The recharge of glacial meltwater and its influence on the geochemical evolution of groundwater in the Ordovician-Cambrian aquifer system,northern part of the Baltic Artesian Basin

The geochemical evolution of groundwater in the Ordovician-Cambrian aquifer system in the northern part of the Baltic Artesian Basin (BAB) illustrates how continental glaciations have influenced groundwater systems in proglacial areas. The aquifer system contains water that has originated from various end-members: recent meteoric water, glacial meltwater and relict Na-Cl brine. The saline formation water that occupied the aquifer system prior to the glacial meltwater intrusion has been diluted by meltwaters of advancing-retreating ice sheets. The diversity in the origin of groundwater in the aquifer system is illustrated by a wide variety in δ¹⁸O values that range from −11‰ to −22.5‰. These values are mostly depleted with respect to values found in modern precipitation in the area. The chemical and isotopic composition of groundwater has been influenced by mixing between waters originating from different end-members. In addition, the freshening of a previously saline water aquifer due to glacial meltwater intrusion has initiated various types of water-rock interaction (e.g. ion exchange, carbonate mineral dissolution).     

Development of a numerical groundwater flow model using SRTM elevations

Remotely-sensed elevation data are potentially useful for constructing regional scale groundwater models, particularly in regions where ground-based data are poor or sparse. Surface-water elevations measured by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) were used to develop a regional-groundwater flow model by assuming that frozen surface waters reflect local hydraulic head (or groundwater potential). Drainage lakes (fed primarily by surface water) are designated as boundary conditions and seepage lakes and isolated wetlands (fed primarily by groundwater) are used as observation points to calibrate a numerical flow model of the 900 km² study area in the Northern Highland Lakes Region of Wisconsin, USA. Elevation data were utilized in a geographic information system (GIS) based groundwater-modeling package that employs the analytic element method (AEM). Calibration statistics indicate that lakes and wetlands had similar influence on the parameter estimation, suggesting that wetlands might be used as observations where open water elevations are unreliable or not available. Open water elevations are often difficult to resolve in radar interferometry because unfrozen water does not return off-nadir radar signals.     

北京市平谷盆地地下水三维数值模拟及管理应用

为缓解北京城区的用水紧张问题,平谷区建立了王都庄和中桥两个应急水源地。持续过量的开采导致盆地内水位急剧下降。为研究大规模开采对平谷盆地地下水系统的影响,并分析不同地区的开采潜力,本文建立了合理刻画三维地下水流动特征的数值模型,对五种不同的开采方案进行模拟。模拟结果表明,丰水条件下地下水位回升明显,王都庄水源地补给条件优越,尤其是盆地上游地区,具有更大的开采潜力;而盆地中下部应适当限制开采,避免水位下降过快。高仿真的数值模型可作为强有力的管理辅助工具,为地下水资源分析及合理利用提供科学的技术支持。     

Diversity of murtoos and murtoo-related subglacial landforms in the Finnish area of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet

Murtoos are recently discovered triangular-shaped subglacial landforms that form under warm-based ice and in association with significant subglacial meltwater flow. They appear in distinct fields and commonly occur in the area that was covered by the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during glacial periods. Murtoos potentially represent a transition form from non-channelized to channelized subglacial drainage networks. In the present study, we analyse and classify murtoos and murtoo-related landforms in the Finnish area of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet based on their characteristics and appearance in LiDAR-based digital elevations models. Combined with morphometric analyses, the observations suggest that five types of murtoos and murtoo-related landforms are common and widespread in Finland: (i) triangle-type murtoos (TTMs), (ii) chevron-type murtoos (CTMs), (iii) lobate-type murtoos (LTMs), (iv) murtoo-related ridges and escarpments (MREs), and (v) other murtoo-related polymorphous landforms (PMRs) that look like small mounds and ridges. The morphometric characteristics of the different types are described here in detail, and it is shown that they are spatially and geomorphologically related. In addition, we provide examples of murtoos other than the TTMs to demonstrate that different murtoo types and murtoo-related landforms are composed of similar sediments and architectural characteristics. The diversity of murtoo landforms and the transition between distinct murtoo types indicate rapid and complicated variations in the configuration of subglacial hydrology at different spatial and temporal scales. This study emphasizes the essential role of subglacial meltwater in the shaping of glacial landscapes and the redistribution of large volumes of sediments during the deglaciation of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet.     

