A Single Packer Method for Characterizing Water Contributing Fractures in Crystalline Bedrock Wells

Water levels and water quality of open borehole wells in fractured bedrock are flow-weighted averages that are a function of the hydraulic heads and transmissivities of water contributing fractures, properties that are rarely known. Without such knowledge using water levels and water quality data from fractured bedrock wells to assess groundwater flow and contaminant conditions can be highly misleading. This study demonstrates a cost-effective single packer method to determine the hydraulic heads and transmissivities of water contributing fracture zones in crystalline bedrock wells. The method entails inflating a pipe plug to isolate sections of an open borehole at different depths and monitoring changes in the water level with time. At each depth, the change in water level with time was used to determine the sum of fracture transmissivities above the packer and then to solve for individual fracture transmissivity. Steady-state wellbore heads along with the transmissivities were used to determine individual fracture heads using the weighted average head equation. The method was tested in five wells in crystalline bedrock located at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The single packer head and transmissivity results were found to agree closely with those determined using conventional logging methods and the dissolved oxygen alteration method. The method appears to be a simple and cost-effective alternative in obtaining important information on flow conditions in fractured crystalline bedrock wells.     

A tracer dilution method for fracture characterization in bedrock wells

This investigation was undertaken to develop an integrated method of downhole fracture characterization using a tracer. The method presented can be used to locate water-bearing fractures that intersect the well, to determine the ambient fracture flow rate and hydraulic head, and to calculate fracture transmissivity. The method was tested in two fractured crystalline bedrock wells located at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The method entails injecting a tracer (uranine dye) into the well, while at the same time water is pumped out of the well. After steady-state conditions are reached, a borehole tracer concentration profile is developed. The dilution of the tracer is used to locate the inflowing fractures and to determine their flow rate. The fracture flow rate, plus the drawdown in the well, is then used to determine the fracture hydraulic head, transmissivity, and ambient flow rate.     

An Unsteady State Tracer Method for Characterizing Fractures in Bedrock Wells

Evaluating contaminants impacting wells in fractured crystalline rock requires knowledge of the individual fractures contributing water. This typically involves using a sequence of tools including downhole geophysics, flow meters, and straddle packers. In conjunction with each other these methods are expensive, time consuming, and can be logistically difficult to implement. This study demonstrates an unsteady state tracer method as a cost‐effective alternative for gathering fracture information in wells. The method entails introducing tracer dye throughout the well, inducing fracture flow into the well by conducting a slug test and then profiling the tracer concentration in the well to locate water contributing fractures where the dye has been diluted. By monitoring the development of the dilution zones within the wellbore with time, the transmissivity and the hydraulic head of the water contributing fractures can be determined. Ambient flow conditions and the contaminant concentration within the fractures can also be determined from the tracer dilution. This method was tested on a large physical model well and a bedrock well. The model well was used to test the theory underlying the method and to refine method logistics. The approach located the fracture and generated transmissivity values that were in excellent agreement with those calculated by slug testing. For the bedrock well tested, two major active fractures were located. Fracture location and ambient well conditions matched results from conventional methods. Estimates of transmissivity values by the tracer method were within an order of magnitude of those calculated using heat‐pulse flow meter data.     

Delineation of Ground Water Flow in Fractured Rock in the Southwestern Part of Manhattan, New York, Through Use of Advanced Borehole Geophysical Methods

Advanced borehole-geophysical methods were used to assess the geohydrology of fractured crystalline bedrock at five test boreholes in southwestern Manhattan Island, New York, in preparation for construction of a third water tunnel for New York City. The boreholes penetrated gneiss and other crystalline bedrock that has an overall southwest to northwest dipping foliation with a 60° dip. Most of the fractures encountered are either nearly horizontal or have moderate northwest dip azimuths. Fracture indexes range from 0.25 to 0.44 fracture per foot (0.3 m) of borehole.
Electromagnetic (EM) and heat-pulse flowmeter logs obtained under ambient and pumping conditions, together with other geophysical logs, indicate transmissive fracture zones in each borehole. Pumping tests of each borehole indicated transmissivity ranges from <2 to 360 ft²/day (0.2 to 33 m²/day). Ground water appears to flow within an interconnected fracture network toward the south and west within the study area. No correlation was indicated between the fracture index and the total borehole transmissivity.     

