Estimation of spatial variability of aquifer parameters from geophysical methods: a case study of Sindhudurg district,Maharashtra, India

Accurate estimation of aquifer parameters, especially from crystalline hard rock area, assumes a special significance for management of groundwater resources. The aquifer parameters are usually estimated through pumping tests carried out on water wells. While it may be costly and time consuming for carrying out pumping tests at a number of sites, the application of geophysical methods in combination with hydro-geochemical information proves to be potential and cost effective to estimate aquifer parameters. Here a method to estimate aquifer parameters such as hydraulic conductivity, formation factor, porosity and transmissivity is presented by utilizing electrical conductivity values analysed via hydro-geochemical analysis of existing wells and the respective vertical electrical sounding (VES) points of Sindhudurg district, western Maharashtra, India. Further, prior to interpolating the distribution of aquifer parameters of the study area, variogram modelling was carried out using data driven techniques of kriging, automatic relevance determination based Bayesian neural networks (ARD-BNN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy neural networks (ANFIS). In total, four variogram model fitting techniques such as spherical, exponential, ARD-BNN and ANFIS were compared. According to the obtained results, the spherical variogram model in interpolating transmissivity, ARD-BNN variogram model in interpolating porosity, exponential variogram model in interpolating aquifer thickness and ANFIS variogram model in interpolating hydraulic conductivity outperformed rest of the variogram models. Accordingly, the accurate aquifer parameters maps of the study area were produced by using the best variogram model. The present results suggest that there are relatively high value of hydraulic conductivity, porosity and transmissivity at Parule, Mogarne, Kudal, and Zarap, which would be useful to characterize the aquifer system over western Maharashtra.     

Neogene aquifer properties specified through the interpretation of electrical sounding data,Salamiyeh region,central Syria

Twenty‐nine Schlumberger electrical soundings were carried out in the Salamiyeh region in Syria using a maximum current electrode separation of 1 km. Three soundings were made at existing boreholes for comparison. Aquifer parameters of hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity were obtained by analysing pumping test data from the existing boreholes. An empirical relationship between hydraulic conductivity determined from the pumping test and both resistivity and thickness of the Neogene aquifer has been established for these boreholes in order to calculate the geophysical hydraulic conductivity. A close agreement has been obtained between the computed hydraulic conductivity and that determined from the pumping test. The relationship established has, therefore, been generalized in the study area in order to evaluate hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity at all the points where geoelectrical measurements have been carried out. This generalization allows one to derive maps of the hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity in the study area based on geoelectrical measurements. These maps are important in future modelling processes oriented towards better exploitation of the aquifers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficiency of joint use of MRS and VES to characterize coastal aquifer in Myanmar

The productivity and the water quality of coastal aquifers can be highly heterogeneous in a complex environment. The characterization of these aquifers can be improved by hydrogeological and complementary geophysical surveys. Such an integrated approach is developed in a non-consolidated coastal aquifer in Myanmar (previously named Burma).A preliminary hydrogeological survey is conducted to know better the targeted aquifers. Then, 25 sites are selected to characterize aquifers through borehole drillings and pumping tests implementation. In the same sites, magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) and vertical electrical soundings (VES) are carried out. Geophysical results are compared to hydrogeological data, and geophysical parameters are used to characterize aquifers using conversion equations. Finally, combining the analysis of technical and economical impacts of geophysics, a methodology is proposed to characterize non-consolidated coastal aquifers.Depth and thickness of saturated zone is determined by means of MRS in 68% of the sites (evaluated with 34 soundings). The average accuracy of confined storativity estimated with MRS is ± 6% (evaluated over 7 pumping tests) whereas the average accuracy of transmissivity estimation with MRS is ± 45% (evaluated using 15 pumping tests). To reduce uncertainty in VES interpretation, the aquifer geometry estimated with MRS is used as a fixed parameter in VES inversion. The accuracy of groundwater electrical conductivity evaluation from 15 VES is enough to estimate the risk of water salinity. In addition, the maximum depth of penetration of the MRS depends on the rocks' electrical resistivity and is between 20 and 80 m at the study area.     

