No abstract

Soil salinization limits agricultural productivity and can ultimately cause desertification and land abandonment. One approach to assess soil salinity over large areas efficiently is to use electromagnetic instruments to measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa, mS m−1). ECa data can be then inverted to generate electromagnetic conductivity images (EMCIs), which provide the vertical distribution of the soil electrical conductivity (σ, mS m−1). In this study, we collected ECa data using an EM38 instrument across four locations with different levels of salinity in an important agricultural area of alluvial origin in Portugal. Using an inversion algorithm, we generated EMCIs and evaluated the potential for prediction of the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (ECe). The main aim of our study is to compare regional and location‐specific calibrations in terms of ability to predict ECe from EMCIs. The results showed that the regional calibration predicted ECe unbiased, precisely (root mean square error [RMSE] = 2.54 dS m−1), and with strong concordance (0.93). The location‐specific calibration also predicted ECe unbiased, precisely (RMSE = 1.67 dS m−1), and with strong concordance (0.97). We conclude that the location‐specific calibration has slightly better prediction results, but the regional calibration is more practical for mapping soil salinity in the study area because it can be used at any new location without the need for new calibration. The prediction results at locations 3 and 4 show high to severely high soil salinity, which can compromise agricultural productivity. Therefore, monitoring soil salinity is required to conserve and improve agricultural productivity in the south of the study area.

No abstract

Abstract. Climate-induced warming of permafrost soils is a global phenomenon, with regional and site-specific variations which are not fully understood. In this context, a 2-D automated electrical resistivity tomography (A-ERT) system was installed for the first time in Antarctica at Deception Island, associated to the existing Crater Lake site of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring – South Program (CALM-S) – site. This setup aims to (i) monitor subsurface freezing and thawing processes on a daily and seasonal basis and map the spatial and temporal variability in thaw depth and to (ii) study the impact of short-lived extreme meteorological events on active layer dynamics. In addition, the feasibility of installing and running autonomous ERT monitoring stations in remote and extreme environments such as Antarctica was evaluated for the first time. Measurements were repeated at 4 h intervals during a full year, enabling the detection of seasonal trends and short-lived resistivity changes reflecting individual meteorological events. The latter is important for distinguishing between (1) long-term climatic trends and (2) the impact of anomalous seasons on the ground thermal regime. Our full-year dataset shows large and fast temporal resistivity changes during the seasonal active layer freezing and thawing and indicates that our system setup can resolve spatiotemporal thaw depth variability along the experimental transect at very high temporal resolution. The largest resistivity changes took place during the freezing season in April, when low temperatures induce an abrupt phase change in the active layer in the absence of snow cover. The seasonal thawing of the active layer is associated with a slower resistivity decrease during October due to the presence of snow cover and the corresponding zero-curtain effect. Detailed investigation of the daily resistivity variations reveals several periods with rapid and sharp resistivity changes of the near-surface layers due to the brief surficial refreezing of the active layer in summer or brief thawing of the active layer during winter as a consequence of short-lived meteorological extreme events. These results emphasize the significance of the continuous A-ERT monitoring setup which enables detecting fast changes in the active layer during short-lived extreme meteorological events. Based on this first complete year-round A-ERT monitoring dataset on Deception Island, we believe that this system shows high potential for autonomous applications in remote and harsh polar environments such as Antarctica. The monitoring system can be used with larger electrode spacing to investigate greater depths, providing adequate monitoring at sites and depths where boreholes are very costly and the ecosystem is very sensitive to invasive techniques. Further applications may be the estimation of ice and water contents through petrophysical models or the calibration and validation of heat transfer models between the active layer and permafrost.

