Hydrogeophysical Methods for Analyzing Aquifer Storage and Recovery Systems

Hydrogeophysical methods are presented that support the siting and monitoring of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) systems. These methods are presented as numerical simulations in the context of a proposed ASR experiment in Kuwait, although the techniques are applicable to numerous ASR projects. Bulk geophysical properties are calculated directly from ASR flow and solute transport simulations using standard petrophysical relationships and are used to simulate the dynamic geophysical response to ASR. This strategy provides a quantitative framework for determining site‐specific geophysical methods and data acquisition geometries that can provide the most useful information about the ASR implementation. An axisymmetric, coupled fluid flow and solute transport model simulates injection, storage, and withdrawal of fresh water (salinity ～500 ppm) into the Dammam aquifer, a tertiary carbonate formation with native salinity approximately 6000 ppm. Sensitivity of the flow simulations to the correlation length of aquifer heterogeneity, aquifer dispersivity, and hydraulic permeability of the confining layer are investigated. The geophysical response using electrical resistivity, time‐domain electromagnetic (TEM), and seismic methods is computed at regular intervals during the ASR simulation to investigate the sensitivity of these different techniques to changes in subsurface properties. For the electrical and electromagnetic methods, fluid electric conductivity is derived from the modeled salinity and is combined with an assumed porosity model to compute a bulk electrical resistivity structure. The seismic response is computed from the porosity model and changes in effective stress due to fluid pressure variations during injection/recovery, while changes in fluid properties are introduced through Gassmann fluid substitution.     

Aquifer Storage and Recovery Using Saline Aquifers: Hydrogeological Controls and Opportunities

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a valuable tool for managing variations in the supply and demand of freshwater, but system performance is highly dependent upon system-specific hydrogeological conditions including the salinity of the storage-zone native groundwater. ASR systems using storage zones containing saline (>10,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids) groundwater tend to have relatively low recovery efficiencies (REs). However, the drawbacks of low REs may be offset by lesser treatment requirements and may be of secondary importance where the stored water (e.g., excess reclaimed, surface, and storm waters) would otherwise go to waste and pose disposal costs. Density-dependent, solute-transport modeling results demonstrate that the RE of ASR systems using a saline storage zone is most strongly controlled by parameters controlling free convection (e.g., horizontal hydraulic conductivity) and mixing of recharged and native groundwater (e.g., dispersivity and aquifer heterogeneity). Preferred storage zone conditions are moderate hydraulic conductivities (5 to 20 m/d), low degrees of aquifer heterogeneity, and primary porosity-dominated siliclastic and limestones lithologies with effective porosities greater than 5%. Where hydrogeological conditions are less favorable, operational options are available to improve RE, such as preferential recovery from the top of the storage zone. Injection of large volumes of excess water currently not needed into saline aquifers could create valuable water resources that could be tapped in the future during times of greater need.     

Dissolved inorganic carbon sourcing using δ13CDIC from a karst influenced river system

Rivers, representing the primary conduits of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the continents to the oceans, are important components to the global carbon cycle. To better understand the complex carbon cycling dynamics within two nested, mixed lithology watersheds, two sites were studied along the karst influenced upper Green River in south‐central Kentucky, USA. Weekly samples were collected from June 2013 through May 2014 and analyzed for δ¹³C_DIC. The mixing model IsoSource was employed to better understand source partitioning differences over seasonal time spans and across the two nested basins. In both the lithologically mixed upstream basin (53% carbonate rocks, 47% siliciclastic) and carbonate rock dominated downstream basin (96% carbonate rocks in the drainage area between Greensburg and Munfordville, 78% in the total area upstream from Munfordville), DIC was primarily derived from soil respiration. The proportion of DIC from dissolved carbonate minerals derived from the downstream carbonate rock dominated basin was similar to the upstream basin, due to carbonate mineral dissolution having such a consistent effect on the overall DIC content of the river. Seasonally, soil respiration provided the most DIC from fall to winter. Early spring precipitation, combined with limited seasonal photosynthesis, shifted groundwater to be the primary source of DIC, bringing in a flush of carbonate mineral‐rich water during higher flows. This study provides insight into carbon dynamics across multiple lithologies and the important influence of seasonality using carbon isotope sourcing to determine carbonate mineral dissolution variability and aid in understanding its contribution to global carbon flux quantification. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Arsenic Control During Aquifer Storage Recovery Cycle Tests in the Floridan Aquifer