Characterization of aquifers in the Vientiane Basin,Laos, using Magnetic Resonance Sounding and Vertical Electrical Sounding

The aim of this study is to define and characterize water bearing geological formation and to test the possibility of using geophysical techniques to determine the hydrogeological parameters in three areas in the Vientiane basin, Laos. The investigated areas are part of the Khorat Plateau where halite is naturally occurring at depths as shallow as 50 m in the Thangon Formation. Magnetic Resonance Sounding (MRS) has been used in combination with Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) in different geological environments. In total, 46 sites have been investigated and the MRS and VES recognized the stratigraphic unit N₂Q_1–3, consisting of alluvial unconsolidated sediments, as the main water bearing unit. The aquifer thickness varies usually between 10 and 40 m and the depth to the main aquifer range from 5 to 15 m. The free water content is here up to 30%, and the decay times vary between 100 and 400 ms, suggesting a mean pore size equivalent to fine sand to gravel. The resistivity is highly variable, but usually around 10–1500 Ω-m, except for some sites in areas 1 and 2, where the aquifer is of low resistivity, probably related to salt water. Hydraulic and storage-related parameters such as transmissivity, hydraulic column, have been estimated from the MRS. The MRS together with VES has been shown to be a useful and important tool for identifying and distinguishing freshwater from possible salt-affected water as well as the salt-related clay layer of the Thangon Formation. This clay layer is characterized by very low free water content and a resistivity lower than 5 Ω-m and can be found in all 3 areas at depths from 15 to 50 m.     

Quaternary aquifer transmissivity derived from vertical electrical sounding measurements in the semi-arid Khanasser Valley Region,Syria

Vertical electrical sounding technique (VES) is used as an alternative approach to pumping test for computing the Quaternary aquifer transmissivity in the Khanasser Valley, Northern Syria. The method is inexpensive, easy and gives faster results with higher special resolution than the traditional pumping technique. The hydraulic conductivity values obtained using VES agree with the pumping test results, which in the Khanasser Valley vary between the order of 0.864 and 8.64 m/day (10⁻⁵ and 10⁻⁴ m/s). The probable location of the Quaternary aquifer in the Khanasser Valley is obtained through the transmissivity map derived from VES. The knowledge of transmissivity is fundamental for modeling and management processes in the Khanasser Valley. Other similar semiarid regions can benefit from the approach successfully applied in the study area.     

Estimation of anisotropic hydraulic conductivity using geophysical data in a coastal aquifer of Karnataka,India

Estimation of hydraulic parameters is essential to understand the interaction between groundwater flow and seawater intrusion. Though several studies have addressed hydraulic parameter estimation, based on pumping tests as well as geophysical methods, not many studies have addressed the problem with clayey formations being present. In this study, a methodology is proposed to estimate anisotropic hydraulic conductivity and porosity values for the coastal aquifer with unconsolidated formations. For this purpose, the one-dimensional resistivity of the aquifer and the groundwater conductivity data are used to estimate porosity at discrete points. The hydraulic conductivity values are estimated by its mutual dependence with porosity and petrophysical parameters. From these estimated values, the bilinear relationship between hydraulic conductivity and aquifer resistivity is established based on the clay content of the sampled formation. The methodology is applied on a coastal aquifer along with the coastal Karnataka, India, which has significant clayey formations embedded in unconsolidated rock. The estimation of hydraulic conductivity values from the established correlations has a correlation coefficient of 0.83 with pumping test data, indicating good reliability of the methodology. The established correlations also enable the estimation of horizontal hydraulic conductivity on two-dimensional resistivity sections, which was not addressed by earlier studies. The inventive approach of using the established bilinear correlations at one-dimensional to two-dimensional resistivity sections is verified by the comparison method. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity agrees with previous findings from inverse modelling. Additionally, this study provides critical insights into the estimation of vertical hydraulic conductivity and an equation is formulated which relates vertical hydraulic conductivity with horizontal. Based on the approach presented, the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of any type aquifer with embedded clayey formations can be estimated. The anisotropic hydraulic conductivity has the potential to be used as an important input to the groundwater models.     