This paper integrates multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) and time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to define aquifer geometry and identify transient groundwater features of the Cascalheira Stream Basin Holocene alluvial aquifer (aquifer H), which contributes to the Santo André Lagoon, part of a coastal groundwater-dependent ecosystem (GDE), located in southwest Portugal. MASW measures shear-wave velocity (VS), allowing one to obtain steady geological models of the subsurface, and ERT measures subsurface electrical resistivity (ER), being subjected to ambient changes. MASW enables disambiguation of geological structures in low ER environments, such as coastal areas. This research covered one natural year and involved one MASW campaign, four ERT campaigns, and additional geological field surveys and groundwater monitoring to assist interpretation of results. In the area, the conjugate NW–SE and NE–SW strike-slip fault systems determine compartmentalization of geological structures and subsequent accommodation space for Holocene sedimentation. MASW and ERT surveys show how the NW–SE system deepens these structures toward the coast, whereas the NE–SW system generates small horsts and grabens, being one of these occupied by aquifer H. From upstream to downstream, aquifer H thickness and width increase from 10 m to 12 m and from 140 m to 240 m, respectively. Performance of VS and ER models was satisfactory, with a normalized error of the VR and ER models in the 0.01–0.09 range, meaning that a quantitative quota of uncertainty can be segregated from the overall uncertainty of groundwater models without substantially affecting its simulations accuracy. This methodology seeks to improve the design of shallow groundwater research in GDE preservation policies.

Abstract. Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira, located in Portugal, is an important agricultural system where soil faces the risk of salinization due to climate change, as the level and salinity of groundwater are likely to increase as a result of the rise of the sea water level and consequently of the estuary. These changes can also affect the salinity of the irrigation water which is collected upstream of the estuary. Soil salinity can be assessed over large areas by the following rationale: (1) use of electromagnetic induction (EMI) to measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa, mS m−1); (2) inversion of ECa to obtain electromagnetic conductivity imaging (EMCI) which provides the spatial distribution of the soil electrical conductivity (σ, mS m−1); (3) calibration process consisting of a regression between σ and the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (ECe, dS m−1), used as a proxy for soil salinity; and (4) conversion of EMCI into salinity cross sections using the obtained calibration equation. In this study, EMI surveys and soil sampling were carried out between May 2017 and October 2018 at four locations with different salinity levels across the study area of Lezíria de Vila Franca. A previously developed regional calibration was used for predicting ECe from EMCI. Using time-lapse EMCI data, this study aims (1) to evaluate the ability of the regional calibration to predict soil salinity and (2) to perform a preliminary qualitative analysis of soil salinity dynamics in the study area. The validation analysis showed that ECe was predicted with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.14 dS m−1 in a range of 52.35 dS m−1, slightly overestimated (−1.23 dS m−1), with a strong Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.94 and high linearity between measured and predicted data (R2=0.88). It was also observed that the prediction ability of the regional calibration is more influenced by spatial variability of data than temporal variability of data. Soil salinity cross sections were generated for each date and location of data collection, revealing qualitative salinity fluctuations related to the input of salts and water either through irrigation, precipitation, or level and salinity of groundwater. Time-lapse EMCI is developing into a valid methodology for evaluating the risk of soil salinization, so it can further support the evaluation and adoption of proper agricultural management strategies, especially in irrigated areas, where continuous monitoring of soil salinity dynamics is required.

This paper conceptualizes and evaluates the groundwater resource in a coastal urban area hydrologically influenced by peri-urban irrigation agriculture. Adra town in southern Spain was the case study chosen to evaluate the groundwater resource contributed from the northern steep urban sector (NSUS) to the southern flat urban sector (SFUS), which belongs to the Adra River Delta Groundwater Body (ARDGB). The methodology included (1) geological and hydrogeological data compilation; (2) thirteen Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW), and eight Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) profiles to define shallow geological structures and some hydrogeological features; (3) hydrogeological surveys for aquifer hydraulic definition; (4) conceptualization of the hydrogeological functioning; and (5) the NSUS groundwater resource evaluation. All findings were integrated to prepare a 1:5000 scale hydrogeological map and cross-sections. Ten hydrogeological formations were defined, four of them (Paleozoic weathered bedrock, Pleistocene littoral facies, Holocene colluvial, and anthropogenic filling) in the NSUS contributing to the SFUS. The NSUS groundwater discharge and recharge are, respectively, around 0.28 Mm3 year–1 and 0.31 Mm3 year–1, and the actual groundwater storage is around 0.47 Mm3. The groundwater renewability is high enough to guarantee a durable small exploitation for specific current and future urban water uses which can alleviate the pressure on the ARDGB.

No abstract