A multi-environmental tracer study to determine groundwater residence times and recharge in a structurally complex multi-aquifer
system

Wilske, Cornelia; Suckow, Axel; Mallast, Ulf; Meier, Christel; Merchel, Silke; Merkel, Broder J.; Pavetich, Stefan; Rödiger, Tino; Rugel, G.; Sachse, Agnes; Weise, Stephan M.; Siebert, Christian

doi:10.5194/hess-2019-451

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, groundwater management tools often require paired hydraulic head values and flux estimates. Methods to quantify downwelling fluxes across aquitards to deeper aquifers are commonly based on environmental tracers (e.g., Wilske et al., 2020), in particular the depth distribution of groundwater age (e.g., Visser et al., 2013). Heat can also serve as an environmental tracer to yield estimates of groundwater fluxes, with most methods focused on quantifying the vertical flux component (Anderson, 2005), or inferring hydraulic conductive fields at a range of scales (Saar, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inferring Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity Using Transient Temperature‐Depth Profiles Impacted by Ground Surface Warming

Bense

Kruijssen

Kurylyk

2022

Water Resources Research

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Sustainable groundwater resource management for semi-confined aquifers relies on accurate estimations of vertical groundwater fluxes (Bierkens & Wada, 2019;Döll & Fiedler, 2008). However, groundwater recharge to shallow aquifers and subsequent flow across aquitards and toward deeper, pumped aquifers is notoriously difficult to measure or estimate (Scanlon et al., 2006). These flows can be quantified as the product of the aquitard vertical hydraulic conductivity (K z ) and hydraulic gradients imposed by geological, climatological, and anthropogenic processes. Where available, piezometers in boreholes can readily provide direct multi-level measurements of hydraulic head and resultant vertical hydraulic gradients (Post & van Asmuth, 2013). In contrast, K and storage properties are challenging to evaluate, particularly for low-K units (Van der Kamp, 2001). The observed range of K values spans over 10 orders of magnitude (Sanchez-Vila et al., 2005). Low K values (∼10 −6 -10 −1 m/day) in unconsolidated sedimentary aquifer systems are associated with clays and silty sediments that form aquitards, whereas more sand-rich to gravel units form aquifers (Freeze & Cherry, 1979). Aquitards limit the vertical exchange of groundwater and dissolved solutes between aquifers above and below aquitards. Hence, reliable quantification of aquitard K z is fundamental to evaluate vertical groundwater fluxes, the impact of groundwater abstraction from deep aquifers on near-surface groundwater tables, and the risk of deep groundwater pollution by the ingress of shallow, low quality groundwater across aquitards (Filippini et al., 2020;Hart et al., 2005).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inferring Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity Using Transient Temperature‐Depth Profiles Impacted by Ground Surface Warming

Bense

Kruijssen

Kurylyk

2022

Water Resources Research

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“…alpine karst, binary mixing, complex aquifer, groundwater age distribution, groundwater dating, hydrochemistry, lumped parameter models, shape-free models 1 | INTRODUCTION Environmental tracers are natural or anthropogenic compounds widely distributed in the near-surface of the Earth (Cook & Herczeg, 2000;Elliot, 2014). Determining their concentrations in groundwater helps researchers assess the age of the water and the recharge regime of aquifers (Müller et al, 2016;Wilske et al, 2019;Yager et al, 2010), mixing process problems (Akesson et al, 2015; Corcho Alvarado et al, 2007), as well as groundwater vulnerability to pollution (Jasechko et al, 2017;Musgrove, Solder, Opsahl, & Wilson, 2019), and can lead to the development of optimized hydrogeological conceptual models (Gardner & Heilweil, 2014;Sültenfuss, Purtschert, & Führböter, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While groundwater flows rapidly through conduits and fractures, the flow velocity in the matrix or small fissures is very slow (Han, Hacker, & Gröning, 2007;Worthington & Gunn, 2009). It calls for the joint application of several environmental tracers to constrain the age distribution of groundwater (Wilske et al, 2019), particularly if a comprehensive understanding of groundwater flow behaviour is not derived from other experimental methodologies (hydrodynamic, hydrothermal, hydrochemical, and stable isotopes).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary use of dating and hydrochemical tools to assess mixing processes involving centenarian groundwater in a geologically complex alpine karst aquifer