The Influence of Clay Zones on Land Subsidence from Groundwater Pumping

The objective of this article is to analyze the influence of clay zones on subsidence from groundwater pumping. Finite element analyses were conducted on a sand‐only aquifer and a sand aquifer with two clay zones located at different distances from the well face. A model that accounts for recoverable and nonrecoverable strains was used to simulate the sand and clay. This model couples the groundwater flow with the stress‐deformation response of the aquifer materials. Each aquifer was pumped from a single well for a period of 6 months, and then the groundwater level was lowered gradually to an elevation below the elevation of the clay zones and kept there for 10 years. The groundwater level was then raised gradually back to the original elevation over a period of 10 years. The results of the analyses show that the ground surface subsidence profile is strongly influenced by the presence of the clays zones. The ground surface sags where these clay zones are present resulting in a wavy ground surface profile. Subsidence continued when pumping is stopped, albeit at a much slower rate than during pumping, and when the groundwater level is below the elevation of the clay zones. Clay zones further away from the well face lag the subsidence of clay zones nearer the well face because of lower changes in hydrostatic head. Sags in ground surface subsidence profile from groundwater pumping are indicators of the presence of low hydraulic conductive geological materials.     

A Potential-Based Inversion of Unconfined Steady-State Hydraulic Tomography

The importance of estimating spatially variable aquifer parameters such as transmissivity is widely recognized for studies in resource evaluation and contaminant transport. A useful approach for mapping such parameters is inverse modeling of data from series of pumping tests, that is, via hydraulic tomography. This inversion of field hydraulic tomographic data requires development of numerical forward models that can accurately represent test conditions while maintaining computational efficiency. One issue this presents is specification of boundary and initial conditions, whose location, type, and value may be poorly constrained. To circumvent this issue when modeling unconfined steady-state pumping tests, we present a strategy that analyzes field data using a potential difference method and that uses dipole pumping tests as the aquifer stimulation. By using our potential difference approach, which is similar to modeling drawdown in confined settings, we remove the need for specifying poorly known boundary condition values and natural source/sink terms within the problem domain. Dipole pumping tests are complementary to this strategy in that they can be more realistically modeled than single-well tests due to their conservative nature, quick achievement of steady state, and the insensitivity of near-field response to far-field boundary conditions. After developing the mathematical theory, our approach is first validated through a synthetic example. We then apply our method to the inversion of data from a field campaign at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site. Results from inversion of nine pumping tests show expected geologic features, and uncertainty bounds indicate that hydraulic conductivity is well constrained within the central site area.     

A Tracer Test for Detecting Cross Contamination Along a Monitoring Well Column

A tracer test was used to evaluate whether cross contamination exists along a monitoring well completed through a shallow ground water system in fractured clay and screened in a sand and gravel aquifer. The fractured clay is separated from the sand and gravel deposit by a layer of highly plastic unfractured clay. A natural vertical downward hydraulic gradient of approximately 0.5 exists between the shallow system and the sand and gravel aquifer. Ground water contamination was detected in an adjacent monitoring well screened in the fractured clay and in the monitoring well screened in the sand and gravel deposit. No ground water contamination was apparent in an intermediate well screened in the unfractured clay layer. A tracer of sodium bromide was injected into a shallow boring near the monitoring wells. The tracer was detected in the monitoring well in the sand and gravel aquifer after three to seven days. The bromide concentration continued to increase in this well with time while the concentration in the shallow boring declined. This trend of tracer concentration indicates the tracer has in fact migrated downward and possibly traveled along the well column.     

Relationships between water flow rate and geophysical measurements in an alluvial aquifer

Our study focuses on the potential usefulness of surface geophysical data to constrain the water content within an alluvial aquifer. On a study area where two wells have been drilled, we have performed several geophysical measurements, including ground penetrating radar, DC resistivity prospecting, seismic refraction survey and magnetic resonance soundings. From these data, we estimated several parameters, namely, the water height in the deposits, the effective porosity, the water content, the permeability, and the transmissivity of alluvial deposits. These physical parameters allow us to characterize the alluvial deposits in order to constrain the estimation of the potential water flow. The lithology and water flow rate known from the wells enabled us to compare geophysical results obtained in a high water flow rate zone to those in a low water flow rate zone. Correlation has been found between the water flow rate observed in both wells and the geophysical data obtained in the vicinity of these wells.     

