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Educational Webtool Illustrating Groundwater Age Effects on Contaminant Trends in Wells
Author(s) -
Böhlke J.K.,
Jurgens Bryant C.,
Uselmann David J.,
Eberts Sandra M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/gwat.12261
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , groundwater , aquifer , hydrology (agriculture) , groundwater model , groundwater discharge , depression focused recharge , environmental science , groundwater flow , vadose zone , geology , geotechnical engineering
Trends in concentrations of nonpoint-source contaminants in wells, springs, and streams are related to the history of contamination in groundwater recharge and the age distribution in the groundwater discharge. The age distribution in discharge depends on the groundwater age distribution in the aquifer and the subset of flowpaths that are sampled by the discharge. Groundwater travel times from recharge to discharge are variable; consequently, responses at discharge locations to changing contaminant loading in recharge can include delayed initial responses, dilution of peak concentrations, and prolonged flushing times. These effects are well understood in principle and have important consequences for water resource management (Eberts et al. 2013), but their implications may not be easy to visualize or communicate.