Technical Note: The use of an interrupted-flow centrifugation method to characterise preferential flow in low permeability media

We present an interrupted-flow centrifugation technique to characterise preferential flow in low permeability media. The method entails a minimum of three phases: centrifuge-induced flow, no flow and centrifuge-induced flow, which may be repeated several times in order to most effectively characterise multi-rate mass transfer behaviour. In addition, the method enables accurate simulation of relevant in situ total stress conditions during flow by selecting an appropriate centrifugal force. We demonstrate the utility of the technique for characterising the hydraulic properties of smectite-clay-dominated core samples. All core samples exhibited a non-Fickian tracer breakthrough (early tracer arrival), combined with a decrease in tracer concentration immediately after each period of interrupted flow. This is indicative of dual (or multi-)porosity behaviour, with solute migration predominately via advection during induced flow, and via molecular diffusion (between the preferential flow network(s) and the low hydraulic conductivity domain) during interrupted flow. Tracer breakthrough curves were simulated using a bespoke dual porosity model with excellent agreement between the data and model output (Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient was > 0.97 for all samples). In combination, interrupted-flow centrifuge experiments and dual porosity transport modelling are shown to be a powerful method to characterise preferential flow in low permeability media

Modelling the role of groundwater hydro-refugia in East African hominin evolution and dispersal.

Water is a fundamental resource, yet its spatiotemporal availability in East Africa is poorly understood. This is the area where most hominin first occurrences are located, and consequently the potential role of water in hominin evolution and dispersal remains unresolved. Here, we show that hundreds of springs currently distributed across East Africa could function as persistent groundwater hydro-refugia through orbital-scale climate cycles. Groundwater buffers climate variability according to spatially variable groundwater response times determined by geology and topography. Using an agent-based model, grounded on the present day landscape, we show that groundwater availability would have been critical to supporting isolated networks of hydro-refugia during dry periods when potable surface water was scarce. This may have facilitated unexpected variations in isolation and dispersal of hominin populations in the past. Our results therefore provide a new environmental framework in which to understand how patterns of taxonomic diversity in hominins may have developed

The role of superficial geology in controlling groundwater recharge in the weathered crystalline basement of semi-arid Tanzania

Study region Little Kinyasungwe River Catchment, central semi-arid Tanzania. Study focus The structure and hydraulic properties of superficial geology can play a crucial role in controlling groundwater recharge in drylands. However, the pathways by which groundwater recharge occurs and their sensitivity to environmental change remain poorly resolved. Geophysical surveys using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) were conducted in the study region and used to delineate shallow subsurface stratigraphy in conjunction with borehole logs. Based on these results, a series of local-scale conceptual hydrogeological models was produced and collated to generate a 3D conceptual model of groundwater recharge to the wellfield. New hydrological insights for the region We propose that configurations of superficial geology control groundwater recharge in dryland settings as follows: 1) superficial sand deposits act as collectors and stores that slowly feed recharge into zones of active faulting; 2) these fault zones provide permeable pathways enabling greater recharge to occur; 3) ‘windows’ within layers of smectitic clay that underlie ephemeral streams may provide pathways for focused recharge via transmission losses; and 4) overbank flooding during high intensity precipitation events increases the probability of activating such permeable pathways. These conceptual models provide a physical basis to improve numerical models of groundwater recharge in drylands, and a conceptual framework to evaluate strategies (e.g., Managed Aquifer Recharge) to artificially enhance the availability of groundwater resources in these regions

Understanding regional and local scale hydraulic processes controlling recharge through drift

