towards A Meso-Scale Understanding Of Coastal Subsidence Patterns, Samuel Mason Zapp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Subsidence in low elevation coastal areas has been extensively researched through direct field measurement, numerical modelling, and stratigraphic reconstruction of ancient sediment deposits. Here I present the first investigation of subsidence due to sediment compaction and consolidation in two laboratory scale river delta experiments. Compactional subsidence rates have never been thoroughly quantified in the experimental setting, though this mechanism is found to be a primary creator of total relative sea level rise which will likely cause coastlines to retreat in the coming years. Spatial and temporal trends in subsidence rates in the experimental setting may elucidate behavior which cannot be …

An Integrated Approach (Remote Sensing, Hydrogeology, Gis, And Statistical Modeling) To Identify The Distribution Of Shallow Groundwater Occurrences Over Southwest Saudi Arabia, Fahad Khudier Alshehri

Dissertations

Identifying shallow (near-surface) groundwater in arid and hyper-arid areas has significant societal benefits, yet it is a costly operation when traditional methods (geophysics and drilling) are applied over large domains. In this study, we developed and successfully applied methodologies that rely heavily on readily available temporal, visible and near-infrared, radar, and thermal remote sensing data sets and field data, as well as statistical approaches to map the distribution of shallow (1–5 m deep) groundwater occurrences in Al Qunfudah Province, Saudi Arabia and to identify the factors controlling their development. A four-fold approach was adopted: (1) constructing a digital database to …

An Analysis Of Large Displacement Pneumatic Slug Tests For The Characterization Of Aquifer Parameters – Guidelines For An Alternative Field Procedure, Madison E. Wayt

Masters Theses

Variations in hydraulic conductivity (K) between larger scale aquifer tests and smaller scale slug tests, and within individual aquifer tests, have been linked to method bias and aquifer heterogeneity. The impacts of varying slug sizes on K, which represents K dependence on a smaller scale, is not as well understood. To examine the relationship between K and slug size, a series of slug tests with a range of initial displacements were performed in three intermediate to high K, unconfined aquifers encompassing homogeneous, mildly heterogeneous, and moderate to highly heterogeneous conditions. Slug test estimated K values at Asylum Lake are compared …

Field And Numerical Evaluation Of Nitrogen Transport From Septic Systems In Surfical Aquifer Systems To Charlotte Harbor, Florida, Tanten T. Buszka

Masters Theses

Shallow water tables in coastal surficial aquifers limit effective treatment of septic effluent which can result in excess nutrient loading into nearby surface water bodies. Approximately 45,000 septic systems in Charlotte County, Florida transmit effluent into an under studied surficial aquifer and contribute to harmful algal blooms and outbreaks of E. coli. An undeveloped field site was characterized using standard hydrogeologic methods, including a one-year duration natural gradient tracer test, to obtain representative lithology of the sandy surficial aquifer and estimates of groundwater velocity, flow directions, effective porosity and dispersion. These data were used to support the development of a …

Hydrogeology Of The Gillingarra Palaeochannel, Russell Speed, Adele Killen

Resource management technical reports

Previous groundwater investigations had identified the presence of palaeochannel sediments under the Capitela Valley in the Perth Basin, about 25 kilometres south-west of Moora. The sediments of this Capitela Palaeochannel were thought to form a discrete aquifer of good quality groundwater suitable for agriculture.

To improve our understanding of the Capitela Palaeochannel, its distribution, water quality and potential as a groundwater resource, we undertook an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical survey of the area in December 2012. This led to the discovery of a palaeochannel located in the Darling Range between Gillingarra and New Norcia, and we named this the Gillingarra …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Processing Airborne Electromagnetic (Aem) Data, Aaron C. Davis, Mike Donn, John A. Simons, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Olga Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report focusses on pre-processing, inversion, and post-processing of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data from a SkyTEM 312M helicopter-borne time-domain AEM survey conducted north of Newman, Western Australia in October and November 2019. Flight lines for the survey were chosen to trend east-west at 400 m line-spacing in order to produce gridded products at 100 m by 100 m resolution. The line directions were chosen in order to best intersect the Fortescue River Fault which separates the Wittenoom Formation from the Pinjian Chert Formation and Manganese Group, and to map the distribution of transported materials in the alluvial fan north of …

Tidal-Groundwater Study Of The Slaughter Beach Salt Marsh In Slaughter Beach, De, Michael Powers

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Seasonal and decadal monitoring of salt marsh at Slaughter Beach, DE documented long-term and short-term variations in number and sizes of salt ponds. Over 400 salt ponds ranging in size between 0.5 m² to 0.11 km² were identified on 5.5 km² salt marsh platform. The purpose of this study is to quantify hydrologic conditions and measure groundwater discharge of a salt marsh, particularly the impact of tidal forces on groundwater fluctuation.