Weichselian history of the Fennoscandian ice sheet in southern Sweden and the southwestern Baltic Basin

This study presents the Weichselian stratigraphy on Kriegers Flak in the southwestern Baltic Sea, and correlates it to new sections in southernmost Sweden and to previously published stratigraphic sequences from SW Skåne. A total of four Weichselian advances are identified based on our correlations. The oldest till, observed only on Kriegers Flak, is dated to the Early or Middle Weichselian and tentatively correlated to the Ristinge advance, previously identified in Denmark. It is overlain by three interstadial sediment units, starting with brackish clay and followed by terrestrial and lacustrine deposits, which have been dated to 42–36 ka, and finally by glaciolacustrine clay dated to 28.5–26 ka. After 30 ka, the Fennoscandian ice sheet advanced through the Baltic Basin and into the coastal areas of southernmost Sweden where the Allarp Till was deposited, followed by a deglaciation sequence. The uppermost tills, the Dalby Till and the Lund till, were deposited during the LGM advance and the subsequent re‐advances through the Baltic Basin. Based on the new evidence it has been possible to identify and date a Middle and Late Weichselian till succession in southern Sweden and provide a strong correlation to the established glacial stratigraphies in Sweden and Denmark.     

Assessment of groundwater dynamics in Quaternary aquifers of the Phrae Basin,northern Thailand,using isotope techniques

Hydrogeology Journal - The Quaternary sequences in the Phrae Basin, northern Thailand, can be classified into three aquifers based on depth. The groundwater dynamics and recharge of these aquifers...     

Controls on groundwater flow in the Bengal Basin of India and Bangladesh: regional modeling analysis

Groundwater for domestic and irrigation purposes is produced primarily from shallow parts of the Bengal Basin aquifer system (India and Bangladesh), which contains high concentrations of dissolved arsenic (exceeding worldwide drinking water standards), though deeper groundwater is generally low in arsenic. An essential first step for determining sustainable management of the deep groundwater resource is identification of hydrogeologic controls on flow and quantification of basin-scale groundwater flow patterns. Results from groundwater modeling, in which the Bengal Basin aquifer system is represented as a single aquifer with higher horizontal than vertical hydraulic conductivity, indicate that this anisotropy is the primary hydrogeologic control on the natural flowpath lengths. Despite extremely low hydraulic gradients due to minimal topographic relief, anisotropy implies large-scale (tens to hundreds of kilometers) flow at depth. Other hydrogeologic factors, including lateral and vertical changes in hydraulic conductivity, have minor effects on overall flow patterns. However, because natural hydraulic gradients are low, the impact of pumping on groundwater flow is overwhelming; modeling indicates that pumping has substantially changed the shallow groundwater budget and flowpaths from predevelopment conditions.     

Investigating groundwater flow components in an Alpine relict rock glacier (Austria) using a numerical model

Relict rock glaciers are complex hydrogeological systems that might act as relevant groundwater storages; therefore, the discharge behavior of these alpine landforms needs to be better understood. Hydrogeological and geophysical investigations at a relict rock glacier in the Niedere Tauern Range (Austria) reveal a slow and fast flow component that appear to be related to the heterogeneous structure of the aquifer. A numerical groundwater flow model was used to indicate the influence of important internal structures such as layering, preferential flow paths and aquifer-base topography. Discharge dynamics can be reproduced reasonably by both introducing layers of strongly different hydraulic conductivities or by a network of highly conductive channels within a low-conductivity zone. Moreover, the topography of the aquifer base influences the discharge dynamics, which can be observed particularly in simply structured aquifers. Hydraulic conductivity differences of three orders of magnitude are required to account for the observed discharge behavior: a highly conductive layer and/or channel network controlling the fast and flashy spring responses to recharge events, as opposed to less conductive sediment accumulations sustaining the long-term base flow. The results show that the hydraulic behavior of this relict rock glacier and likely that of others can be adequately represented by two aquifer components. However, the attempt to characterize the two components by inverse modeling results in ambiguity of internal structures when solely discharge data are available.     

