Hydraulic subsurface measurements and hydrodynamic modelling as indicators for groundwater flow systems in the Rotondo granite, Central Alps (Switzerland)

Ofterdinger, Ulrich; Renard, Philippe; Loew, Simon

doi:10.1002/hyp.9568

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The simulated groundwater table (Figure 2b) remains close to the ground surface in valley bottoms and near streams, but is located as deep as 176 m below the ground surface in highland and steep areas (similar spatial trends to Ofterdinger et al, 2014), well below the 20-m-thick unconsolidated surficial aquifer. Therefore, much of the modeled groundwater flow toward the streams passes through the bedrock aquifer, as suggested in other mountain hydrological studies (Andermann et al, 2012;Liu et al, 2004;Tague et al, 2008).…”

Section: Glacier Melt Contributes Little To Groundwater Rechargementioning

confidence: 76%

Groundwater Buffers Decreasing Glacier Melt in an Andean Watershed—But Not Forever

Somers

McKenzie

Mark

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Accelerating mountain glacier recession in a warming climate threatens the sustainability of mountain water resources. The extent to which groundwater will provide resilience to these water resources is unknown, in part due to a lack of data and poorly understood interactions between groundwater and surface water. Here we address this knowledge gap by linking climate, glaciers, surface water, and groundwater into an integrated model of the Shullcas Watershed, Peru, in the tropical Andes, the region experiencing the most rapid mountain‐glacier retreat on Earth. For a range of climate scenarios, our model projects that glaciers will disappear by 2100. The loss of glacial meltwater will be buffered by relatively consistent groundwater discharge, which only receives minor recharge (~2%) from glacier melt. However, increasing temperature and associated evapotranspiration, alongside potential decreases in precipitation, will decrease groundwater recharge and streamflow, particularly for the RCP 8.5 emission scenario.

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Section: Glacier Melt Contributes Little To Groundwater Rechargementioning

confidence: 76%

Groundwater Buffers Decreasing Glacier Melt in an Andean Watershed—But Not Forever

Somers

McKenzie

Mark

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…This work showed the benefits of correctly modeling the effect of epikarst on recharge. Authors like Ofterdinger et al [45] use a complex hydrological model that computes the recharge contribution and the runoff of precipitation on the base of several parameters, like the slope, the altitude and the soil cover. They obtain satisfactory results.…”

Section: Recharge and Epikarst Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can one identify karst conduit networks geometry and properties from hydraulic and tracer test data?

Borghi

Renard

Cornaton³

2016

Advances in Water Resources

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a b s t r a c tKarst aquifers are characterized by extreme heterogeneity due to the presence of karst conduits embedded in a fractured matrix having a much lower hydraulic conductivity. The resulting contrast in the physical properties of the system implies that the system reacts very rapidly to some changes in the boundary conditions and that numerical models are extremely sensitive to small modifications in properties or positions of the conduits. Furthermore, one major issue in all those models is that the location and size of the conduits is generally unknown. For all those reasons, estimating karst network geometry and their properties by solving an inverse problem is a particularly difficult problem.In this paper, two numerical experiments are described. In the first one, 18,0 0 0 flow and transport simulations have been computed and used in a systematic manner to assess statistically if one can retrieve the parameters of a model (geometry and radius of the conduits, hydraulic conductivity of the conduits) from head and tracer data. When two tracer test data sets are available, the solution of the inverse problems indicate with high certainty that there are indeed two conduits and not more. The radius of the conduits are usually well identified but not the properties of the matrix. If more conduits are present in the system, but only two tracer test data sets are available, the inverse problem is still able to identify the true solution as the most probable but it also indicates that the data are insufficient to conclude with high certainty.In the second experiment, a more complex model (including non linear flow equations in conduits) is considered. In this example, gradient-based optimization techniques are proved to be efficient for estimating the radius of the conduits and the hydraulic conductivity of the matrix in a promising and efficient manner.These results suggest that, despite the numerical difficulties, inverse methods should be used to constrain numerical models of karstic systems using flow and transport data. They also suggest that a pragmatic approach for these complex systems could be to generate a large set of karst conduit network realizations using a pseudo-genetic approach such as SKS, and for each karst realization, flow and transport parameters could be optimized using a gradient-based search such as the one implemented in PEST. (A. Borghi). tion, often resulting into karstic conduits which are organized in hierarchical networks.Annable [1] gives an exhaustive overview of the evolution of the conceptual models of speleogenesis over the last two centuries. The conceptual model that is considered in the present study [ [63] , e.g.] is the following: the karst aquifer is composed by 2 main hydrofacies: the matrix which represents more than 90% of the volume of the aquifer, and has an important storage role; and the conduits which represent a very small volume, but have a very high importance for flow, since they are considered to be responsible for more or less 90% of the total flow.P...

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“…Based on observed spring line elevations and alpine stream hydrograph records in the study and neighboring areas (Gerental, Rotondo area) Loew and Herfort [38], Büsser [36] and Ofterdinger et al [39] assessed spatial distributions of deep groundwater recharge rates into the fractured bedrock. The spatial average bedrock recharge rate in the Gotthard massif is about 1.4E À 8 m/s, which is in agreement with studies in similar topographic and geological settings in the Central Alps [40].…”

Section: Surface Hydrology and Groundwater Rechargementioning

confidence: 99%

Transient surface deformations caused by the Gotthard Base Tunnel

Loew

Lützenkirchen

Hansmann

et al. 2015

International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences

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Hydraulic subsurface measurements and hydrodynamic modelling as indicators for groundwater flow systems in the Rotondo granite, Central Alps (Switzerland)

Cited by 21 publications

References 63 publications

Groundwater Buffers Decreasing Glacier Melt in an Andean Watershed—But Not Forever

Groundwater Buffers Decreasing Glacier Melt in an Andean Watershed—But Not Forever

Can one identify karst conduit networks geometry and properties from hydraulic and tracer test data?

Transient surface deformations caused by the Gotthard Base Tunnel

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