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Field Observations on Changes in the Subsurface Water Regime During Influent Seepage in the Santa Cruz River
Author(s) -
Wilson L. G.,
De Cook K. J.
Publication year - 1968
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/wr004i006p01219
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , vadose zone , phreatic , hydrology (agriculture) , aquifer , geology , groundwater , surface runoff , hydrograph , drainage , water content , water balance , infiltration (hvac) , subsurface flow , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , geography , ecology , meteorology , biology
Field studies were conducted during the winter 1965–1966 at an instrumented research site near Tucson, Arizona, to characterize changes in the subsurface water regime of the stratified sediments at the site during influent seepage in the Santa Cruz River. At the peak of recharge from the principal runoff event of the winter, observation well data accounted for 33% of the observed total change in the subsurface water content. The remaining 67%, observed by means of moisture logs in access tubes, was contained in two near‐saturated mounds in the intermediate vadose zone. Slow drainage of water from these mounds into the semiconfined phreatic zone apparently reduced the rates of recession of observation well hydrographs. Water content changes in the intermediate vadose zone and related long‐term drainage should be accounted for during water balance studies and aquifer testing in the Tucson Basin. (Key words: Arizona; river seepage; ground water)