声波电视在刚果(金)铜钴矿勘察中的应用

声波电视是利用声波走时和振幅参数进行钻孔壁成像的一种地球物理测井系统。由于采用数字技术和配置功能完善的软件,系统具有图像分辨率高、测井速度快、可在混浊的井液中工作、数据处理和分析过程相对简单的特性,是研究岩层结构面的有效手段。在刚果（金）某铜钴矿岩体稳定性评价中,采用声波测井方法,获取岩体的优势结构面,为确定采坑边坡角、岩体抗剪强度指标提供了可靠数据。本文介绍RG声波电视测井的原理及方法,以DK02孔为例,对所揭露岩层结构面、裂隙发育信息进行分析。工程实践说明,声波井下电视在进行深部岩体的原位勘察方面具有明显优势。      

Characterization of Crystalline Bedrock Contaminated by Dense Nonaqueous Liquid

A systematic hydrogeologic site characterization has been completed in a fractured rock flow system, with the objective of identifying contaminant migration and fate pathways from a historical release of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA). The study integrated hydrogeologic analysis techniques such as borehole geophysical logging, pumping test analysis, and hydrochemical facies analysis to study the impact of a dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) in a sparsely fractured crystalline bedrock. The assessment methodology can be divided into two parts: (1) characterization of the source area, where DNAPL is acting as a residual source of TCA, and (2) characterization of the downgradient plume. Reduction in DNAPL mass in the source area has resulted in significant and sustained reductions in downgradient concentrations, suggesting that remediation of fractured crystalline bedrock contaminated with DNAPL is possible and not "technically infeasible."     

An effective data processing flow for the acoustic reflection image logging

Recent studies have revealed the great potential of acoustic reflection logging in detecting near borehole fractures and vugs. The new design of acoustic reflection imaging tool with a closest spacing of 10.6m and a certain degree of phase steering makes it easier to extract the reflection signals from the borehole mode waves. For field applications of the tool, we had developed the corresponding processing software: Acoustic Reflection Imaging. In this paper, we have further developed an effective data processing flow by employing multi‐scale slowness‐time‐coherence for reflection wave extraction and incorporating reverse time migration for imaging complicated subtle structures with the strong effects of borehole environment. Applications of the processing flow to synthetic data of acoustic reflection logging in a fractured formation model and interface model with fluid filled borehole generated by 2D finite difference method, and to the physical modelling data from a laboratory water tank, as well as to the field data from two wells in a western Chinese oil field, demonstrate the validity and capability of our multi‐scale slowness‐time‐coherence and reverse time migration algorithms.     

Application of Temperature and Electrical-Conductivity Logging in Ground Water Monitoring

Down-hole temperature and electrical-conductivity probes are attractive logging devices for use in monitoring wells, because they are readily available, relatively inexpensive, and allow for rapid measurements. Benefits of such logging are illustrated by examples from several small sites in complex hydrogeologic settings. Interpretation of the logs provided information on the effectiveness of well purging, aquifer heterogeneities and the rates of ground water movement, leaks and cross-flows within wells, and locations of transmissive fractures in bedrock wells. Thus the logs offered an inexpensive means of acquiring valuable field information to supplement the geologic, potentiometric and chemical data collected during construction or subsequent investigation of the wells.     

Using Domestic Well Records to Determine Fractured Bedrock Watersheds and Recharge Rates

This study presents an approach for delineating groundwater basins and estimating rates of recharge to fractured crystalline bedrock. It entailed the use of completion report data (boring logs) from 2500 domestic wells in bedrock from the Coventry Quadrangle, which is located in northeastern Connecticut and characterized by metamorphic gneiss and schist. Completion report data were digitized and imported into ArcGIS^® for data analysis. The data were processed to delineate groundwater drainage basins for the fractured rock based on flow conditions and to estimate groundwater recharge to the bedrock. Results indicate that drainage basins derived from surface topography, in general, may not correspond with bedrock drainage basins due to scale. Estimates of recharge to the bedrock for the study area indicate that only a small fraction of the precipitation or the amount of water that enters the overburden recharges the rock. The approach presented here can be a useful method for water resource‐related assessments that involve fractured rock aquifers.     