Gil‐Márquez

Torre

Mudarra

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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Environmental dating tracers (3H, 3He, 4He, CFC‐12, CFC‐11, and SF6) and the natural spring response (hydrochemistry, water temperature, and hydrodynamics) were jointly used to assess mixing processes and to characterize groundwater flow in a relatively small carbonate aquifer with complex geology in southern Spain. Results evidence a marked karst behaviour of some temporary outlets, with sharp and rapid responses to precipitation events, while some perennial springs show buffer and delayed variations with respect to recharge periods. The general geochemical evolution shows a pattern, from higher to lower altitudes, in which mineralization and the Mg/Ca ratio rise, evidencing longer water–rock interaction. The large SF6 concentrations in groundwater suggest terrigenic production, whereas CFC‐11 values are affected by sorption or degradation. The groundwater age in the perennial springs—as deduced from CFC‐12 and 3H/3He—points to mean residence times of several decades, although the large amount of radiogenic 4He in samples indicate a contribution of old groundwater (free of 3H and CFC‐12). Lumped parameter models and shape‐free models were created based on 3H, tritiogenic 3He, CFC‐12, and radiogenic 4He data in order to interpret the age distribution of the samples. Results evidence the existence of two mixing components, with an old fraction ranging between 160 and 220 years in age. The correlation of physicochemical parameters with some dating parameters, derived from the mixing models, serves to explain the hydrogeochemical processes occurring within the system. Altogether, long residence times are shown to be possible in small alpine systems with a clearly karst behaviour if the geological setting features highly tectonized media including units with diverse hydrogeological characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of applying different approaches, including groundwater dating techniques, when studying such groundwater flow regimes.

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“…Environmental tracers are natural or anthropogenic compounds that are widely distributed in the nearsurface of the Earth (Cook & Herczeg, 2000;Elliot, 2014). The determination of their concentrations in groundwater allows to estimate its apparent age, which helps on the characterization of the recharge regime of aquifers (Müller et al, 2016;Wilske et al, 2019;Yager et al, 2010), the resolution of mixing process problems (Akesson et al, 2015;Corcho Alvarado et al, 2007), the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution (Jasechko et al, 2017;Musgrove, Solder, Opsahl, & Wilson, 2019), and the development of optimized hydrogeological conceptual models (Gardner & Heilweil, 2014;Sültenfuss, Purtschert, & Führböter, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While groundwater flows rapidly through conduits and fractures, the flow velocity in the matrix or small fissures is very slow (Han, Hacker, & Gröning, 2007;Worthington & Gunn, 2009). Such characteristics would require the joint application of several environmental tracers that help to constrain the age distribution of groundwater (Wilske et al, 2019), particularly if a comprehensive understanding of groundwater flow behavior is not achieved based on other experimental methodologies (hydrodynamic, hydrothermal, hydrochemical, and stable isotopes).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complimentary use of dating and hydrochemical tools to assess mixing processes involving centenarian groundwater in a geologically complex alpine karst aquifer

et al.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental dating tracers (3 H, 3 He, 4 He, CFC-12, CFC-11, SF 6) and the natural response of spring (hydrochemistry, water temperature, and hydrodynamics) were jointly used to asses mixing processes and to characterize groundwater flow in a relatively small carbonate aquifer with complex geology in South Spain. Results evidence a marked karst behavior of some temporary outlets, while some perennial springs show buffer and delayed responses to recharge events. There is also a general geochemical evolution pattern, from higher to lower altitudes, in which mineralization and the relation Mg/Ca rises, evidencing longer water-rock interaction. The large SF6 concentrations in groundwater suggest terrigenic production, while CFC-11 values are affected by sorption or degradation. The groundwater age in the perennial springs deduced from CFC-12 and 3 H/ 3 He point out to mean residence times of several decades, although the difference between both methods and the large amount of radiogenic 4He in the samples indicates a contribution of old groundwater (free of 3 H and CFC-12). Lumped Parameter Models and Shape-Free Models were created based on 3 H, tritiogenic 3 He, CFC-12, and radiogenic 4 He data in order to interpret the age distribution of the samples. The resulting groundwater-age distributions evidence the existence of two mixing components, with an old fraction ranging between 160 and 220 years. Some dating parameters derived from the mixing models and their correlation to physicochemical parameters permits to explain the hydrogeochemical processes occurring within the system. All these results prove that large time residence times are possible in small alpine systems with a clear karst behavior when the geological setting is complex, and they highlight the importance of applying different approaches, including groundwater dating techniques, to completely understand the groundwater flow regime within this type of media.

show abstract

A multi-environmental tracer study to determine groundwater residence times and recharge in a structurally complex multi-aquifer system

Cited by 6 publications

References 43 publications

Inferring Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity Using Transient Temperature‐Depth Profiles Impacted by Ground Surface Warming

Inferring Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity Using Transient Temperature‐Depth Profiles Impacted by Ground Surface Warming

Complementary use of dating and hydrochemical tools to assess mixing processes involving centenarian groundwater in a geologically complex alpine karst aquifer

Complimentary use of dating and hydrochemical tools to assess mixing processes involving centenarian groundwater in a geologically complex alpine karst aquifer

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