Radiocarbon constraints on readvances of the British–Irish Ice Sheet in the northern Irish Sea Basin during the last deglaciation

Moraines deposited by the Dundalk Bay ice lobe record two readvances of the Irish Ice Sheet into the northern Irish Sea Basin during the last deglaciation. These readvances overrode and incorporated fossiliferous marine muds from the floor of Dundalk Bay. AMS ¹⁴C dates from monospecific microfaunas obtained from these muds indicate that the earlier (Clogher Head) readvance occurred sometime between 15.0 and 14.2 ¹⁴C ka BP, thus identifying a previously unrecognized ice-margin fluctuation in the Irish Sea Basin that is correlative with a readvance in northwest Ireland. The younger readvance occurred after 14.2 ¹⁴C ka BP and is equivalent to the Killard Point readvance identified elsewhere in the Irish Sea Basin. These readvances occurred during the Oldest Dryas cold interval and bracket Heinrich event 1. Raised marine muds that were deposited between ice readvances require that a substantial ice sheet remained on Ireland throughout much of the last deglaciation, with attendant isostatic depression of at least 110 m.     

鄂尔多斯盆地多级次地下水流系统中硝酸盐分布特征及其成因

水资源短缺的鄂尔多斯盆地内地下水遭受硝酸盐(NO3-)污染等问题日益突出,识别盆地不同地下水流系统的NO3-分布规律及其成因,对地下水资源的合理利用与保护具有重要意义.选取鄂尔多斯盆地北部湖泊集中区白垩系地下水系统为研究对象,基于水化学和聚类 主成分分析划分地下水流系统级次,在此基础上对比分析不同级次地下水流系统中NO3-分布特征,综合水化学和环境同位素分析识别多级次地下水流系统中NO3-来源及其潜在过程.研究表明:研究区ρ(NO3)超出地下水质量标准(GB/T 14848-2017)Ⅲ类水标准的地下水样品集中在局部-中间地下水流系统,其超标率达到28％;区域地下水流系统中ρ(NO3)均值约为1 mg/L.研究区不同级次地下水流系统中ρ(NO3-)分布特征主要与人类活动影响程度有关,而地下水蒸发富集和反硝化衰减作用对ρ(NO3-)的影响可以忽略.其中,局部-中间地下水流系统受到人类活动产生的污染影响显著,其NO3-污染主要来源于无机铵肥和粪便污水等;区域地下水流系统可能尚未受到人类活动污染,其NO3-来源于天然有机氮矿化.     

鄂尔多斯白垩系盆地地下水矿化度和主要离子浓度的分布规律

文章在对鄂尔多斯白垩系地下水盆地1124件地下水化学样品进行分析的基础上,总结出了研究区浅、中、深三个不同循环深度地下水中矿化度和主要离子浓度的分布规律。总体上,白垩系盆地地下水具有盆地北区矿化度和主要离子浓度较低、淡水发育,盆地南区矿化度和主要离子浓度较高、微咸水和咸水发育的分布特点。盆地北区地下淡水主要分布在地表分水岭两侧的浅、中层地下水中和安边—东胜梁—四十里梁地表分水岭以东的无定河—乌兰木伦河地下水系统中。盆地南区除罗汉洞含水岩组地下水以淡水为主外,环河和洛河含水岩组中主要分布大面积的微咸水和咸水。     

乌鲁木齐河流域柴窝堡盆地与河谷区地下水流模拟

乌鲁木齐河流域柴窝堡盆地与河谷区是乌鲁木齐市的重要供水水源地。为了更好地为地下水资源的可持续开发提供依据,本文尝试将几何形状及含水层厚度差异悬殊的柴窝堡盆地与河谷区联合起来,运用GMS模型系统建立了区域地下水稳定流和非稳定流数值模型。通过对观测孔地下水位过程线和地下水流场进行拟合,校正了研究区的渗透系数、给水度和储水率等水文地质参数。并运用模型分析了研究区的地下水流系统、地下水均衡量、地下水位变化趋势及地下水位监测网的设计。结果表明研究区地下水流主要存在两个径流排泄区:沿乌鲁木齐主河道的径流排泄区和以柴窝堡湖和大小盐湖为排泄中心的径流区;地下水储存量相对较大,能够调节季节性变化与地下水开采的影响;应加强主要河流洪积扇补给区和山前侧向补给带地下水位的监测与排泄区泉水流量的观测。     

基于植被结构分析法的生态植被与地下水关系研究——以鄂尔多斯盆地内蒙古能源基地为例

生态植被与地下水关系研究是干旱半干旱地区地下水合理开发利用的基础。以植被空间分布和地下水埋深为基础资料,本文尝试提出大尺度生态植被与地下水关系半定量化分析的新方法——植被结构分析法,并以鄂尔多斯盆地内蒙古能源基地为例进行了示范研究。利用植被结构图分析法,可在定量研究生态植被与地下水关系基础上,统计分析地下水开发后生态植被出现演替的临界水位,并预测生态植被的整体演化趋势。     

