scholarly journals Process-based modelling to evaluate simulated groundwater levels and frequencies in a Chalk catchment in south-western England

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Brenner ◽  
Gemma Coxon ◽  
Nicholas J. K. Howden ◽  
Jim Freer ◽  
Andreas Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
High Porosity ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Subsurface Heterogeneity ◽  
Split Sample ◽  
Sample Test ◽  
Simulated Groundwater

Abstract. Chalk aquifers are an important source of drinking water in the UK. Due to their properties, they are particularly vulnerable to groundwater-related hazards like floods and droughts. Understanding and predicting groundwater levels is therefore important for effective and safe water management. Chalk is known for its high porosity and, due to its dissolvability, exposed to karstification and strong subsurface heterogeneity. To cope with the karstic heterogeneity and limited data availability, specialised modelling approaches are required that balance model complexity and data availability. In this study, we present a novel approach to evaluate simulated groundwater level frequencies derived from a semi-distributed karst model that represents subsurface heterogeneity by distribution functions. Simulated groundwater storages are transferred into groundwater levels using evidence from different observations wells. Using a percentile approach we can assess the number of days exceeding or falling below selected groundwater level percentiles. Firstly, we evaluate the performance of the model when simulating groundwater level time series using a spilt sample test and parameter identifiability analysis. Secondly, we apply a split sample test to the simulated groundwater level percentiles to explore the performance in predicting groundwater level exceedances. We show that the model provides robust simulations of discharge and groundwater levels at three observation wells at a test site in a chalk-dominated catchment in south-western England. The second split sample test also indicates that the percentile approach is able to reliably predict groundwater level exceedances across all considered timescales up to their 75th percentile. However, when looking at the 90th percentile, it only provides acceptable predictions for long time periods and it fails when the 95th percentile of groundwater exceedance levels is considered. By modifying the historic forcings of our model according to expected future climate changes, we create simple climate scenarios and we show that the projected climate changes may lead to generally lower groundwater levels and a reduction of exceedances of high groundwater level percentiles.

scholarly journals A percentile approach to evaluate simulated groundwater levels and frequencies in a Chalk catchment in Southwest England

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Brenner ◽  
Gemma Coxon ◽  
Nicholas J. K. Howden ◽  
Jim Freer ◽  
Andreas Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
High Porosity ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Subsurface Heterogeneity ◽  
Split Sample ◽  
Sample Test ◽  
Simulated Groundwater

Abstract. Chalk aquifers are an important source of drinking water in the UK. Understanding and predicting groundwater levels is therefore important for effective water management of this resource. Chalk is known for its high porosity and, due to its dissolvability, exposed to karstification and strong subsurface heterogeneity. To cope with the karstic heterogeneity and limited data availability, specialised modelling approaches are required that balance model complexity and data availability. In this study we present a novel approach to simulate groundwater level frequency distributions with a semi-distributed karst model that represents subsurface heterogeneity by distribution functions. Simulated groundwater storages are transferred into groundwater levels using evidence from different observations wells. Using a newly developed percentile approach we can simulate the number of days exceeding or falling below selected groundwater level percentiles. Firstly, we evaluate the performance of the model to simulate three groundwater time series by a spilt sample test and parameter identifiability analysis. Secondly, we apply a split sample test on the simulated groundwater level percentiles to explore the performance in predicting groundwater level exceedances. We show that the model provides robust simulations of discharge and groundwater levels at 3 observation wells at a test site in chalk dominated catchment in Southwest England. The second split sample test also indicates that percentile approach is able to reliably predict groundwater level exceedances across all considered time scales up to their 75th percentile. However, when looking at the 90th percentile, it only provides acceptable predictions for the longest available time scale and it fails when the 95th percentile of groundwater exceedance levels is considered. Modifying the historic forcings of our model according to expected future climate changes, we create simple climate scenarios and we show that the projected climate changes may lead to generally lower groundwater levels and a reduction of exceedances of high groundwater level percentiles.

scholarly journals Investigating Groundwater Condition and Seawater Intrusion Status in Coastal Aquifer Systems of Eastern India

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 1952
Author(s):  
Subrata Halder ◽  
Lingaraj Dhal ◽  
Madan K. Jha
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Seawater Intrusion ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Coastal Aquifer ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Confined Aquifer ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Post Monsoon ◽  
Aquifer Systems ◽  
Sustainable Water Supply

