Precipitation, Ground-water Hydrology, and Recharge Along the Eastern Slopes of the Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Abstract

The spatial and temporal distribution of recharge to carbonate and clastic aquifers along the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains was investigated by using precipitation, water-level, dissolved chloride, and specific-conductance data. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, conducted a study to assess groundwater conditions and provide technical data that could be used as a basis for management and future planning of eastern Bernalillo County water resources. The intent of the investigation was to improve the current understanding of subsurface mechanisms controlling recharge dynamics in a geologically complex aquifer system. In the Sandia Mountains, precipitation events are generally limited to snowfalls in winter months and monsoon rainfall in late summer. Monthly meteorological data from weather stations in the study area indicate that monsoon rainfall during July and August constitutes close to one-third of annual precipitation totals. Following precipitation and snowmelt events, daily groundwater level data show low-amplitude, long-duration peaks in hydrographs of wells north and west of the Tijeras Fault. Hydrographs of monthly and biannual water-level data from across the study area show seasonal variation and water-level fluctuations in excess of 30 ft during a period of below-average precipitation. Water level observations in 67 percent of wells showing drought-induced water-level declines rebounded to at or near predrought conditions within 6 months of return to normal climate conditions. Cross-correlation of annual hydrologic data shows aquifer response to periods of monsoon recharge to persist from 1 to 6 months following events. The lag time between precipitation input and response of water levels or solute concentrations was largest near the Tijeras and Gutierrez Faults. These results indicate regional faults hydrologically isolate the Tijeras Graben from groundwater recharge originating at high elevations along the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains. Recharge rates calculated by using the chloride-mass-balance method for five springs located at the base of the Sandia Mountains ranged from 1 to 23 percent of annual precipitation. 1990). Using higher frequency sampling, Blanchard and Kues (1999) observed an apparent lag time of 1 month in 16 wells across the EMA following 7.4 inches of precipitation in July 1991. Groundwater age in the EMA was estimated by using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) analyses to be 10-16 years in alluvial aquifers and 16-26 years in fractured rock aquifers (Blanchard, 2004).

Satellite observations of fumarole activity at Aluto volcano, Ethiopia: Implications for geothermal monitoring and volcanic hazard

“…We anticipate a time lag between when the rain falls on the ground and percolates through to the shallow hydrothermal system, affecting the behaviour of the fumaroles. This time-lag has been shown to be on the order of 1-4 months in other locations (McCoy and Blanchard, 2008;Saibi et al, 2010).…”

Spring types and contributing aquifers from water-chemistry and multivariate statistical analyses for seeps and springs in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, 2018

“…Collected data were analyzed to determine spring water origins, group similar waters, and trace groundwater flow paths. Other studies used CMB to determine groundwater recharge rates in semiarid environments (Anderholm, 1994;McCoy and Blanchard, 2008) using assumptions provided by Dettinger (1989).…”

“…The CMB method estimates recharge rates to aquifers in arid and semiarid environments based on the chloride concentration of a water sample and the rate of atmospheric chloride deposition (McCoy and Blanchard, 2008). The chloride ion (Cl − ) is a useful environmental tracer in groundwater because it is not a prominent reagent in geochemical processes, and it is conservative, meaning that chloride remains in solution and becomes more concentrated during evaporation and transpiration (Brooks and Mason, 2005).…”

Response of a fractured bedrock aquifer to recharge from heavy rainfall events

“…Statistical methods based upon the water table fluctuation method have been used in several studies to examine the temporal correlation between recharge and rainfall (Lee et al, 2006;Carretero and Kruse, 2012;McCoy and Blanchard, 2008;Owor et al, 2009;Turkeltaub et al, 2015). These studies have generally focused on the seasonality of the groundwater level response or have identified threshold rainfall amounts that create a rise in groundwater level using cross-correlation and regression analysis (Lee et al, 2006;Carretero and Kruse, 2012;McCoy and Blanchard, 2008;Owor et al, 2009 …”

“…These studies have generally focused on the seasonality of the groundwater level response or have identified threshold rainfall amounts that create a rise in groundwater level using cross-correlation and regression analysis (Lee et al, 2006;Carretero and Kruse, 2012;McCoy and Blanchard, 2008;Owor et al, 2009 …”