Implementation of aquifer storage recovery (ASR) for water resource management in Florida is impeded by arsenic mobilization. Arsenic, released by pyrite oxidation during the recharge phase, sometimes results in groundwater concentrations that exceed the 10 µg/L criterion defined in the Safe Drinking Water Act. ASR was proposed as a major storage component for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), in which excess surface water is stored during the wet season, and then distributed during the dry season for ecosystem restoration. To evaluate ASR system performance for CERP goals, three cycle tests were conducted, with extensive water‐quality monitoring in the Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) at the Kissimmee River ASR (KRASR) pilot system. During each cycle test, redox evolution from sub‐oxic to sulfate‐reducing conditions occurs in the UFA storage zone, as indicated by decreasing Fe²⁺/H₂S mass ratios. Arsenic, released by pyrite oxidation during recharge, is sequestered during storage and recovery by co‐precipitation with iron sulfide. Mineral saturation indices indicate that amorphous iron oxide (a sorption surface for arsenic) is stable only during oxic and sub‐oxic conditions of the recharge phase, but iron sulfide (which co‐precipitates arsenic) is stable during the sulfate‐reducing conditions of the storage and recovery phases. Resultant arsenic concentrations in recovered water are below the 10 µg/L regulatory criterion during cycle tests 2 and 3. The arsenic sequestration process is appropriate for other ASR systems that recharge treated surface water into a sulfate‐reducing aquifer.     

Prediction of Groundwater Quality Trends Resulting from Anthropogenic Changes in Southeast Florida

The effects of surface water flow system changes caused by constructing water‐conservation areas and canals in southeast Florida on groundwater quality under the Atlantic Coastal Ridge was investigated with numerical modeling. Water quality data were used to delineate a zone of groundwater with low total dissolved solids (TDS) within the Biscayne aquifer under the ridge. The delineated zone has the following characteristics. Its location generally coincides with an area where the Biscayne aquifer has high transmissivities, corresponds to a high recharge area of the ridge, and underlies a part of the groundwater mound formed under the ridge prior to completion of the canals. This low TDS groundwater appears to be the result of pre‐development conditions rather than seepage from the canals constructed after the 1950s. Numerical simulation results indicate that the time for low TDS groundwater under the ridge to reach equilibrium with high TDS surface water in the water‐conservation areas and Everglades National Park are approximately 70 and 60 years, respectively. The high TDS groundwater would be restricted to the water‐conservation areas and the park due to its slow eastward movement caused by small hydraulic gradients in Rocky Glades and its mixing with the low TDS groundwater under the high‐recharge area of the ridge. The flow or physical boundary conditions such as high recharge rates or low hydraulic conductivity layers may affect how the spatial distribution of groundwater quality in an aquifer will change when a groundwater flow system reaches equilibrium with an associated surface water flow system.     

Origin and chemical and isotopic evolution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater of the Okavango Delta,Botswana

The origin and the chemical and isotopic evolution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater of the Okavango Delta in semi-arid Botswana were investigated using DIC and major ion concentrations and stable oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotopes (δD, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C_DIC). The δD and δ¹⁸O indicated that groundwater was recharged by evaporated river water and unevaporated rain. The river water and shallow (<10 m) groundwater are Ca–Na–HCO₃ type and the deep (≥10 m) groundwater is Na–K–HCO₃ to HCO₃–Cl–SO₄ to Cl–SO₄–HCO₃. Compared to river water, the mean DIC concentrations were 2 times higher in shallow groundwater, 7 times higher in deep groundwater and 24 times higher in island groundwater. The δ¹³C_DIC indicate that DIC production in groundwater is from organic matter oxidation and in island groundwater from organic matter oxidation and dissolution of sodium carbonate salts. The ionic and isotopic evolution of the groundwater relative to evaporated river water indicates two independent pools of DIC.     

Responses of water yield and dissolved inorganic carbon export to forest recovery in the Houzhai karst basin,southwest China

Karst terrain (carbonate rocks) covers a vast land of 0.446 million km² in southwest China. Water yield and carbonate rocks weathering in this region have been receiving increased attention due to a large‐scale forest recovery. Using both hydrological measurements and forest inventories from 1986 to 2007 in the Houzhai karst basin (HKB), we analyzed the responses of water yield and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) export to forest recovery in southwest China. With implementation of both the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) and the Conversion of Farmland to Forests Program (CFFP), the fraction of forest area in HKB was increased from near zero to 18.9% during the study period, but the ratio of total water yield (surface and underground) to precipitation varied very little over the annual period, neither in wet season nor in dry season. By contrast, the concentration of DIC in water, especially in the surface water had a pronounced increase during the study period, with an increase of 0.53 and 0.25 g C m^?3 yr^?1 for surface water and underground water, respectively. As a result, total annual DIC export at mean annual rainfall significantly increased from the low to high forest area stage. This increase was largely driven by surface water during the wet season, presumably being related to biological activity. It was concluded that forest recovery in HKB had no significant effect on water yield, but resulted in more carbon dioxide (CO₂) dissolved in karst water accompanying with carbon uptake by forests. Our results suggested that implementations of both NFCP and CFFP had no shifted water yield regimes in southwest China; instead, they might have alleviated global climate change by increasing carbon uptake through combined biological processes and carbonate rocks weathering. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of hydrogeochemical potential of three lake catchments in Polesie region (Eastern Poland)