Assessing radial transmissivity variation in heterogeneous aquifers using analytical techniques

Pumping tests are one of the most commonly used in situ testing techniques for assessing aquifer hydraulic properties. Numerous researches have been conducted to predict the effects of aquifer heterogeneity on the groundwater levels during pumping tests. The objectives of the present work were as follows: (1) to predict drawdown conditions and to estimate aquifer properties during pumping tests undertaken in radially symmetric heterogeneous aquifers, and (2) to identify a method for assessing the transmissivity field along the radial coordinate in radially symmetric and fully heterogeneous transmissivity fields. The first objective was achieved by expanding an existing analytical drawdown formulation that was valid for a radially symmetric confined aquifer with two concentric zones around the pumping well to an N concentric zone confined aquifer having a constant transmissivity value within each zone. The formulation was evaluated for aquifers with three and four concentric zones to assess the effects of the transmissivity field on the drawdown conditions. The specific conditions under which aquifer properties could be identified using traditional methods of analysis were also evaluated. The second objective was achieved by implementing the inverse solution algorithm (ISA), which was developed for petroleum reservoirs to groundwater aquifer settings. The results showed that the drawdown values are influenced by a volumetric integral of a weighting function and the transmissivity field within the cone of depression. The weighting function migrates in tandem with the expanding cone of depression. The ability of the ISA to predict radially symmetric and log‐normally distributed transmissivity fields was assessed against analytical and numerical benchmarks. The results of this investigation indicated that the ISA method is a viable technique for evaluating the radial transmissivity variations of heterogeneous aquifer settings. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An inverse procedure to estimate transmissivity from heads and SP signals

Experimental hydraulic heads and electrical (self-potential) signals associated with a pumping test were used in an inverse model to estimate the transmissivity distribution of a real aquifer. Several works reported in the literature show that there is a relatively good linear relationship between the hydraulic heads in the aquifer and electrical signals measured at the ground surface. In this experimental test field, first, the current coupling coefficient was determined by the best fit between experimental and modeled self-potential signals at the end of the pumping phase. Soon afterward, with the hydraulic heads obtained from the self-potential signals, the transmissivity distribution of the aquifer was conditioned by means an inverse model based on the successive linear estimator (SLE). To further substantiate the estimated T field from the SLE analysis, we analyzed the drawdown rate, the derivative of the drawdown with respect to the ln(t), because the drawdown rate is highly sensitive to the variability in the transmissivity field. In our opinion, these results show that self-potential signals allow the monitoring of subsurface flow in the course of pumping experiments, and that electrical potentials serve as a good complement to piezometric observations to condition and characterize the transmissivity distribution of an aquifer.     

Aquifer Properties Determined from Two Analytical Solutions

In the analysis of pumping test data, the quality of the determined aquifer parameters can be greatly improved by using a proper model of the aquifer system. Moench (1995) provided an analytical solution for flow to a well partially penetrating an unconfined aquifer. His solution, in contrast to the Neuman solution (1974), accounts for the noninstantaneous decline of the water table (delayed yield). Consequently, the calculated drawdown in these two solutions is different under certain circumstances, and this difference may therefore affect the computation of aquifer properties from pumping test data. This paper uses an inverse computational method to calculate four aquifer parameters as well as a delayed yield parameter, α₁ from pumping test data using both the Neuman (1974) and Moench (1995) solutions. Time-drawdown data sets from a pumping test in an unconfined alluvial aquifer near Grand Island, Nebraska, were analyzed. In single-well analyses, horizontal hydraulic conductivity values derived from the Moench solution are lower, but vertical hydraulic conductivity values are higher than those calculated from the Neuman solution. However, the hydraulic conductivity values in composite-well analyses from both solutions become very close. Furthermore, the Neuman solution produces similar hydraulic conductivity values in the single-well and composite-well analyses, but the Moench solution does not. While variable α₁, seems to play a role in affecting the computation of aquifer parameters in the single-well analysis, a much smaller effect was observed in the composite-well analysis. In general, specific yield determined using the Moench solution could be slightly higher than the values from the Neuman solution; however, they are still lower than the realistic values for sand and gravel aquifers.     

