Fluctuation of Hyporheic Zone Thickness Due to Inflow and Outflow across the Water-sediment Interface

Determination of hyporheic zone thickness in streams is an important step for study of stream-aquifer interactions. Knowledge about hyporheic zone thickness is useful in stream restoration. However, because there is a lack of standard techniques for such study, evaluation of the hyporheic zone thickness for a given stream reach remains a challenge task for researchers. This paper presents Galerkin finite element flow and stream function models that can simulate the hyporheic zone thickness. The flow and stream function equations are solved for 2-D profile domains that can be across a stream or parallel to a stream. The numeral schemes for solving the flow and stream function equations and the treatment of boundary conditions are described. Hypothetical streams are used for simulation of the control of hyporheic zone thickness by the magnitude of inflow and outflow that occur at the stream-sediment interface. Groundwater flow velocity field is generated to examine the flow dynamics in hyporheic zones. The magnitude of groundwater flow velocity in hyporheic zone is greater than that of regional groundwater flow

Fluctuation of Hyporheic Zone Thickness Due to Inflow and Outflow across the Water-sediment Interface

Determination of hyporheic zone thickness in streams is an important step for study of stream-aquifer interactions. Knowledge about hyporheic zone thickness is useful in stream restoration. However, because there is a lack of standard techniques for such study, evaluation of the hyporheic zone thickness for a given stream reach remains a challenge task for researchers. This paper presents Galerkin finite element flow and stream function models that can simulate the hyporheic zone thickness. The flow and stream function equations are solved for 2-D profile domains that can be across a stream or parallel to a stream. The numeral schemes for solving the flow and stream function equations and the treatment of boundary conditions are described. Hypothetical streams are used for simulation of the control of hyporheic zone thickness by the magnitude of inflow and outflow that occur at the stream-sediment interface. Groundwater flow velocity field is generated to examine the flow dynamics in hyporheic zones. The magnitude of groundwater flow velocity in hyporheic zone is greater than that of regional groundwater flow

Quantifying time lag of epikarst-spring hydrograph response to rainfall using correlation and spectral analyses

Understanding spring-flow characteristics in karst areas is very important for efficient utilization of water resources. The time lag of a spring-hydrograph response to rainfall is related to karst hydrogeological properties such as thickness, porosity and hydraulic conductivity. The length of the time lag can be determined based on results of the time-series analysis. However, some approaches, with different identifying indicators, give different lengths of the time lag. In this study, the flow-discharge series of two hillslope springs located in a karst area of southwest China were used to compute lengths of the time lag. The thickness and porosity of the epikarst-zone fractures on the two hillslopes were estimated based on a ground-penetrating radar investigation and field measurement. Based on comparison of lengths of the time lag computed by auto- and cross-correlation analyses, the identifying indicators of the time lag were classified into three types for measuring short, intermediate and long-term responses of the spring hydrograph to rainfall. The study also reveals that the time lag of spring-hydrograph response to rainfall in the thick epikarst zone is much longer than that in the thin epikarst zone

Statistical Distribution of Streambed Vertical Hydraulic Conductivity along the Platte River, Nebraska

Streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kv) plays an important role in understanding and quantifying the stream–aquifer interactions. While several researchers have discussed the spatial variability of streambed horizontal hydraulic conductivity or Kv at one or several close-located sites in a river, they did not develop any statistical distribution analysis of streambed Kv at distant sites along a large river. In this paper, the statistical distribution and spatial variation of streambed Kv at 18 test sites in a 300-km reach of the Platte River in Nebraska are presented. Insitu permeameter tests using the falling-head method were carried out to calculate the streambed Kv values. Fine-grained sediments transported by two tributaries, the Loup River and the Elkhorn River, to the Platte River appear to result in lower streambed Kv values downstream of the confluences between the Platte River and the tributaries. The streambed Kv values were found to be normally distributed at nearly each test site. When the correlated Kv values were eliminated from the grid sampling plots, the remaining independent sub-datasets of streambed Kv values were still in normal distribution at each test site. Furthermore, the combined streambed Kv values upstream of the first confluence between the Platte River and the Loup River was normally distributed, which may be due to the lack of tributaries in-between and thus streambed sediments were well distributed in this reach and belonged to a single population of hydraulic conductivity values. In contrast, the combined dataset of all measurements conducted downstream of this confluence was no longer in normal distribution, presumably as a result of the mixing of different sediment sources

Vertical Movement of Water in a High Plains Aquifer Induced by a Pumping Well

Field observation and numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate the hydraulic relationship between the shallow and deep aquifer of a High Plains Aquifer system, in which shallow and deep aquifers are separated by an aquitard. Pumping from the lower aquifer resulted in a small drawdown in the upper aquifer and a larger drawdown in the aquitard; pumping from the shallow aquifer caused a small drawdown in the aquitard and the deep aquifer. Analysis of pumping test data gives the values of the hydraulic conductivity of the aquitard and the deep aquifer. Long-term observation of groundwater levels in the shallow and deep aquifers showed that a strong downward hydraulic gradient was maintained during an irrigation season. Numerical simulations were used to calculate the induced leakage of water from the shallow to the deep aquifer. Water budget analyses suggested that after pumping continues for a couple of days, the leakage from the overlying layers begins to supply the majority of the withdrawal from the deep aquifer. However, the induced leakage from the upper shallow aquifer can travel only a few meters into the aquitard, and it can not reach the lower aquifer during a 90 day pumping period. The major portion of the induced leakage occurred during the pumping period, but a small leakage can continue as a residual effect after the pumping period. The vertical hydraulic conductivity of the aquitard plays a major role in partitioning the ratio of the induced leakage for the pumping and after-pumping periods

Use of hydrologic time-series data for identification of hydrodynamic function and behavior in a karstic water system in China

Karst aquifers are characterized by high heterogeneity and spatial variability of hydrogeological parameters. Time-series analysis of rainfall and discharge (as input and output functions), including correlation, cross-amplitude, phase and coherency, was applied to the Houzhai karstic water system in Guizhou Province, southwest China, in order to study the function, hydrodynamic behavior and hydraulic properties of the aquifer system. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation of the variables showed that the degree of sensitivity of the system to the rainfall input signal decreased gradually from the upstream to the downstream sections, but the memorizing action increased gradually. Analysis of the phase function showed that there is a lag in the discharge response to the rainfall input signal. The lag time increased gradually from the upstream to the downstream sections, and the degree of the linearity upstream is higher than downstream. The quick-flow and slow-flow components were also divided in the cross-amplitude analysis. The results showed that about 60% of spring discharge in the upstream section was quick flow. The quick-flow component downstream reduced to only 5%. The main control factors of the karst-system response are the karst geomorphology and the inner origination structure of the karstic multi-medium