Total dissolved solids (TDS) in lake and catchment water is a result of geological structure, as well as duration of rock and water contact and human activity. In this paper, a potential dissolved solids (PtDS) in three ??czna–W?odawa Lake catchments was determined using extraction and computer software (GIS and AquaChem). Human pressure on water quality was estimated as a difference of the TDS and a catchment hydrogeochemical potential (TPtDS, total potential dissolved solids). TPtDS coefficient included hydrogeological features of the aquifer, soil cover impact on infiltrated water quality, and sediments susceptibility to denudation. The main advantage of the model is a possibility of its employment for every catchment or other areas (e.g. administrative) on both microscale and mesoscale. The highest TPtDS occurred in the catchment, favoured with underground supply, which was located in the vicinity of the Cretaceous mesoregional unit (Che?m Hills). The lowest value was observed in the catchment built with organogenic sediments and coarse material. A seasonal constancy of TPtDS values proved a stability of the lake‐catchment systems under study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrochemical and isotopic characterization of groundwater in the southeastern part of the Plateaux Region,Togo

Hydrochemical, inverse geochemical modelling and isotopic approaches are used to assess the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater from the basement aquifers in the southeastern part of the Plateaux Region, Togo. Groundwater originates from present-day rainwater infiltration and is mostly fresh and slightly acidic to neutral. Hydrochemical facies are predominantly mixed cations-HCO₃ associated with Ca/Mg-Cl, Na-HCO₃ and Na-Cl water types in equilibrium with kaolinite and Ca/Mg-smectites. They are related to silicates hydrolysis, anthropogenic contamination, nitrification/denitrification, mixing along flowpaths and dissolution/precipitation of secondary minerals. The pattern of flow paths is in accordance with an increasing trend in total dissolved solids (TDS) toward the potentiometric depression located in the central and southern parts of the aquifer system. Inverse geochemical modelling using the NETPATH-WIN model showed the relative importance of biotite, plagioclase and amphibole weathering and dissolution of secondary carbonate minerals along the flowpath, suggesting that an abundance of minerals is not necessarily the main factor controlling the groundwater chemistry evolution.     

Isotopes and geochemistry in a managed aquifer recharge scheme: a case study of fresh water injection at the Damascus University Campus,Syria

A combination of stable isotopes (¹⁸O and ²H) and hydrochemistry has been applied to investigate storage processes in relation to aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) of the shallow alluvial Quaternary aquifer in Damascus basin. The stored water, entirely taken from the Figeh springs during flood periods, was injected in a single well having a brackish groundwater. Water samples were collected from four observation wells drilled in the Damascus University Campus (DUC) site during a 3‐year period (2006–2008). The injectant water, which deviates in its chemical and isotopic signatures from that of the ambient groundwater, shows that the stored water plume remains within close proximity to the injection well (IW) (<≈ 100 m). Thus, only two wells (W13 and W14) located at a distance less than 80 m from the injection point were affected by this injection. The observation wells located at longer distances from the IW (≈145 m and ≈ 600 m for wells W15 and WHz, respectively) were completely unaffected by the injection. Although most of the chemical and isotopic parameters usefully reflected the mixing process that occurs between the injectant water and ambient groundwater, the stable isotope (¹⁸O) and chloride (Cl⁻) were the most sensitive parameters that quickly reflect this signature. Using a simple mass balance, the calculated proportion of injectant water reaching the well W13 was in the range of 50–90%. This proportion was even lower (30–55%) in the case of well W14. Although the drought event prevailing during this study did not much help to inject further amounts of water, higher than the injected volume (0·2416 M m³) and also not favourable to better evaluate the fate and subsurface hydrological processes, these findings offer encouragement to continue the ASR activities, as an alternative way for better management of water resources in this basin facing intensive problems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors controlling carbon isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon in two major tributaries of the Han River,Korea