Measuring Flow Rate in Crystalline Bedrock Wells Using the Dissolved Oxygen Alteration Method

Determination of vertical flow rates in a fractured bedrock well can aid in planning and implementing hydraulic tests, water quality sampling, and improving interpretations of water quality data. Although flowmeters are highly accurate in flow rate measurement, the high cost and logistics may be limiting. In this study the dissolved oxygen alteration method (DOAM) is expanded upon as a low‐cost alternative to determine vertical flow rates in crystalline bedrock wells. The method entails altering the dissolved oxygen content in the wellbore through bubbler aeration, and monitoring the vertical advective movement of the dissolved oxygen over time. Measurements were taken for upward and downward flows, and under ambient and pumping conditions. Vertical flow rates from 0.06 to 2.30 Lpm were measured. To validate the method, flow rates determined with the DOAM were compared to pump discharge rates and found to be in agreement within 2.5%.     

根据钻孔崩落资料确定剑川地区应力场方向

本文论述了钻孔崩落的力学机制、产生环境及其与现今构造应力场的关系,介绍了超声波井下电视的测井原理、操作技术和钻孔崩落测井资料分析方法。根据一口800米深钻孔的超声波井下电视测井获得的崩落资料,确定剑川地震活动区最大水平主应力方向为N20°E。这与近两年来在该区采用水压致裂法测定的最大水平主压应力方向N15°E是十分一致的     

Vertical cross contamination of trichloroethylene in a borehole in fractured sandstone

Boreholes drilled through contaminated zones in fractured rock create the potential for vertical movement of contaminated ground water between fractures. The usual assumption is that purging eliminates cross contamination; however, the results of a field study conducted in a trichloroethylene (TCE) plume in fractured sandstone with a mean matrix porosity of 13% demonstrates that matrix-diffusion effects can be strong and persistent. A deep borehole was drilled to 110 m below ground surface (mbgs) near a shallow bedrock well containing high TCE concentrations. The borehole was cored continuously to collect closely spaced samples of rock for analysis of TCE concentrations. Geophysical logging and flowmetering were conducted in the open borehole, and a removable multilevel monitoring system was installed to provide hydraulic-head and ground water samples from discrete fracture zones. The borehole was later reamed to complete a well screened from 89 to 100 mbgs; persistent TCE concentrations at this depth ranged from 2100 to 33,000 microg/L. Rock-core analyses, combined with the other types of borehole information, show that nearly all of this deep contamination was due to the lingering effects of the downward flow of dissolved TCE from shallower depths during the few days of open-hole conditions that existed prior to installation of the multilevel system. This study demonstrates that transfer of contaminant mass to the matrix by diffusion can cause severe cross contamination effects in sedimentary rocks, but these effects generally are not identified from information normally obtained in fractured-rock investigations, resulting in potential misinterpretation of site conditions.     

New Method for Continuous Transmissivity Profiling in Fractured Rock

A new method is presented to search for hydraulically transmissive features in open boreholes in bedrock. A flexible borehole liner made of a watertight, nylon fabric is filled with water to create a constant driving head to evert (reverse of invert) the liner down the hole so that the liner pushes the borehole water out into transmissive fractures or other permeable features. The descent rate is governed by the bulk transmissivity of the remaining permeable features below the liner. Initially, the liner descent rate or velocity is a measure of transmissivity (T) of the entire hole. As the everting liner passes and seals each permeable feature, changes in the liner velocity indicate the position of each feature and an estimate of T using the Thiem equation for steady radial flow. This method has been performed in boreholes with diameters ranging from 96 to 330 mm. Profiling commonly takes a few hours in holes 200‐ to 300‐m long. After arrival of the liner at the bottom of the hole, the liner acts as a seal preventing borehole cross connection between transmissive features at different depths. Liner removal allows the hole to be used for other purposes. The T values determined using this method in a dolostone aquifer were found to be similar to the values from injection tests using conventional straddle packers. This method is not a replacement for straddle‐packer hydraulic testing of specific zones where greater accuracy is desired; however, it is effective and efficient for scanning entire holes for transmissive features.     

