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Scale invariance of subsurface flow patterns and its limitation
Author(s) -
Hergarten S.,
Winkler G.,
Birk S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2015wr017530
Subject(s) - aquifer , geology , debris flow , hydrology (agriculture) , scale invariance , subsurface flow , flow (mathematics) , scale (ratio) , lithology , karst , groundwater , geotechnical engineering , petrology , geometry , geography , debris , oceanography , statistics , mathematics , cartography , paleontology
Preferential flow patterns in the subsurface are of great importance for the availability and the quality of water resources. However, knowledge of their spatial structure is still behind their importance, so that understanding the nature of preferential flow patterns is a major issue in subsurface hydrology. Comparing the statistics of river catchment sizes and spring discharges, we found that the morphology of preferential subsurface flow patterns is probably scale invariant and similar to that of dendritic river networks. This result is not limited to karstic aquifers where the occurrence of dendritic structures has been known at least qualitatively for a long time. The scale invariance even seems to be independent of the lithology of the aquifer. However, scale invariance of river patterns seems to be only limited by the continental scale, while scale invariance of subsurface flow patterns breaks down at much smaller scales. The upper limit of scale invariance in subsurface flow patterns is highly variable. We found a range from thousands of square kilometers for limestone aquifers down to less than 1 km 2 in the weathered zone and debris accumulations of crystalline rocks.