Determining Hydraulic Conductivity Using Pumping Data from Low-Flow Sampling

Hydraulic conductivity values computed using the steady-state discharge and drawdown attained while low-flow sampling were evaluated to determine if they were equivalent to those determined from slug testing. Based on testing 12 wells, it was found that the results were statistically equivalent. Conductivity values computed using low-flow sampling parameters were also evaluated as to their reproducibility in actual practice by analyzing consultant data for three wells sampled over three quarterly monitoring periods by four field technicians. The results were found to be reproducible within about a factor of 2 or better. Since the method is based on only one pair of parameters, diligence is required in attaining steady state and in accurately measuring the flow rate and drawdown. Conductivity values computed using this approach can enhance the use of low-flow data gathered in water quality sampling, avoid the need for slug testing in a subsequent phase of investigation, and help reduce the cost of characterizing sites when multilevel samplers are used. Given the practical range of discharge in low-flow sampling, the method was found to be applicable at conductivity values somewhat greater than 10⁻⁶ cm/s. Given the typical accuracy of water level meters and pressure transducers and a maximum discharge of 1 L/min, as mandated by regulatory guidance, the method has a calculated upper conductivity limit in the range of 10⁻³ to 10⁻² cm/s.     

地震空间分布函数的确定方法研究

选取了几个反央西南地区地震活动的时间和空间特征的因子，因子量化全部建立在因子与实际地震发生的统计关系上，使因子具有一定的概率预报意义和相互对比的基础，另外还对部分因子的预报效能了作评估和修正，采用３种方法分别求出了３套地震空间分布函数，并作了要相互比较。     

Assessing Lakebed Hydraulic Conductivity and Seepage Flux by Potentiomanometer

Potentiomanometers (PMs) are commonly used to determine flux directions across interfaces between surface waters and aquifers. We describe a complementary function: estimating small‐scale hydraulic conductivity (K) in a lakebed, using the constant‐head injection test (CHIT) by Cardenas and Zlotnik (2003) with the PM designed by Winter et al. (1988). A piezometer with a small screen is inserted into the lakebed. Local head potential is obtained by measuring the head difference between the test point and the aquifer interface. The piezometer is then used for water injection. This technique is illustrated by measurements taken from Alkali Lake in the Sand Hills, Nebraska, United States. Lakebed K and seepage fluxes ranged from 0.037 to 0.090 m/d and Darcy velocities ranged from 0.004 to 0.027 m/d. Results were consistent with the supplementary data gathered using a modified CHIT and a cone penetrometer. The compact size of the device and the small volumes used for injection enable this method to estimate lakebed K values as low as 0.01 to 0.1 m/d, a range seldom explored in lake‐aquifer interface systems.     

Simple Hydraulic Conductivity Estimation by the Kalman Filtered Double Constraint Method

This paper presents the Kalman Filtered Double Constraint Method (DCM‐KF) as a technique to estimate the hydraulic conductivities in the grid blocks of a groundwater flow model. The DCM is based on two forward runs with the same initial grid block conductivities, but with alternating flux‐head conditions specified on parts of the boundary and the wells. These two runs are defined as: (1) the flux run, with specified fluxes (recharge and well abstractions), and (2) the head run, with specified heads (measured in piezometers). Conductivities are then estimated as the initial conductivities multiplied by the fluxes obtained from the flux run and divided by the fluxes obtained from the head run. The DCM is easy to implement in combination with existing models (e.g., MODFLOW). Sufficiently accurate conductivities are obtained after a few iterations. Because of errors in the specified head‐flux couples, repeated estimation under varying hydrological conditions results in different conductivities. A time‐independent estimate of the conductivities and their inaccuracy can be obtained by a simple linear KF with modest computational requirements. For the Kleine Nete catchment, Belgium, the DCM‐KF yields sufficiently accurate calibrated conductivities. The method also results in distinguishing regions where the head‐flux observations influence the calibration from areas where it is not able to influence the hydraulic conductivity.     

Low‐Flow Hydraulic Conductivity Tests at Wells that Cross the Water Table

Wells with screens and sand packs that cross the water table represent a challenging problem for determining hydraulic conductivity by slug testing due to sand pack drainage and resaturation. Sand pack drainage results in a multisegmented recovery curve. One must then subjectively pick a portion of the curve to analyze. Sand pack drainage also results in a change in the effective radius of the well which requires a guess at the porosity or specific yield in analyzing the test. In the study of Robbins et al. (2009) , a method was introduced to obtain hydraulic conductivity in monitoring wells using the steady‐state drawdown and flow rate obtained during low‐flow sampling. The method was tested in this study in wells whose screens cross the water table and shown to avoid sand pack drainage problems that complicate analyzing slug tests. In applying the method to low‐flow sampling, only a single pair of steady‐state flow rate and drawdown are needed; hence, to derive meaningful results, an accurate determination of these parameters is required.     

Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity from Grain‐Size Distribution for Different Depositional Environments

Over 400 unlithified sediment samples were collected from four different depositional environments in global locations and the grain‐size distribution, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity were measured using standard methods. The measured hydraulic conductivity values were then compared to values calculated using 20 different empirical equations (e.g., Hazen, Carman‐Kozeny) commonly used to estimate hydraulic conductivity from grain‐size distribution. It was found that most of the hydraulic conductivity values estimated from the empirical equations correlated very poorly to the measured hydraulic conductivity values with errors ranging to over 500%. To improve the empirical estimation methodology, the samples were grouped by depositional environment and subdivided into subgroups based on lithology and mud percentage. The empirical methods were then analyzed to assess which methods best estimated the measured values. Modifications of the empirical equations, including changes to special coefficients and addition of offsets, were made to produce modified equations that considerably improve the hydraulic conductivity estimates from grain size data for beach, dune, offshore marine, and river sediments. Estimated hydraulic conductivity errors were reduced to 6 to 7.1 m/day for the beach subgroups, 3.4 to 7.1 m/day for dune subgroups, and 2.2 to 11 m/day for offshore sediments subgroups. Improvements were made for river environments, but still produced high errors between 13 and 23 m/day.     

The Application of Combined Seismic and Electrical Measurements to the Determination of the Hydraulic Conductivity of a Lake Bed

The hydraulic properties of lake beds control the interactions between lakes and ground water systems, but these properties are normally difficult to measure directly. The authors'method combines seismic reflection and electrical measurements to map the relative hydraulic conductivity of lake bed sediments. A shipboard seismic profiling system provides sediment thickness, while a towed electrical array yields longitudinal conductance and electrical chargeability. The sediment's leakance (hydraulic conductivity/thickness) can be calculated from the longitudinal conductance data. Leakance may then be converted to relative hydraulic conductivity through the seismically derived sediment thicknesses. Simultaneously acquired electrical chargeability provides an independent measure of clay content. The seismic and electrical systems are computer automated and yield production rates of approximately five line-kilometers/hour or 300 electrical soundings/hour. The systems provide continuous hydraulic information along the ship track rather than the point information derived from coring.
The procedure and systems have been used to map the bed of Lake Michigan offshore from an area of heavy pumpage. This location has been chosen to test the method because lake water has intruded the aquifer in plumes largely controlled by lake bed hydraulics. Mapping these plumes onshore permits the inference of the spatial distribution of offshore hydraulic conductivities. Offshore seepage measurements and numerical, chemical transport modeling of this site have confirmed the reliability of the geophysically derived hydraulic conductivities and have also demonstrated the improvement in numerical results achieved through the availability of spatially determined hydraulic conductivities.     

A Method to Estimate the Hydraulic Conductivity of the Ground by TRT Analysis

The knowledge of hydraulic properties of aquifers is important in many engineering applications. Careful design of ground‐coupled heat exchangers requires that the hydraulic characteristics and thermal properties of the aquifer must be well understood. Knowledge of groundwater flow rate and aquifer thermal properties is the basis for proper design of such plants. Different methods have been developed in order to estimate hydraulic conductivity by evaluating the transport of various tracers (chemical, heat etc.); thermal response testing (TRT) is a specific type of heat tracer that allows including the hydraulic properties in an effective thermal conductivity value. Starting from these considerations, an expeditious, graphical method was proposed to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer, using TRT data and plausible assumption. Suggested method, which is not yet verified or proven to be reliable, should be encouraging further studies and development in this direction.     

Variation in Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity at the Outcrop Scale,the Whanganui Basin,New Zealand

Groundwater flow and contaminant transport are strongly influenced by hydrogeological spatial variation. Understanding the textural heterogeneity of aquifer and aquitard units is critical for predicting preferential flow pathways, but is often hindered by sparse hydrogeological data, widely spaced data points, and complex stratigraphy. Here, we demonstrate the application of a relatively new air permeameter technology, providing a cost-effective, rapid alternative for characterizing hydrostratigraphic units in the field. The aim of this research is to (1) characterize the variation of saturated hydraulic conductivity across shallow-marine hydrostratigraphic units of the Whanganui Basin, New Zealand, and (2) assess the variation of saturated hydraulic conductivity within individual hydrostratigraphic units and relate these changes to facies and depositional environments. Results suggest heterogeneity within fine-grained aquitard units is controlled by bioturbation, whereby burrowing, ingestion and defecation results in grain size segregation and differential micrite cementation. Coarse-grained heterolithic aquifer facies display sharp changes in permeability across planar to cross-bedded sets, related to current and wave energy fluctuations within shallow-marine depositional settings. Bedding plane orientation creates high permeability zones that promotes down dip subsurface flow. Down dip gradation of coarse-grained nearshore facies into fine-grained shelf facies along the paleo shoreline-shelf transect is suggested to promote lateral and vertical groundwater flow within the basin fill. Air permeameter techniques have potential for application within groundwater basins around the world, providing datasets that facilitate greater understanding of groundwater systems, informing practices and policies for targeted water quality management.