Assessment of water seepage through a geologic barrier surrounding a large reservoir using groundwater levels, soil condition, and a numerical model

Though the geologic barrier surrounding a dam reservoir plays an important role in preventing water seepage to the outside of a reservoir, a detailed survey to assess bedrock conditions of the whole reservoir boundary is seldom performed when designing a dam. In this study, a variety of investigations and analyses have been conducted to reveal a seepage phenomenon through a reservoir boundary composed of highly fractured metamorphic rocks at the Daechung multipurpose dam. At the study site, groundwater levels at monitoring wells located close to a reservoir tend to change proportionally to reservoir water levels, usually with a rapid response time of 1 day or less. Soil moisture content also changes with respect to the reservoir water level, and the area where seepage from the reservoir is a possibility has a relatively high soil moisture content. The similarity of measured seepage rates at the outflow site and the seepage rate estimated by Darcy’s law suggests strong connectivity and high density of the fractures. The estimated seepage rate using a numerical model for the northernmost valley (Zone 1) is approximately 127.2 m³/day in the case of high reservoir water level and 24.3 m³/day in the case of low water level. Continuous monitoring to obtain time series data for water levels, quality, and bedrock displacement is recommended to assess the sustainable stability of this geologic barrier.     

Reconstructing flow paths of the Middle Pleistocene British Ice Sheet in central-eastern England: the application of regional soil geochemical data

High-density regional geochemical data for surface soils in central England and East Anglia reveal that much of their geochemical character is inherited from the tills that they are developed upon. Multivariate statistical analysis highlighted three significant element associations of Al–Fe–Ga–K–La–Mg–Rb, Ca–Sr and K–Fe accounting for almost 93% of the geochemical variability of soils derived from tills. Provenancing the geochemical signatures of the latter elements enabled the construction of ice flow paths associated with two different Middle Pleistocene ‘chalky’ till sheets. A lower till sheet relating to ‘Pennine’ ice flowing from west to east across the region, and an upper till sheet deposited by North Sea ice moving into northern East Anglia, and to the west of the Fen Basin, before fanning-out across central England. Overall, geochemical signatures of different till units are largely derived from local bedrock sources, with dilution and a new geochemical signature acquired as the ice flows over and incorporates new bedrock lithologies. The results show that high resolution soil geochemical data provides a further proxy with which the flow paths of former ice sheets can be delineated.     

Improved regional groundwater flow modeling using drainage features: a case study of the central northern karst aquifer system of Puerto Rico (USA)

In northern Puerto Rico (USA), subsurface conduit networks with unknown characteristics, and surface features such as springs, rivers, lagoons and wetlands, drain the coastal karst aquifers. In this study, drain lines connecting sinkholes and springs are used to improve the developed regional model by simulating the drainage effects of conduit networks. Implemented in an equivalent porous media (EPM) approach, the model with drains is able to roughly reproduce the spring discharge hydrographs in response to rainfall. Hydraulic conductivities are found to be scale dependent and significantly increase with higher test radius, indicating scale dependency of the EPM approach. Similar to other karst regions in the world, hydraulic gradients are steeper where the transmissivity is lower approaching the coastline. This study enhances current understanding of the complex flow patterns in karst aquifers and suggests that using a drainage feature improves modeling results where available data on conduit characteristics are minimal.     

Isotopic constraints on the origin of groundwater in the Ordos Basin of northern China

Despite its extreme aridity, the Ordos Basin in northern China is rich in groundwater. Many artesian wells or springs with large fluxes are utilized for drinking, irrigation and industrial production. In a search for the origin of the groundwater, a detailed investigation of the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the local precipitation, the river water, the springs, the well water, as well as the soil water extracted from six soil profiles in the Ordos Basin, was carried out. The data show that δD, δ¹⁸O and TDS values of the river water are similar to those of groundwater, while the TDS values of the soil water are about ten times greater than those of groundwater. Furthermore, the mean isotopic compositions of the local precipitation are significantly higher than those of river water and groundwater. Based on the chloride mass balance method, the estimated recharge rates range from 5.2 to 17.2 mm/year, with a mean value of 10.5 mm/year. The results show that the main source of recharge of the groundwater in the Ordos Basin is not the local precipitation, but must come from a region where the precipitation is characterized by much lower δD and δ¹⁸O values. In addition, the groundwater in the Ordos Basin contains a component of mantle-derived ³He and crust-derived ⁴He suggesting that the groundwater may partly derive from flows through basement faults beneath the Ordos Basin.     

