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Inferring Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity Using Transient Temperature‐Depth Profiles Impacted by Ground Surface Warming
Author(s) -
Bense V. F.,
Kruijssen T.,
Ploeg M. P.,
Kurylyk B. L.
Publication year - 2022
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 - 10.1029/2021wr030586
Subject(s) - hydraulic conductivity , aquifer , groundwater recharge , groundwater model , geology , groundwater , hydraulic head , soil science , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , aquifer properties , geotechnical engineering , soil water
Abstract Aquitard hydraulic properties are notoriously difficult to assess, yet accurate aquitard hydraulic conductivity estimates are critical to quantify recharge and discharge to and from semi‐confined aquifer systems via hydraulic head gradients. Such flux quantification is required to evaluate the risks of aquifer exploitation by groundwater abstraction and aquifer vulnerability to surface contamination. In this study, we consider a regionally important aquitard and compare existing hydraulic conductivity estimates obtained through traditional methods to those inferred from long‐term hydraulic head monitoring and thermally derived vertical groundwater fluxes (0.04–0.25 m/y). We estimate the fluxes using numerical modeling to analyze the propagation of decadal climate signals into temperature‐depth profiles and fitting the simulated and observed inflection point depths (location of minimum temperature). Results suggest that climate‐disturbed temperature‐depth profiles paired with multi‐level head data can yield accurate vertical fluxes and aquitard hydraulic conductivities. This approach for characterizing groundwater systems and quantifying flows to and from sedimentary aquifers is more efficient but yields results that are comparable to conventional methods.