The estimation of groundwater recharge is a fundamental component of any water resources appraisal or aquifer vulnerability study. Although methods for evaluating the distribution of potential recharge leaving the soil zone are relatively well developed,the recharge signal to the underlying aquifer can be significantly modified in the presence of superficial drift deposits. Current mapping of the drift does not often provide representations of drift distribution and structure suitable for understanding the hydraulics of the subsurface flow system. The current research seeks to develop new understanding of the processes contributing to recharge in heterogeneous drift sequences, their characterisation in models and their parameterisation through field experiments. Surface and downhole geophysical sampling through regional to micro scales will be integrated with textural measurements and hydraulic monitoring to characterise drift deposits in parts of the Tern catchment (Shropshire, UK) and gain insight into the relationship between flow behaviour and geological structure. Fieldwork will then culminate in a series of flow and tracer tests at a well characterised site with continuous monitoring including the use of recently developed 4-D resistivity imaging methods to monitor the movement of natural and applied waters through the drift.Conceptual and numerical models will be used throughout the project to test ideas and drive the experimental designs. The study aims to assess the relative importance of hydraulic processes at a range of scales and, by back analysis, the degree of sophistication required in fieldwork to construct a useful model of flow patterns within the drift. The potential usefulness of various surface and downhole geophysical techniques within drift and unsaturated zone studies will be critically assessed

Defining renewable groundwater use and its relevance to sustainable groundwater management

Groundwater systems are commonly defined as renewable or non-renewable based on natural fluxes of recharge or on estimates of aquifer storage and groundwater residence time. However, we show here that the principle of capture (i.e. how recharge and discharge change due to pumping) challenges simple definitions so that a groundwater system cannot be renewable or non-renewable in and of itself, but only with reference to how the groundwater is being used. We develop and propose more hydraulically informed definitions for flux-renewable and storage-renewable groundwater use, and a combined definition that encompasses both the flux-based and storage-based perspectives such that: renewable groundwater use allows for dynamically stable re-equilibrium of groundwater levels and quality on human timescales. Further, we show how a matrix of combinations of (1) the ratio of pumping rate to the maximum rate of capture along with (2) the response or recovery timescales implicit in this definition, leads to a useful four-quadrant framework for characterising groundwater use, illustrated using case studies from aquifers around the world. Renewable groundwater use may inform pathways to groundwater sustainability, which encompasses a broader set of dimensions (e.g. socio-political, economic, ecological and cultural) beyond the scope of groundwater science. We propose that separating physically robust definitions of renewable groundwater use from the inherently value-based language of sustainability, can help bring much needed clarity to wider discussions about sustainable groundwater management strategies, and the role of groundwater science and scientists in such endeavours

Impacts of river-bed gas on the hydraulic and thermal dynamics of the hyporheic zone

Despite the presence of gas in river beds being a well known phenomenon, its potential feedbacks on the hydraulic and thermal dynamics of the hyporheic zone has not been widely studied. This paper explores hypotheses that the presence of accumulated gas impacts the hydraulic and thermal dynamics of a river bed due to changes in specific storage, hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity, and thermal diffusivity. The hypotheses are tested using data analysis and modelling for a study site on the urban River Tame, Birmingham, UK. Gas, predominantly attributed to microbial denitrification, was observed in the river bed up to around 14% by volume, and to at least 0.8 m depth below river bed. Numerical modelling indicates that, by altering the relative hydraulic conductivity distribution, the gas in the river bed leads to an increase of groundwater discharge from the river banks (relative to river bed) by a factor of approximately 2 during river low flow periods. The increased compressible storage of the gas phase in the river bed leads to an increase in the simulated volume of river water invading the river bed within the centre of the channel during storm events. The exchange volume can be more than 30% greater in comparison to that for water saturated conditions. Furthermore, the presence of gas also reduces the water-filled porosity, and so the possible depth of such invading flows may also increase markedly, by more than a factor of 2 in the observed case. Observed diurnal temperature variations within the gaseous river bed at 0.1 and 0.5 m depth are, respectively, around 1.5 and 6 times larger than those predicted for saturated sediments. Annual temperature fluctuations are seen to be enhanced by around 4 to 20% compared to literature values for saturated sediments. The presence of gas may thus alter the bulk thermal properties to such a degree that the use of heat tracer techniques becomes subject to a much greater degree of uncertainty. Although the likely magnitude of thermal and hydraulic changes due to the presence of gas for this site have been demonstrated, further research is needed into the origins of the gas and its spatial and temporal variability to enable quantification of the significance of these changes for chemical attenuation and hyporheic zone biology