Providing sustainable water supply for domestic needs and irrigated agriculture is one of the most significant challenges for the current century. This challenge is more daunting in coastal regions. Groundwater plays a pivotal role in addressing this challenge and hence, it is under growing stress in several parts of the world. To address this challenge, a proper understanding of groundwater characteristics in an area is essential. In this study, spatio-temporal analyses of pre-monsoon and post-monsoon groundwater-levels of two coastal aquifer systems (upper leaky confined and underlying confined) were carried out in Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal, India. Trend analysis of seasonal groundwater-levels of the two aquifers systems was also performed using Mann-Kendall test, Linear Regression test, and Innovative Trend test. Finally, the status of seawater intrusion in the two aquifers was evaluated using available groundwater-quality data of Chloride (Cl−) and Total Dissolve Solids (TDS). Considerable spatial and temporal variability was found in the seasonal groundwater-levels of the two aquifers. Further, decreasing trends were spotted in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon groundwater-level time series of the leaky confined and confined aquifers, except pre-monsoon groundwater-levels in Contai-I and Deshpran blocks, and the post-monsoon groundwater-level in Ramnagar-I block for the leaky confined aquifer. The leaky confined aquifer in Contai-I, Contai-III, and Deshpran blocks and the confined aquifer in Nandigram-I and Nandigram-II blocks are vulnerable to seawater intrusion. There is an urgent need for the real-time monitoring of groundwater-levels and groundwater quality in both the aquifer systems, which can ensure efficient management of coastal groundwater reserves.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Seasonal Groundwater Quality Changes Associated with Groundwater Pumping and Level Fluctuations in an Agricultural Area, Korea

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Kyoochul Ha ◽  
Eunhee Lee ◽  
Hyowon An ◽  
Sunghyun Kim ◽  
Changhui Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Agricultural Area ◽  
Water Type ◽  
Quality Changes ◽  
Groundwater Pumping ◽  
Rice Paddies ◽  
Groundwater Levels

This study was conducted to evaluate seasonal groundwater quality due to groundwater pumping and hydrochemical characteristics with groundwater level fluctuations in an agricultural area in Korea. Groundwater levels were observed for about one year using automatic monitoring sensors, and groundwater uses were estimated based on the monitoring data. Groundwater use in the area is closely related to irrigation for rice farming, and rising groundwater levels occur during the pumping, which may be caused by the irrigation water of rice paddies. Hydrochemical analysis results for two separate times (17 July and 1 October 2019) show that the dissolved components in groundwater decreased overall due to dilution, especially at wells in the alluvial aquifer and shallow depth. More than 50% of the samples were classified as CaHCO3 water type, and changes in water type occurred depending on the well location. Water quality changes were small at most wells, but changes at some wells were evident. In addition, the groundwater quality was confirmed to have the effect of saltwater supplied during the 2018 drought by comparison with seawater. According to principal component analysis (PCA), the water quality from July to October was confirmed to have changed due to dilution, and the effect was strong at shallow wells. In the study areas where rice paddy farming is active in summer, irrigation water may be one of the important factors changing the groundwater quality. These results provide a qualitative and quantitative basis for groundwater quality change in agricultural areas, particularly rice paddies areas, along with groundwater level and usage.

scholarly journals Seismically induced changes in groundwater levels and temperatures following the ML5.8 (ML5.1) Gyeongju earthquake in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Hyoung Lee ◽  
Jae Min Lee ◽  
Sang-Ho Moon ◽  
Kyoochul Ha ◽  
Yongcheol Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Gyeongju Earthquake

AbstractHydrogeological responses to earthquakes such as changes in groundwater level, temperature, and chemistry, have been observed for several decades. This study examines behavior associated with ML 5.8 and ML 5.1 earthquakes that occurred on 12 September 2016 near Gyeongju, a city located on the southeast coast of the Korean peninsula. The ML 5.8 event stands as the largest recorded earthquake in South Korea since the advent of modern recording systems. There was considerable damage associated with the earthquakes and many aftershocks. Records from monitoring wells located about 135 km west of the epicenter displayed various patterns of change in both water level and temperature. There were transient-type, step-like-type (up and down), and persistent-type (rise and fall) changes in water levels. The water temperature changes were of transient, shift-change, and tendency-change types. Transient changes in the groundwater level and temperature were particularly well developed in monitoring wells installed along a major boundary fault that bisected the study area. These changes were interpreted as representing an aquifer system deformed by seismic waves. The various patterns in groundwater level and temperature, therefore, suggested that seismic waves impacted the fractured units through the reactivation of fractures, joints, and microcracks, which resulted from a pulse in fluid pressure. This study points to the value of long-term monitoring efforts, which in this case were able to provide detailed information needed to manage the groundwater resources in areas potentially affected by further earthquakes.

