Groundwater Flow Field Distortion by Monitoring Wells and Passive Flux Meters

Verreydt, Goedele; Bronders, Jan; Keer, Ilse Van; Diels, Ludo; Vanderauwera, P.

doi:10.1111/gwat.12290

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this study, the presented groundwater fluxes resulting from the FVPDM experiment are apparent Darcy fluxes and are not corrected using a flow distortion coefficient. For all the single well groundwater flux measurement techniques, the highest source of uncertainties in the measurement of fluxes in the aquifer is in the calculation of the flow distortion coefficient (Verreydt et al ). The different radius of tubing and drilling of the piezometer are known with good accuracy.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Innovative Contaminant Mass Flux Monitoring in an Aquifer Subject to Tidal Effects

Jamin

Cosme²,

Briers³

et al. 2020

Groundwater Monitoring Rem

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Exposure from groundwater contamination to aquatic receptors residing in receiving surface water is dependent upon the rate of contaminated groundwater discharge. Characterization of groundwater fluxes is challenging, especially in coastal environments where tidal fluctuations result in transient groundwater flows towards these receptors. This can also be further complicated by the high spatial heterogeneity of subsurface deposits enhanced by anthropogenic influences such as the mixing of natural sediments and backfill materials, the presence of subsurface built structures such as sheet pile walls or even occurrence of other sources of contaminant discharge. In this study, the finite volume point dilution method (FVPDM) was successfully used to characterize highly transient groundwater flows and contaminant mass fluxes within a coastal groundwater flow system influenced by marked tides. FVPDM tests were undertaken continuously for more than 48 h at six groundwater monitoring wells, in order to evaluate groundwater flow dynamics during several tide cycles. Contaminant concentrations were measured simultaneously which allowed calculating contaminant mass fluxes. The study highlighted the importance of the aquifer heterogeneity, with groundwater fluxes ranging from 10−7 to 10−3 m/s. Groundwater flux monitoring enabled a significant refinement of the conceptual site model, including the fact that inversion of groundwater fluxes was not observed at high tide. Results indicated that contaminant mass fluxes were particularly higher at a specific monitoring well, by more than three orders of magnitude, than at other wells of the investigated aquifer. This study provided crucial information for optimizing further field investigations and risk mitigation measures.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Innovative Contaminant Mass Flux Monitoring in an Aquifer Subject to Tidal Effects

Jamin

Cosme²,

Briers³

et al. 2020

Groundwater Monitoring Rem

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The flow field distortion coefficient α w can be calculated on the basis of geometrical properties of the piezometer tubing and borehole, and on the hydraulic conductivities of the aquifer, of the filter pack and of the piezometer screen (Drost et al 1968;Klammler et al 2007;Verreydt et al 2015). For the piezometers used in this study, only limited information was available on the hydraulic conductivity of the piezometer screen and of the sand filter pack.…”

Section: Piezometer Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct measurement of groundwater flux in aquifers within the discontinuous permafrost zone: an application of the finite volume point dilution method near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Canada)

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Permafrost thaw is a complex process resulting from interactions between the atmosphere, soil, water and vegetation. Although advective heat transport by groundwater at depth likely plays a significant role in permafrost dynamics at many sites, there is lack of direct measurements of groundwater flow patterns and fluxes in such cold-region environments. Here, the finite volume point dilution method (FVPDM) is used to measure in-situ groundwater fluxes in two sandy aquifers in the discontinuous permafrost zone, within a small watershed near Umiujaq, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada. The FVPDM theory is first reviewed, then results from four FVPDM tests are presented: one test in a shallow suprapermafrost aquifer, and three in a deeper sub-permafrost aquifer. Apparent Darcy fluxes derived from the FVPDM tests varied from 0.5×10 -5 to 1.0×10 -5 m/s, implying that advective heat transport from groundwater flow could be contributing to rapid permafrost thaw at this site. In providing estimates of the Darcy fluxes at the local scale of the well screens, the approach offers more accurate and direct measurements over indirect estimates using Darcy's law. The tests show that this method can be successfully used in remote areas and with limited resources. Recommendations for optimizing the test protocol are proposed.ScholarOne support: (434)964.4100 Hydrogeology Journal in Alaska (USA), northern Canada, Sweden, Siberia and Tibet since the early 1990s (Romanovsky et al. 2010). Although increasing atmospheric temperatures is the known cause, permafrost thaw is difficult to predict since it is a very complex process resulting from the non-linear interaction between the atmosphere and ground surface including soils, snow cover, vegetation, surface water and groundwater. Prior to about 2010, only heat conduction had been taken into account in most of the numerical models used for simulating permafrost dynamics and to forecast permafrost degradation. Numerous authors have shown, however, that groundwater flow and heat transport by advection through subsurface flow systems should be considered in order to better understand and predict permafrost dynamics (e.g.

show abstract

“…This insight is increasingly being utilized in the estimation of contaminant mass flux. High‐resolution characterization can be highly valuable in the production of accurate conceptual site models for risk analysis, remedial design, implementation, and monitoring (Gierzack et al., 2006; Kempf et al., 2013; Labaky et al., 2007, 2009; Schillig et al., 2011, 2016; Verreydt et al., 2015). Furthermore, with new measurement techniques now capable of directly measuring the groundwater velocity field at the centimeter scale, deeper insights into transport phenomena may now be investigated using field‐based data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geostatistics of the Borden Aquifer: High‐Resolution Characterization Using Direct Groundwater Velocity Measurements

Osorno¹,

Devlin

Bohling

2022

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 1986, a seminal data set from the Canadian Forces Base (C.F.B.) Borden aquifer, Ontario, Canada, was published, illustrating, in unprecedented detail, the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity (K). Among many contributions attached to that data set was a geostatistical examination of field‐based data for comparison with theoretical predictions of macro‐dispersivity. However, that work treated K as a static parameter and the sole source of flow variability. Here, point velocity probes (PVPs) are used to extend the earlier work by collecting a novel high‐resolution data set of groundwater velocity (v) measurements in the C.F.B. Borden aquifer. Velocity is a dynamic parameter of fundamental importance, closely tied to solute dispersion. Over 400 velocity measurements were collected along a transect perpendicular to flow, analyzed geostatistically, and compared with the analysis of the B‐B′ cross‐section of K reported by Sudicky (1986), https://doi.org/10.1029/wr022i013p02069. The PVP measurements exhibited geostatistics similar to those previously estimated by Sudicky (1986), https://doi.org/10.1029/wr022i013p02069. This finding suggests, as implicitly assumed in the previous work, the distribution of v is primarily controlled by K. PVPs also provided a novel, high‐resolution data set of groundwater flow directions. Since the ultimate objective of aquifer characterization includes the definition of velocity fields, this work not only extends the 1986 work, but also demonstrates a viable alternative for characterizing flow patterns in aquifers—with the advantage that direct v measurements reflect variability in porosity and hydraulic gradient, as well as K. This could ultimately be advantageous at sites with greater heterogeneity or other dynamic hydrogeological variabilities more pronounced than those at the Borden site.

show abstract

Groundwater Flow Field Distortion by Monitoring Wells and Passive Flux Meters

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Innovative Contaminant Mass Flux Monitoring in an Aquifer Subject to Tidal Effects

Innovative Contaminant Mass Flux Monitoring in an Aquifer Subject to Tidal Effects

Direct measurement of groundwater flux in aquifers within the discontinuous permafrost zone: an application of the finite volume point dilution method near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Canada)

Geostatistics of the Borden Aquifer: High‐Resolution Characterization Using Direct Groundwater Velocity Measurements

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About