Imaging Pathways in Fractured Rock Using Three‐Dimensional Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Major challenges exist in delineating bedrock fracture zones because these cause abrupt changes in geological and hydrogeological properties over small distances. Borehole observations cannot sufficiently capture heterogeneity in these systems. Geophysical techniques offer the potential to image properties and processes in between boreholes. We used three‐dimensional cross borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in a 9 m (diameter) × 15 m well field to capture high‐resolution flow and transport processes in a fractured mudstone contaminated by chlorinated solvents, primarily trichloroethylene. Conductive (sodium bromide) and resistive (deionized water) injections were monitored in seven boreholes. Electrode arrays with isolation packers and fluid sampling ports were designed to enable acquisition of ERT measurements during pulsed tracer injections. Fracture zone locations and hydraulic pathways inferred from hydraulic head drawdown data were compared with electrical conductivity distributions from ERT measurements. Static ERT imaging has limited resolution to decipher individual fractures; however, these images showed alternating conductive and resistive zones, consistent with alternating laminated and massive mudstone units at the site. Tracer evolution and migration was clearly revealed in time‐lapse ERT images and supported by in situ borehole vertical apparent conductivity profiles collected during the pulsed tracer test. While water samples provided important local information at the extraction borehole, ERT delineated tracer migration over spatial scales capturing the primary hydrogeological heterogeneity controlling flow and transport. The fate of these tracer injections at this scale could not have been quantified using borehole logging and/or borehole sampling methods alone.     

Fracture Flow Characterization with Low-Noise Spontaneous Potential Logging

Geophysical well logging has been applied for fracture characterization in crystalline terrains by physical properties measurements and borehole wall imaging. Some of these methods can be applied to monitor pumping tests to identify fractures contributing to groundwater flow and, with this, determine hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity along the well. We present a procedure to identify fractures contributing to groundwater flow using spontaneous potential measurements generated by electrokinetic processes when the borehole water head is lowered and then monitored while recovering. The electrokinetic model for flow through a tabular gap is used to interpret the measured data and determine the water head difference that drives the flow through the fracture. We present preliminary results at a test site in crystalline rocks on the campus of the University of São Paulo.     

Electric-hydraulic conductivity correlation in fractured crystalline bedrock: Central Landfill, Rhode Island, USA

Remote sensing and geoelectrical methods were used to find water-bearing fractures in the Scituate granite under the Central Landfill of Rhode Island. These studies were necessary to evaluate the integrity of the sanitary landfill and for planning safe landfill extensions. The most useful results were obtained with fracture trace analysis using Landsat and SLAR imagery in combination with ground-based resistivity measurements using Schlumberger vertical electrical soundings based on the assumption of horizontally layered strata. Test borings and packer tests confirmed, in the presence of a lineament and low bedrock resistivity, the probable existence of high bedrock fracture density and high average hydraulic conductivity. However, not every lineament was found to be associated with high fracture density and high hydraulic conductivity. Lineaments alone are not a reliable basis for characterising a landfill site as being affected by fractured bedrock. Horizontal fractures were found in borings located away from lineaments. High values of hydraulic conductivity were correlated with low bedrock resistivities. Bedrock resistivities between 60 and 700 Ω m were associated with average hydraulic conductivities between 4 and 60 cm/day. In some cases very low resistivities were confined to the upper part of the bedrock where the hydraulic conductivity was very large. These types of fractures apparently become narrower in aperture with depth. Bedrock zones having resistivities greater than 1000 Ω m showed, without exception, no flow to the test wells. Plots of bedrock resistivity versus the average hydraulic conductivity indicate that the resistivity decreases with increasing hydraulic conductivity. This relationship is inverse to that found in most unconsolidated sediments and is useful for estimating the hydraulic conductivity in groundwater surveys in fractured bedrock. In appropriate settings such as the Central Landfill site in New England, this electric-hydraulic correlation relationship, supplemented by lineament trace analysis, can be used effectively to estimate the hydraulic conductivity in bedrock from only a limited number of resistivity depth soundings and test wells.     