Understanding the carbon cycle of the Han River system in Korea is of prime interest in managing and preserving this valuable water resource for more than 20 million residents in the area. As a part of a comprehensive carbon cycling study for the Han River system, this report focuses on the carbon isotope compositions of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in its two major tributaries, the North and the South Han Rivers. The major difference in carbonate chemistry of the tributaries originates primarily from the lithology of the catchment areas. The South Han River, draining a carbonate‐dominant terrain, has much higher alkalinities and DIC concentrations, whereas the lower concentrations in the North Han River indicate little influence of carbonate weathering. Likewise, δ¹³C_DIC values in the South Han River indicate that the DIC input from the carbonate rocks is important in controlling carbon isotope ratios of DIC. For the North Han River, the oxidation of organic material influences the amount of riverine DIC and δ¹³C_DIC values to a greater extent. Overall, remarkable seasonal and spatial variations of river chemistry and carbon isotope compositions of DIC reflect the variability in geo‐hydrologic characteristics, in the water regime, and in metabolic activities in the river water and/or the drainage areas. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for Enhanced Mineral Dissolution in Organic Acid-Rich Shallow Ground Water

Total concentrations of formate, acetate, and isobutyrate varied from less than 5 to greater than 9,000 μmol/l over distances of < 3 m in ground water from a shallow hydrocarbon contaminated aquifer. Laboratory incubations of aquifer material indicate that organic acid concentrations were dependent on the amount of hydrocarbon loading in the sediment and the relative rates of microbial organic acid production and consumption. In heavily contaminated sediments, production greatly exceeded consumption and organic acid concentrations increased. In lightly contaminated sediments rates were essentially equal and organic acid concentrations remained low. Concentrations of dissolved calcium, magnesium, and iron generally were one to two orders of magnitude higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in ground water having low organic acid concentrations. Carbonate and Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide minerals were the likely sources of these elements. Similarly, concentrations of dissolved silica, derived from quartz and k-feldspar, were higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in other waters. The positive relation (r = 0.60, p < .05, n = 16) between concentrations of silica and organic acids suggests that the microbially mediated buildup of organic acids in ground water enhanced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution in the aquifer, although it was not the only factor influencing their dissolution. A model that included organic acid microequivalents normalized by cation microequivalents significantly strengthened the correlation (r = 0.79, p < .001, n = 16) between dissolved silica and organic acid concentrations, indicating that competition between silica and cations for complexation sites on organic acids also influenced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution. Physical evidence for enhanced mineral dissolution in organic acid-rich waters included scanning electron microscopy images of highly corroded quartz and k-feldspar grains from portions of the aquifer containing organic acid-rich ground water. Microporosity generated in hydrocarbon contaminated sediments may adversely affect remediation efforts that depend on the efficient injection of electron acceptors into an aquifer or on the recovery of solutes from an aquifer.     

Inorganic Water Quality Monitoring Using Specific Conductance in Mexico

Five inorganic geochemical data sets with ion balances less than or equal to 5% (for different hydrogeologic basins in Mexico) were used to construct specific conductance (SC) vs. total dissolved solids (TDS) curves for each aquifer. These curves allow one to proxy the specific conductance for inorganic water quality. The data from these five curves were integrated to form a "global" curve for Mexico. The equation that defines the line is SC = 1.40 TDS + 18. We propose that, in addition to allowing ground water monitoring, establishing a SC vs. TDS curve may be implemented to monitor drinking water supplies such as wells and reservoirs. If anomalously high values are observed, this would warrant detailed geochemical sampling.     

An assessment of aquifer storage recovery using ground water flow models

Owing to increased demands on ground water accompanied by increased drawdowns, technologies that use recharge options, such as aquifer storage recovery (ASR), are being used to optimize available water resources and reduce adverse effects of pumping. In this paper, three representative ground water flow models were created to assess the impact of hydrogeologic and operational parameters/factors on recovery efficiency of ASR systems. Flow/particle tracking and solute transport models were used to track the movement of water during injection, storage, and recovery. Results from particle tracking models consistently produced higher recovery efficiency than the solute transport models for the parameters/properties examined because the particle tracking models neglected mixing of the injected and ambient water. Mixing between injected and ambient water affected recovery efficiency. Results from this study demonstrate the interactions between hydrogeologic and operational parameters on predictions of recovery efficiency. These interactions are best simulated using coupled numerical ground water flow and transport models that include the effects of mixing of injected water and ambient ground water.     