Four wells with nests of mini-piezometers with ONSET Pressure Transducers were installed along a transect crossing the largest salt pond (0.11 km²) in the …

Isotopic And Geochemical Tracers Of Groundwater Flow In The Shivwits Plateau, Grand Canyon National Park, Jonathan W. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

As the impacts of global climate change on water resources continue to become more apparent, proper understanding and management of groundwater resources will be needed as supplies become more strained. Traditional methods of characterizing groundwater systems are time-intensive, costly, and can be difficult to complete in remote areas. Using ambient geochemical tracers from discrete sampling could aid in characterizing spring systems through determining flow paths, recharge areas, and carbon cycling. However, using discrete seasonal samples to understand the hydrogeology of complex, mixed-lithology aquifers has not been extensively examined. Here we explore using δ¹³C of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), …

A Geochemical Assessment Of Potential Groundwater Storage Locations Within The Yakima River Basin, Silas Sleeper

All Master's Theses

Currently in the Yakima River Basin more people possess surface water rights than there is available surface water. As a result, the local community devised the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Management Plan, with the goal of creating a sustainable source of water for the foreseeable future. One of seven elements outlined in this plan is groundwater storage. The idea is to take available water during high spring flows and store it in the subsurface. The water will then be used to increase stream flows and decrease stream water temperatures during the summer months. A main challenge associated with groundwater …

Groundwater Investigations To Support Irrigated Agriculture At La Grange, Western Australia: 2013–18 Results, Robert J. Paul, Gregory Paul Raper, Richard J. George Dr, Nicholas J. Wright, Adam M. Lillicrap, Peter S. Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Broome Sandstone aquifer is the main aquifer and groundwater resource in the La Grange area, near Broome in the West Kimberley, Western Australia. Land use is dominated by cattle grazing on pastoral stations, dispersed mining and tourism. Irrigated agriculture has developed at a small scale, with about 470 hectares under cultivation in 2014. Groundwater abstraction is licensed under the La Grange groundwater allocation plan (Department of Water 2010) and managed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The La Grange groundwater allocation area is split into the La Grange North subarea and La Grange South subarea, with groundwater …

The Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks Of The Ouachita Mountains And Their Genetic Relationship To The Mississippi Valley-Type Mineralization In The Southern Ozark Region: Insights From Radiogenic Pb Isotopes And Trace Elements Studies, Christophe Wakamya Simbo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cluster of Pb and/or Zn deposits of the well-known Tri-State and Northern Arkansas Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) districts located north of the Arkoma basin and the Ouachita fold-thrust belt in north America are genetically connected to the Pennsylvanian-Permian Ouachita orogeny which triggered a South-North topographic gradient flow of basinal brines, leaching metal rich sediments en route. The objective of the research is twofold. First, to ascertain whether the organic-rich shales and sandstones from the study area provided metals during the mineralization event, which was coeval with the Ouachita orogeny. Second, to assess the depositional environment of the potential source rocks, …

Investigations Of The Potential For Irrigated Agriculture On The Bonaparte Plains: Bore Completion Report, 2nd Edition, D L. Bennett

Resource management technical reports

Drilling programs were undertaken in 2013 and 2016 by the former Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and in 2017 by DPIRD, at 10 sites in the Bonaparte Plains area, north of Kununurra in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA).

These drilling programs were a component of resource availability and risk investigations conducted to determine the potential for developing irrigated agriculture on 30 000 hectares of Cockatoo Sands — free-draining loamy soils that have the potential to support crops in the wet and dry seasons. There was limited hydrogeological information available at a suitable scale for the …

Variability In Groundwater Flow And Chemistry In The Houzhai Karst Basin, Guizhou Province, China, Joshua M. Barna

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Understanding how karst aquifers store and transmit water and contaminants is an ongoing problem in hydrogeology. Flowpath and recharge heterogeneity contribute to the complexity of these systems. This thesis explores karst-conduit connectivity and water chemistry variability in the Houzhai catchment in Guizhou province, China. Artificial tracer tests were conducted during both the monsoon and dry seasons to understand temporal variability in connectivity and water velocity between karst features. Multiple flowpaths through the catchment are activated during the monsoon season and partially abandoned during the dry season. Additionally, gradient reversals during monsoonal high-flow events and as a result of pumping can …

Exploring The Northwest Margin Of The High Plains Aquifer: Structure, Depositional History And Hydrogeology, Nebraska Geological Society Field Trip, Doug Hallum, Dennis O. Terry, Jr., Michael Leite, Jennifer Balmat

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The northwest portion of the High Plains Aquifer in Nebraska corresponds with the western Sandhills, Box Butte, Sioux and Dawes County tablelands, and the Nebraska Pine Ridge in northwest Nebraska. This field excursion will travel beyond the margins of the High Plains aquifer into the White River valley and onto the Oglala National Grasslands. These areas are not only rich in natural resources, but rich in history as well. While this excursion will explore earth history, depositional environments and a portion of the High Plains Aquifer, the authors encourage all attendees to take additional time to explore the cultural, military …

Margaret White Springs Recharge Study, Buffalo National River, North-Central Arkansas, Usa, Ashlon Elizabeth Leonard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Margaret White Springs (MWS) is one of the largest springs in the middle section of the Buffalo National River (BNR) and contributes several tens of cubic feet per second of flow to river discharge on average, yet the source of the water has not been fully studied or documented. The spring is located approximately 4 miles downstream from Robertson Hole, a losing reach of the river. At Robertson Hole the river loses a significant amount of flow to groundwater, which during the dry season (summer) can be as much as 100%. Flow in the main channel is re-established at MWS; …