Cautions and Suggestions for Geochemical Sampling in Fractured Rock

Collecting water samples for geochemical analyses in open bedrock boreholes or in discrete intervals of boreholes intersected by multiple fractures is likely to yield ambiguous results for ground water chemistry because of the variability in the transmissivity, storativity, and hydraulic head of fractures intersecting the borehole. Interpreting chemical analyses of water samples collected in bedrock boreholes requires an understanding of the hydraulic conditions in the borehole under the ambient flow regime in the aquifer as well as during sampling. Pumping in open boreholes, regardless of the pumping rate and the location of the pump intake, first draws water from the borehole and then from fractures intersecting the borehole. The time at which the volumetric rate of water entering the borehole from fractures is approximately equal to the pumping rate can be identified by monitoring the logarithm of drawdown in the borehole as a function of the logarithm of time. Mixing of water entering the borehole from fractures with water in the borehole must be considered in estimating the time at which the pump discharge is representative of aquifer water. In boreholes intersected by multiple fractures, after the contribution from the borehole volume has diminished, the contribution of fractures to the pump discharge will be weighted according to their transmissivity, regardless of the location of the pump intake. This results in a flux-averaged concentration in the pump discharge that is biased by the chemical signature of those fractures with the highest transmissivity. Under conditions where the hydraulic head of fractures varies over the length of the borehole, open boreholes will be subject to ambient flow in the water column in the borehole. In some instances, the magnitude of the ambient flow may be similar to the designated pumping rate for collecting water samples for geochemical analyses. Under such conditions, the contributions to the pump discharge from individual fractures will be a function not only of the transmissivity of the fractures, but also of the distribution of hydraulic head in fractures intersecting the borehole. To reduce or eliminate the deleterious effects of conducting geochemical sampling in open boreholes, a straddle-packer apparatus that isolates a single fracture or a series of closely spaced fractures is recommended. It is also recommended that open boreholes be permanently outfitted with borehole packers or borehole liners in instances where maintaining the hydraulic and chemical stratification in the aquifer is of importance. In a field example, a comparison of results from sampling in an open borehole and in discrete intervals of the same borehole showed dramatic differences in the concentrations of chemical constituents in the water samples, even though chemical field parameters stabilized prior to both open borehole and discrete interval sampling.     

Derivative‐Assisted Classification of Fractured Zones Crossing a Deep Borehole

In this study, the derivative analysis using the derivative of drawdown with respect to log‐time was utilized to determine candidates for hydraulic conductor domains (HCDs). At a 500‐m deep borehole in the study site, the fractured rocks crossing the borehole were first classified in fractured and nonfractured zones by core logging and geophysical loggings, such as acoustic televiewing, density, and flow loggings. After conducting the hydraulic tests such as constant head withdrawal and recovery tests at the fractured zones and the nonfractured zones, the derivative analyses were carried out, of which the results were evaluated to determine the candidates for HCDs. For the nonfractured zones, the diagnostic plot has only a big hump indicating poor connection of the background fractures to the permeable geologic media, while those of the candidates for HCDs show various flow regimes. On the basis of these results, the candidates for HCDs among the fractured zones were determined. From discussion on the results, the combination of the spacing analysis and derivative analysis following a hydraulic test is recommended for determining the candidates for HCDs rather than other geophysical loggings.     

Fracture Density Distributions and Well Yields in Coastal Maine

Understanding the distribution of water-bearing fractures in crystalline rock is an important component in evaluating the availability and vulnerability of water resources throughout the northeastern U.S. The State of Maine requests well drillers to report estimates of fracture depths and fracture yields for all bedrock wells drilled in the state. Using these data we analyze fracture-depth and fracture-yield data from 227 bedrock wells in coastal Maine in order to understand how fracture locations and yields are distributed with depth. Numerical simulations and statistical tests show that it is not possible to infer how fractures are distributed with depth: fracture depths are consistent with several distributions, including uniform fracture density with depth. In order to understand how fracture yield varies with depth, we group yield data into 50 foot depth intervals and compare distributions in each interval using nonparametric statistical tests. These tests show that the distribution of fracture yield in different depth intervals are statistically equivalent. These results imply that there is no empirical justification for limiting well depth when drilling for water resources in fractured bedrock in coastal Maine.