scholarly journals The anatomy of past abrupt warmings recorded in Greenland ice

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Capron ◽  
S. O. Rasmussen ◽  
T. J. Popp ◽  
T. Erhardt ◽  
H. Fischer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Changes ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Systematic Pattern ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractData availability and temporal resolution make it challenging to unravel the anatomy (duration and temporal phasing) of the Last Glacial abrupt climate changes. Here, we address these limitations by investigating the anatomy of abrupt changes using sub-decadal-scale records from Greenland ice cores. We highlight the absence of a systematic pattern in the anatomy of abrupt changes as recorded in different ice parameters. This diversity in the sequence of changes seen in ice-core data is also observed in climate parameters derived from numerical simulations which exhibit self-sustained abrupt variability arising from internal atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions. Our analysis of two ice cores shows that the diversity of abrupt warming transitions represents variability inherent to the climate system and not archive-specific noise. Our results hint that during these abrupt events, it may not be possible to infer statistically-robust leads and lags between the different components of the climate system because of their tight coupling.

scholarly journals Hydraulic Tomography for Estimating the Diffusivity of Heterogeneous Aquifers Based on Groundwater Response to Tidal Fluctuation in an Artificial Island in Taiwan

Geofluids ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jet-Chau Wen ◽  
Hong-Ru Lin ◽  
Tian-Chyi Jim Yeh ◽  
Yu-Li Wang ◽  
Keng-Li Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Tidal Fluctuation ◽  
Heterogeneous Aquifers ◽  
Hydraulic Diffusivity ◽  
The Real ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Hydraulic Tomography ◽  
Groundwater Response ◽  
Spectrum Ratio

This study investigated the hydraulic properties of the heterogeneous aquifers of an artificial island (Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park) in Taiwan. The research was based on the groundwater level response affected by tidal fluctuation using the hydraulic tomography (HT) to analyze the hydraulic diffusivity (α). Specifically, the power spectrum ratio of groundwater and tidal fluctuations derived from the Gelhar solution was used to estimate α in homogeneous aquifers; this, however, could not be applied in the artificial island. Next, the spatial distribution of the groundwater level response affected by tidal fluctuation was analyzed and found to be irregular, proving the existence of hydrogeological heterogeneity in the artificial island. Furthermore, the results of the estimated α using the HT showed low error and high correlation, 0.41 m2/hr and 0.83, respectively, between the optimal estimated heterogeneous and reference α fields in the synthetic aquifer. Last, the HT was used in the real tested scenario. By comparing the predicted groundwater levels of the optimal estimated heterogeneous α field and the observed groundwater levels of the real aquifer, it was found that the correlation was higher than 0.99. Therefore, the HT can be used to obtain the optimal estimated heterogeneous α field in the artificial island.

scholarly journals The response of groundwater to multiple concerning drivers and its future: a study on Birbhum District, West Bengal, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niladri Das ◽  
Subhasish Sutradhar ◽  
Ranajit Ghosh ◽  
Prolay Mondal ◽  
Sadikul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Alluvial Soil ◽  
Drilling Process ◽  
Ann Model ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Agricultural Intensity ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Agricultural Yield ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
Geological Facies

AbstractGroundwater and its upcoming crisis are the present-day concern of the scientist. This research mainly focuses on responses of groundwater dynamicity to some important drivers, viz. agricultural yield, groundwater irrigated area, groundwater draft, landuse/landcover, and stage of development. The result of this study has been done under three sections. In the first section, the spatiality of groundwater has been discussed where it has been noticed that the western side of the district groundwater level is near the surface due to low drafting and low agricultural yield. Moreover, hard rock geology in the western part disappoints the drilling process. On the eastern part, rich alluvial soil influences high agricultural yield hence groundwater level lowering down rapidly. In the second section, the nature of groundwater levels has been analyzed through the boxplot, and cluster diagram, where boxplots have been drawn over different geological facies, which depicts groundwater is highly fluctuating in hard clay geology. For example, high agricultural intensity and high groundwater draft is the characteristic feature of hard clay geology. The dendrogram in cluster analysis represents a homogeneous groundwater level fluctuating station in three different time series. Last section deals with the future of groundwater level where an artificial neural network (ANN) model has been applied to extract the predicted groundwater level for 2030. This type of environmental analysis, such as groundwater fluctuations in relation to different sensitive parameters and the use of a machine learning model, would aid potential researchers and communities in making wise groundwater use decisions.