Landform and sediment imprints of fast glacier flow in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet

Evidence for former fast glacier flow (ice streaming) in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet is identified on the basis of regional glacial geomorphology and sedimentology, highlighting the depositional processes associated with the margin of a terrestrial terminating ice stream. Preliminary mapping from a digital elevation model of Alberta identifies corridors of smoothed topography and corridor‐parallel streamlined landforms (megaflutes to mega‐lineations) that display high levels of spatial coherency. Ridges that lie transverse to the dominant streamlining patterns are interpreted as: (a) series of minor recessional push moraines; (b) thrust block moraines or composite ridges/hill–hole pairs constructed during readvances/surges; and (c) overridden moraines (cupola hills), apparently of thrust origin. Together these landforms demarcate the beds and margins of former fast ice flow trunks or ice streams that terminated as lobate forms. Localised cross‐cutting and/or misalignment of flow sets indicates temporal separation and the overprinting of ice streams/lobes. The fast‐flow tracks are separated by areas of interlobate or inter‐stream terrain in which moraines have been constructed at the margins of neighbouring (competing) ice streams/outlet glaciers; this inter‐stream terrain was covered by more sluggish, non‐streaming ice during full glacial conditions. Thin tills at the centres of the fast‐flow corridors, in many places unconformably overlying stratified sediments, suggest that widespread till deformation may have been subordinate to basal sliding in driving fast ice flow but the general thickening of tills towards the lobate terminal margins of ice streams/outlet glaciers is consistent with subglacial deformation theory. In this area of relatively low relief we speculate that fast glacier flow or streaming was highly dynamic and transitory, sometimes with fast‐flowing trunks topographically fixed in their onset zones and with the terminus migrating laterally. The occurrence of minor push moraines and flutings and associated landforms, because of their similarity to modern active temperate glacial landsystems, are interpreted as indicative of ice lobe marginal oscillations, possibly in response to seasonal climatic forcing, in locations where meltwater was more effectively drained from the glacier bed. Further north, the occurrence of surging glacier landsystems suggests that persistent fast glacier flow gave way to more transitory surging, possibly in response to the decreasing size of ice reservoir areas in dispersal centres and also locally facilitated by ice‐bed decoupling and drawdown initiated by the development of ice‐dammed lakes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes of groundwater flow field of Luanhe River Delta under the human activities and its impact on the ecological environment in the past 30 years

The Luanhe River Delta is located in the center of the Circum-Bohai Sea Economic Zone. It enjoys rapid economic and social development while suffering relatively water scarcity. The overexploitation of groundwater in the Luanhe River Delta in recent years has caused the continuous drop of groundwater level and serious environmental and geological problems. This study systematically analyzes the evolution characteristics of the population, economy, and groundwater exploitation in the Luanhe River Delta and summarizes the change patterns of the groundwater flow regime in different aquifers in the Luanhe River Delta according to previous water resource assessment data as well as the latest groundwater survey results. Through comparison of major source/sink terms and groundwater resources, the study reveals the impacts of human activities on the groundwater resources and ecological environment in the study area over the past 30 years from 1990 to 2020. The results are as follows. The average annual drop rate of shallow groundwater and the deep groundwater in the centers of depression cones is 0.4 m and 1.64 m, respectively in the Luanhe River Delta in the past 30 years. The depression cones of shallow and deep groundwater in the study area cover an area of 545.32 km² and 548.79 km², respectively, accounting for more than 10% of the total area of the Luanhe River Delta. Overexploitation of groundwater has further aggravated land subsidence. As a result, two large-scale subsidence centers have formed, with a maximum subsidence rate of up to 120 mm/a. The drop of groundwater level has induced some ecological problems in the Luanhe River Delta area, such as the zero flow and water quality deterioration of rivers and continuous shrinkage of natural wetlands and water. Meanwhile, the proportion of natural wetland area to the total wetland area has been decreased from 99% to 8% and the water area from 1776 km² to 263 km². These results will provide data for groundwater overexploitation control, land subsidence prevention, and ecological restoration in plains and provide services for water resources management and national land space planning.© 2021 China Geology Editorial Office.