Water Flow Net Characterization By Using A Tank Model: Preliminary Outcome, Jasmin Budhan, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer

Publications and Research

A model study was conducted to observe and characterize the flow of water through sandy soil. One of the most relevant tools used for characterizing groundwater flow is the flow net. Assuming that water is incompressible and there is zero volume change in the soil mass, it is known that the total rate of inflow is to equal the total rate of outflow. Thus, following the principle of flow continuity, we use the Laplace equation of continuity, to observe the concept of the flow net. Computing the flow through a miniature channel, we observed the total head difference from the …

Quantifying Carbon Dioxide Fluxes In The Air And Water In Blowing Springs Cave, Arkansas, Holly Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior work has shown that the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) within cave atmospheres is a function of cave airflow patterns. The dynamics of CO2 within karst systems are of increasing interest as they can control periods of precipitation or dissolution in speleothems and influence potential interpretations of paleoclimate records. Similarly, CO2 is an important driver of speleogenesis, and air-water CO2 dynamics can control patterns of cave passage evolution. Karst also plays an uncertain role in the global carbon cycle and understanding CO2 dynamics within karst systems will aid the development of carbon budgets. Here, a monitoring station was deployed …

Investigating Mechanisms Of Hydraulic Conductivity Transience In Sandy Streambeds, Wilhelm Fraundorfer

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Streambed hydraulic conductivity (K) is known to be spatially and temporally heterogeneous, but few attempts to understand the controls on temporal variability have been made. This study documents temporal K transience and demonstrates how hydraulic, geophysical, and sedimentological methods can be combined to understand the processes that give rise to changes in streambed K. Falling head permeameter tests and slug tests were conducted to determine vertical K (K_v) and K (slug test K), respectively. These tests were repeated three times over a twelve-week period on the same grid at a depth of 0.5 …

Combining Hydraulic Head Analysis With Airborne Electromagnetics To Detect And Map Impermeable Aquifer Boundaries, Jesse T. Korus

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Impermeable aquifer boundaries affect the flow of groundwater, transport of contaminants, and the drawdown of water levels in response to pumping. Hydraulic methods can detect the presence of such boundaries, but these methods are not suited for mapping complex, 3D geological bodies. Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods produce 3D geophysical images of the subsurface at depths relevant to most groundwater investigations. Interpreting a geophysical model requires supporting information, and hydraulic heads offer the most direct means of assessing the hydrostratigraphic function of interpreted geological units. This paper presents three examples of combined hydraulic and AEM analysis of impermeable boundaries in glacial …

Estimating Groundwater Inflow And Age Characteristics In An Alluvial Aquifer Along The Little Wind River, Wyoming, Derek Goble

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We synoptically sampled a 2 km gaining reach of the Little Wind River in central Wyoming for ²²²Rn, CFCs and SF₆ to determine the distributed volumes and locations of discharge and estimate alluvial groundwater age characteristics. ²²²Rn was sampled in the stream, shallow in-stream piezometers and nearby alluvial groundwater wells to determine the volume and spatial distribution of groundwater discharge to the river. Age tracers, CFC and SF_6, sampled in the stream, shallow in-stream piezometers and in alluvial groundwater wells were then used to determine whether in-stream samples are capable of constraining the residence time distribution …

The Application Of Aem To Mapping The Aquifer And Groundwater Characteristics Of The La Grange Groundwater Area, Wa, David Annetts, Tim Munday, Richard J. George Dr, Nicholas J. Wright, Gregory Paul Raper, Kevin Cahill

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report describes the interpretation of a large airborne electromagnetic data survey that was designed to aid characterisation of groundwater systems in the La Grange groundwater allocation area which lies south of Broome, Western Australia. Characterisation of these systems is critical to developing policy around water use in the region, especially for the development of agriculture. This report is the second of two reports and it is designed to refine surfaces which are used as inputs to groundwater models. The volume defined by these surfaces viz. the seawater intrusion in the west, the top of the Jarlemai siltstone and the …

Three-Dimensional Architecture And Hydrostratigraphy Of Cross-Cutting Buried Valleys Using Airborne Electromagnetics, Glaciated Central Lowlands, Nebraska, Usa, Jesse T. Korus Dr., Robert Matthew Joeckel, Dana P. Divine, Jared D. Abraham

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Buried valleys are characteristic features of glaciated landscapes, and their deposits host important aquifers worldwide. Understanding the stratigraphic architecture of these deposits is essential for protecting groundwater and interpreting sedimentary processes in subglacial and ice-marginal environments. The relationships between depositional architecture, topography and hydrostratigraphy in dissected, pre-Illinoian till sheets is poorly understood. Boreholes alone are inadequate to characterize the complex geology of buried valleys, but airborne electromagnetic surveys have proven useful for this purpose. A key question is whether the sedimentary architecture of buried valleys can be interpreted from airborne electromagnetic profiles. This study employs airborne electromagnetic resistivity profiles to …