Use of Groundwater Level Fluctuations near an Operating Water Supply Well to Estimate Aquifer Transmissivity

We developed a method to estimate aquifer transmissivity from the hydraulic-head data associated with the normal cyclic operation of a water supply well thus avoiding the need for interrupting the water supply associated with a traditional aquifer test. The method is based on an analytical solution that relates the aquifer's transmissivity to the standard deviation of the hydraulic-head fluctuations in one or more observation wells that are due to the periodic pumping of the production well. We analyzed the resulting analytical solution and demonstrated that when the observation wells are located near the pumping well, the solution has a simple, Dupuit like form. Numerical analysis demonstrates that the analytical solution can also be used for a quasi-periodic pumping of the supply well. Simulation of cyclic pumping in a statistically heterogeneous medium confirms that the method is suitable for analyzing the transmissivity of weakly or moderately heterogeneous aquifers. If only one observation well is available, and the shift in the phase of hydraulic-head oscillations between the pumping well and the observation well is not identifiable. Prior knowledge of aquifer's hydraulic diffusivity is required to obtain the value of the aquifer transmissivity.     

Hydraulic parameters of a multilayered aquifer system in Kuwait City

The Kuwait Group consists mainly of clastic sediments overlying unconformably the Dammam Formation of Tertiary age. The Kuwait Group is generally divided into three main hydrostratigraphic units: the upper and lower aquifers separated by an aquitard. The upper aquifer is further divided into the water table aquifer, an aquitard and a semiconfined aquifer. This semiconfined unit was pumped and the drawdowns were observed in piezometers screened in various subunits of the Kuwait Group. Some pumping tests of short duration were carried out in the top water table aquifer as well. These tests showed that the subunits of the Kuwait Group are hydraulically interconnected to a varying degree.

The pumping test data were analysed using conventional analytical solutions. The semiconfined pumping test was also simulated by a quasi-three-dimensional model using a leaky multiaquifer modelling technique. The initial hydraulic parameters were improved manually in the model till best fit drawdowns were obtained.

The final parameters obtained by simulation of the pumping tests were used in designing a pilot drainage system for the control of a rising groundwater table in parts of Kuwait City.     

Conventional and combined pump-and-treat systems under nonuniform background flow

We investigate the performance of vertical hydraulic barriers in combination with extraction wells for the partial hydraulic isolation of contaminated aquifer areas. The potential advantage of such combinations compared to a conventional pump-and-treat system has already been demonstrated in a previous study. Here we extend the scope of the performance analysis to the impact of uncertainty in the regional flow direction as well as to highly heterogeneous aquifer transmissivity distributions. In addition, two new well-barrier scenarios are proposed and analyzed. The hydraulic efficiency of the scenarios is rated based on the expected (mean) reduction of the pumping rate that is required to achieve downgradient contaminant capture. The uncertain spatial distribution of aquifer transmissivity is considered by means of unconditioned Monte Carlo simulations. The significance of uncertain background flow conditions is incorporated by computing minimized pumping rates for deviations of the regional flow direction up to 30 degrees from a normative base case. The results give an answer on how pumping rates have to be changed for each barrier-well combination in order to achieve robust systems. It is exposed that in comparison to installing exclusively wells, the barrier-supported approach generally yields savings in the (average) pumping rate. The particular efficiency is shown to be highly dependent on the interaction of variance and integral scale of transmissivity distribution, well and barrier position, as well as direction of background flow.     

Estimating hydraulic parameters when poroelastic effects are significant

For almost 80 years, deformation-induced head changes caused by poroelastic effects have been observed during pumping tests in multilayered aquifer-aquitard systems. As water in the aquifer is released from compressive storage during pumping, the aquifer is deformed both in the horizontal and vertical directions. This deformation in the pumped aquifer causes deformation in the adjacent layers, resulting in changes in pore pressure that may produce drawdown curves that differ significantly from those predicted by traditional groundwater theory. Although these deformation-induced head changes have been analyzed in several studies by poroelasticity theory, there are at present no practical guidelines for the interpretation of pumping test data influenced by these effects. To investigate the impact that poroelastic effects during pumping tests have on the estimation of hydraulic parameters, we generate synthetic data for three different aquifer-aquitard settings using a poroelasticity model, and then analyze the synthetic data using type curves and parameter estimation techniques, both of which are based on traditional groundwater theory and do not account for poroelastic effects. Results show that even when poroelastic effects result in significant deformation-induced head changes, it is possible to obtain reasonable estimates of hydraulic parameters using methods based on traditional groundwater theory, as long as pumping is sufficiently long so that deformation-induced effects have largely dissipated.     

