Class
Article
College
College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor
Bethany Neilson
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Groundwater and surface water are increasingly thought of as a single source with groundwater and surface waters being exchanged at highly variable spatial and temppresentation scales (Winter 1998). Karst geology results in shorter groundwater travel times which alter the dynamics between groundwater and surface water. Within karst watersheds there are potentially numerous springs and sub-surface flowpaths that vary in size (Lauber and Goldshceider 2014). Due to the complexity of flowpaths and potentially short travel times, there are limited methods for determining groundwater exchanges in these types of watersheds over space and time. Typically, a simple flow balance is used to determine the net groundwater gain or loss occurring within a reach. Mass balances can additionally be used to quantify the simultaneous gain and loss occurring in a reach (McCallum et al. 2012). Research being conducted in the Logan River watershed, a karst system, focuses on the combination of flow and mass balances to quantify both matrix groundwater gains/losses and karst groundwater gains/losses occurring within a watershed. This combined approach is used to evaluate synoptic ion sampling and flow under different flow regimes in the Logan River watershed at a small spatial scale. Additionally, data from long-term monitoring stations within the watershed have been analyzed to evaluate the net groundwater exchanges at both large spatial and temppresentation scales and provide additional insight into larger scale influences. Together these results provide an understanding of both karst groundwater contributions that can vary with changes in annual precipitation, and matrix groundwater flow that is relatively constant over time. This differentiation between karst and matrix groundwater flowpaths allows for a better understanding of the resilience of a watershed in a changing climate.
Location
Room 421
Start Date
4-12-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
4-12-2018 10:15 AM
Combined approaches for quantifying groundwater-surface water exchanges in a karst watershed
Room 421
Groundwater and surface water are increasingly thought of as a single source with groundwater and surface waters being exchanged at highly variable spatial and temppresentation scales (Winter 1998). Karst geology results in shorter groundwater travel times which alter the dynamics between groundwater and surface water. Within karst watersheds there are potentially numerous springs and sub-surface flowpaths that vary in size (Lauber and Goldshceider 2014). Due to the complexity of flowpaths and potentially short travel times, there are limited methods for determining groundwater exchanges in these types of watersheds over space and time. Typically, a simple flow balance is used to determine the net groundwater gain or loss occurring within a reach. Mass balances can additionally be used to quantify the simultaneous gain and loss occurring in a reach (McCallum et al. 2012). Research being conducted in the Logan River watershed, a karst system, focuses on the combination of flow and mass balances to quantify both matrix groundwater gains/losses and karst groundwater gains/losses occurring within a watershed. This combined approach is used to evaluate synoptic ion sampling and flow under different flow regimes in the Logan River watershed at a small spatial scale. Additionally, data from long-term monitoring stations within the watershed have been analyzed to evaluate the net groundwater exchanges at both large spatial and temppresentation scales and provide additional insight into larger scale influences. Together these results provide an understanding of both karst groundwater contributions that can vary with changes in annual precipitation, and matrix groundwater flow that is relatively constant over time. This differentiation between karst and matrix groundwater flowpaths allows for a better understanding of the resilience of a watershed in a changing climate.