Bedrock aquifers in the lower Dirty Devil River Basin area, Utah : with special emphasis on the Navajo sandstone

Hood, J.W.; Danielson, T.W.

doi:10.3133/ofr791163

Cited by 15 publications

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“…[7] The conceptual model of net infiltration and recharge to desert sandstone ( Figure 1) includes two main processes: (1) direct infiltration and percolation of precipitation through both outcropping and soil-covered sandstone, and (2) focused infiltration and percolation through exposed sandstone fractures or soils receiving runoff directly downgradient of outcrop areas [Cordova et al, 1972;Cordova, 1978;Hood and Danielson, 1981;Eychaner, 1983;Hood and Patterson, 1984]. ''Direct infiltration'' is water entering the subsurface from on-site precipitation, whereas ''focused infiltration and percolation'' is water that is focused either above land surface (along washes or channels) or at the soil/ bedrock contact prior to penetrating the bedrock.…”

Section: Concepts Of Net Infiltration and Recharge To Desert Sandstonementioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Heilweil

McKinney

Zhdanov

et al. 2007

Water Resources Research

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[1] As populations grow in arid climates and desert bedrock aquifers are increasingly targeted for future development, understanding and quantifying the spatial variability of net infiltration becomes critically important for accurately inventorying water resources and mapping contamination vulnerability. This paper presents a conceptual model of net infiltration to desert sandstone and then develops an empirical equation for its spatial quantification at the watershed scale using linear least squares inversion methods for evaluating controlling parameters (independent variables) based on estimated net infiltration rates (dependent variables). Net infiltration rates used for this regression analysis were calculated from environmental tracers in boreholes and more than 3000 linear meters of vadose zone excavations in an upland basin in southwestern Utah underlain by Navajo sandstone. Soil coarseness, distance to upgradient outcrop, and topographic slope were shown to be the primary physical parameters controlling the spatial variability of net infiltration. Although the method should be transferable to other desert sandstone settings for determining the relative spatial distribution of net infiltration, further study is needed to evaluate the effects of other potential parameters such as slope aspect, outcrop parameters, and climate on absolute net infiltration rates.

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Section: Concepts Of Net Infiltration and Recharge To Desert Sandstonementioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Heilweil

McKinney

Zhdanov

et al. 2007

Water Resources Research

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“…Rapid population growth in the region and further development of groundwater resources requires quantification of groundwater recharge. Direct and focused net infiltration of precipitation on exposed outcrops or shallowly buried bedrock have been identified as the primary sources of recharge to the Navajo (Cordova et al, 1972, Cordova, 1978, 1981; Hood and Danielson, 1981; Eychaner, 1983; Hood and Patterson, 1984) and other fractured bedrock aquifers (Rasmussen and Evans, 1993; Flint et al, 2002). This is supported by vadose zone solute distributions observed along shallow trenches in the Navajo Sandstone of southwestern Utah (Heilweil and Solomon, 2004), indicating a connection between recharge and surficial characteristics such as soil coarseness and outcropping bedrock.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Borehole Environmental Tracers for Evaluating Net Infiltration and Recharge through Desert Bedrock

Heilweil

Solomon

Gardner

2006

Vadose Zone Journal

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Permeable bedrock aquifers in arid regions are being increasingly developed as water supplies, yet little is generally known about recharge processes and spatial and temporal variability. Environmental tracers from boreholes were used in this study to investigate net infiltration and recharge to the fractured Navajo Sandstone aquifer. Vadose zone tracer profiles at the Sand Hollow study site in southwestern Utah look similar to those of desert soils at other sites, indicating the predominance of matrix flow. However, recharge rates are generally higher in the Navajo Sandstone than in unconsolidated soils in similar climates because the sandstone matrix allows water movement but not root penetration. Water enters the vadose zone either as direct infiltration of precipitation through exposed sandstone and sandy soils or as focused infiltration of runoff. Net infiltration and recharge exhibit extreme spatial variability. High-recharge borehole sites generally have large amounts of vadose zone tritium, low chloride concentrations, and small vadose zone oxygen-18 evaporative shifts. Annual net-infiltration and recharge rates at different locations range from about 1 to 60 mm as determined using vadose zone tritium, 0 to 15 mm using vadose zone chloride, and 3 to 60 mm using groundwater chloride. Environmental tracers indicate a cyclical net-infiltration and recharge pattern, with higher rates earlier in the Holocene and lower rates during the late Holocene, and a return to higher rates during recent decades associated with anomalously high precipitation during the latter part of the 20th century. The slightly enriched stable isotopic composition of modern groundwater indicates this recent increase in precipitation may be caused by a stronger summer monsoon or winter southern Pacific El Niñ o storm track.

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“…Caine Springs, in Salt Wash, is a perennial spring issuing from the Carmel Formation and is associated with a small anticline. Its source of water is postulated to be the underlying Navajo Sandstone (Hood and Danielson, 1981). However, its very saline (> 9500 mg/L TDS), sodium-chloride character reflects dissolution of halite, which has been identified in the Carmel Formation.…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

IDENTIFICATION OF SOLUTE LOADING SOURCES TO A SURFACE STREAM¹

Rittmaster

Mueller

1986

J American Water Resour Assoc

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A study was performed to identify sources of solute loading to the Dirty Devil River and its major tributaries, in southeastern Utah. A primary goal was to determine the contribution of gypsum dissolution to total dissolved solids concentration, and its potential increase in the future if salinity control measures are instituted. Synoptic field data were collected during the low flow period in October 1983. Data were analyzed using the geochemistry models WATEQF and BALANCE to postulate mineral reactions leading to solute loading. Three known sources of solute loading, involving two different geochemical mechanisms, were clearly discernable. Two additional areas of possible gypsum dissolution were located. (KEY TERMS: salinity; geochemistry models; salinity control; Colorado River Basin.)

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Bedrock aquifers in the lower Dirty Devil River Basin area, Utah : with special emphasis on the Navajo sandstone

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Borehole Environmental Tracers for Evaluating Net Infiltration and Recharge through Desert Bedrock

IDENTIFICATION OF SOLUTE LOADING SOURCES TO A SURFACE STREAM¹

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Bedrock aquifers in the lower Dirty Devil River Basin area, Utah : with special emphasis on the Navajo sandstone

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Controls on the variability of net infiltration to desert sandstone

Borehole Environmental Tracers for Evaluating Net Infiltration and Recharge through Desert Bedrock

IDENTIFICATION OF SOLUTE LOADING SOURCES TO A SURFACE STREAM1

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Product

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IDENTIFICATION OF SOLUTE LOADING SOURCES TO A SURFACE STREAM¹