Detecting land deformation due to groundwater changes with InSAR observations - the case of the island of Gotland, Sweden

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Darvishi ◽  
Fernando Jaramillo
Keyword(s):  
Land Subsidence ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Small Baseline Subset ◽  
Small Baseline ◽  
The Baltic

<p>In the recent years, southern Sweden has experienced drought conditions during the summer with potential risks of groundwater shortages. One of the main physical effects of groundwater depletion is land subsidence, a geohazard that potentially damages urban infrastructure, natural resources and can generate casualties. We here investigate land subsidence induced by groundwater depletion and/or seasonal variations in Gotland, an agricultural island in the Baltic Sea experiencing recent hydrological droughts in the summer. Taking advantage of the multiple monitoring groundwater wells active on the island, we explore the existence of a relationship between groundwater fluctuations and ground deformation, as obtained from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The aim in the long-term is to develop a high-accuracy map of land subsidence with an appropriate temporal and spatial resolution to understand groundwater changes in the area are recognize hydroclimatic and anthropogenic drivers of change.</p><p>We processed Sentinel-1 (S1) data, covering the time span of 2016-2019, by using the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) to process 119 S1-A/B data (descending mode). The groundwater level of Nineteen wells distributed over the Gotland island were used to assess the relationship between groundwater depletion and the detected InSAR displacement. In addition to that, the roles of other geological key factors such as soil depth, ground capacity in bed rock, karstification, structure of bedrock and soil type in occurring land subsidence also investigated. The findings showed that the groundwater level in thirteen wells with soil depths of less than 5 meters correlated well with InSAR displacements. The closeness of bedrock to ground surface (small soil depth) was responsible for high coherence values near the wells, and enabled the detection land subsidence. The results demonstrated that InSAR could use as an effective monitoring system for groundwater management and can assist in predicting or estimating low groundwater levels during summer conditions.</p>

RAT (Robustness Assessment Test): a straightforward evaluation of hydrological model robustness to a changing climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vazken Andréassian ◽  
Léonard Santos ◽  
Torben Sonnenborg ◽  
Alban de Lavenne ◽  
Göran Lindström ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Hydrological Models ◽  
Climate Variables ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Hydrological Characteristics ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Split Sample ◽  
Sample Test ◽  
Model Robustness

<p>Hydrological models are increasingly used under evolving climatic conditions. They should thus be evaluated regarding their temporal transferability (application in different time periods) and extrapolation capacity (application beyond the range of known past conditions). In theory, parameters of hydrological models are independent of climate. In practice, however, many published studies based on the Split-Sample Test (Klemeš, 1986), have shown that model performances decrease systematically when it is used out of its calibration period. The RAT test proposed here aims at evaluating model robustness to a changing climate by assessing potential undesirable dependencies of hydrological model performances to climate variables. The test compares, over a long data period, the annual value of several climate variables (temperature, precipitation and aridity index) and the bias of the model over each year. If a significant relation exists between the climatic variable and the bias, the model is not considered to be robust to climate change on the catchment. The test has been compared to the Generalized Split-Sample Test (Coron et al., 2012) and showed similar results.</p><p>Here, we report on a large scale application of the test for three hydrological models with different level of complexity (GR6J, HYPE, MIKE-SHE) on a data set of 352 catchments in Denmark, France and Sweden. The results show that the test behaves differently given the evaluated variable (be temperature, precipitation or aridity) and the hydrological characteristics of each catchment. They also show that, although of different level of complexity, the robustness of the three models is similar on the overall data set. However, they are not robust on the same catchments and, then, are not sensitive to the same hydrological characteristics. This example highlights the applicability of the RAT test regardless of the model set-up and calibration procedure and its ability to provide a first evaluation of the model robustness to climate change.</p><p> </p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Coron, L., V. Andréassian, C. Perrin, J. Lerat, J. Vaze, M. Bourqui, and F. Hendrickx, 2012. Crash testing hydrological models in contrasted climate conditions: An experiment on 216 Australian catchments, Water Resour. Res., 48, W05552, doi:10.1029/2011WR011721</p><p>Klemeš, V., 1986. Operational testing of hydrological simulation models, Hydrol. Sci. J., 31, 13–24, doi:10.1080/02626668609491024</p><p> </p>

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