Contribution of magnetic resonance sounding to aquifer characterization and recharge estimate in semiarid Niger

To improve the knowledge of the regionally important Continental Terminal 3 (CT3) aquifer in south-western Niger, fifteen magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) were carried out in December 2005 in the vicinity of wells and boreholes. The output MRS geophysical parameters, i.e. water content and decay constants versus depth, were compared to hydrogeological characteristics, i.e. water table depth, total porosity, specific yield and transmissivity estimated from direct measurements, pumping tests and transient groundwater modelling. The MRS-determined parameters were then used to estimate the rates of groundwater recharge.Contained in poorly consolidated Tertiary sandstones, the CT3 aquifer's water table has continuously risen by 4 m in total over the past four decades. Additionally, a significant portion of this increase has occurred in the past decade alone, with an annual rise now ranging between 0.1 and 0.3 m depending on the monitored well. Increase in groundwater recharge due to land clearance and deforestation explains this situation. According to previous estimations, the pre-clearing recharge ranged from 1 to 5 mm per year in 1950–60 s, while more recent recharge rates (1990s–2000s) range from 20 to 50 mm per year. These recharge values are directly affected by estimated aquifer specific yield value, while the spatial variation of rates of water table rise can be attributed to large scale hydrodynamic heterogeneities in the aquifer. However, few field measurements were available to confirm these assumptions.The main results of this study are: (1) The water table depth and aquifer transmissivity are estimated from MRS output parameters with an average accuracy of ± 10% and ± 9% respectively. (2) The MRS-determined water content is linked to both the total porosity and the specific yield of the aquifer, but no quantitative formulation can be proposed as yet. (3) Using the average MRS-determined water content over the investigated area, i.e. 13%, the groundwater recharge rates can be estimated to be ~ 2 mm per year in the 1950–1960s (pre-clearing period), and ~ 23 mm per year for the last decade. (4) The variations in specific yield and transmissivity cannot explain by themselves the spatial variability of the rise of the water table. (5) The ranges in transmissivity and water content obtained from MRS are more realistic than the groundwater modelling outputs. Therefore, MRS could be used to better constrain the aquifer parameters in groundwater modelling with a dense site network.Finally, this work illustrates how MRS can successfully improve characterisation and transient multi-year groundwater balance of commonly found sedimentary aquifers, particularly when integrated with well observations and pumping tests.     

The value of subsidence data in ground water model calibration

The accurate estimation of aquifer parameters such as transmissivity and specific storage is often an important objective during a ground water modeling investigation or aquifer resource evaluation. Parameter estimation is often accomplished with changes in hydraulic head data as the key and most abundant type of observation. The availability and accessibility of global positioning system and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data in heavily pumped alluvial basins can provide important subsidence observations that can greatly aid parameter estimation. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the value of spatial and temporal subsidence data for automatically estimating parameters with and without observation error using UCODE-2005 and MODFLOW-2000. A synthetic conceptual model (24 separate cases) containing seven transmissivity zones and three zones each for elastic and inelastic skeletal specific storage was used to simulate subsidence and drawdown in an aquifer with variably thick interbeds with delayed drainage. Five pumping wells of variable rates were used to stress the system for up to 15 years. Calibration results indicate that (1) the inverse of the square of the observation values is a reasonable way to weight the observations, (2) spatially abundant subsidence data typically produce superior parameter estimates under constant pumping even with observation error, (3) only a small number of subsidence observations are required to achieve accurate parameter estimates, and (4) for seasonal pumping, accurate parameter estimates for elastic skeletal specific storage values are largely dependent on the quantity of temporal observational data and less on the quantity of available spatial data.