Seismicity changes related to a water injection experiment in the Nojima Fault Zone

Abstract A water injection experiment was carried out by the scientific drilling program named the 'Nojima Fault Zone Probe' during the two periods 9–13 February and 16–25 March 1997. The pumping pressure at the surface was approximately 4 MPa. The total amount of injected water was 258 m³. The injection was made between depths of 1480 m and 1670 m in the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University (DPRI) 1800 m borehole drilled into the Nojima Fault zone. A seismic observation network was deployed to monitor seismic activity related to the water injections. Seismicity suddenly increased in the region not far from the injection hole 4 or 5 days after the beginning of each water injection. These earthquakes were likely to be induced by the water injections. Most of the earthquakes had magnitudes ranging from −2 to +1. Numerous earthquakes occurred during the first injection, but only one could be reliably located and it was approximately 2 km north of the injection site. Between the two injection periods, earthquakes concentrated in the region approximately 1 km northwest of the injection site. During and after the second injection experiment, earthquakes were located approximately 1.5 km west of the injection site. Those earthquakes were located approximately 3 km or 4 km from the injection point and between 2 km and 4 km in depth. Values of intrinsic permeability of 10⁻¹⁴–10⁻¹⁵ m² were estimated from the time lapse of the induced seismic activity. The coefficient of friction in the area where the induced earthquakes occurred was estimated to be less than 0.3.     

Effects of ultrafiltration on salt migration and isotopic composition of pore water in groundwater depression area in Hengshui,NCP

Clay aquitards are semipermeable membranes that allow groundwater flow while retarding solute migration has been researched extensively but also subjected to much debate. At present, there is no evidence of whether the physical and chemical properties of clay soil and the isotopic composition of pore water affect the semipermeable membrane effect. In this study, we collected clay samples from drilling cores (30–90 m) in the Hengshui area located in the North China Plain (NCP), then extracted pore water using a high-pressure squeezing device. Vertical hydrochemical and isotopic profile variation trends for the pore water were revealed using hydrochemical (Cl⁻, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and SO₄²⁻) and stable isotopic measurements of H, O and Cl. The results showed that the hydrochemical clay interlayer pore water of the saline aquifer is Cl/SO₄-Na/Mg type and the average total dissolved solids (TDS) are 10.17 g/L. However, the hydrochemical clay aquitard pore water is of the Cl/SO₄-Na/Ca type with an average TDS of 1.90 g/L. The hydrochemical clay interlayer pore water of aquifer II is of Cl-Na/Ca type with an average TDS of 1.10 g/L. Our results showed that the water quality of the aquifer II is not affected by the upper part of the saline aquifer, thus the clay aquitard acts as a significant barrier to salt movement. A polarization layer concentrated in ions was formed between the upper part of the saline aquifer and the clay aquitard. The concentration polarization layer increases the salt-inhibition effect. H, O and Cl isotopic composition results showed significant fractionation. The pore water of aquifer II lacked heavy isotopes (²H, ¹⁸O, ³⁷Cl), but had significant heavy isotope enrichment in the concentrated polarized layer (the δ²H value was −76‰, the δ¹⁸O value was −8.4‰, and the δ³⁷Cl value was 1.59‰). Hyperfiltration thus played a significant role in isotope fractionation.     

Small‐Scale ASR Between Flow Barriers in a Saline Aquifer

Regular aquifer storage recovery, ASR, is often not feasible for small‐scale storage in brackish or saline aquifers because fresh water floats to the top of the aquifer where it is unrecoverable. Flow barriers that partially penetrate a brackish or saline aquifer prevent a stored volume of fresh water from expanding sideways, thus increasing the recovery efficiency. In this paper, the groundwater flow and mixing is studied during injection, storage, and recovery of fresh water in a brackish or saline aquifer in a flow‐tank experiment and by numerical modeling to investigate the effect of density difference, hydraulic conductivity, pumping rate, cyclic operation, and flow barrier settings. Two injection and recovery methods are investigated: constant flux and constant head. Fresh water recovery rates on the order of 65% in the first cycle climbing to as much as 90% in the following cycles were achievable for the studied configurations with constant flux whereas the recovery efficiency was somewhat lower for constant head. The spatial variation in flow velocity over the width of the storage zone influences the recovery efficiency, because it induces leakage of fresh water underneath the barriers during injection and upconing of salt water during recovery.     

Electrical Resistivity Studies to Delimit Zones of Acceptable Ground Water Quality

A total of four vertical electrical soundings were conducted in a layered andesitic rock aquifer known in places to yield ground water with total dissolved solids (TDS) in excess of 2,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The objective of the soundings was to locate zones of moderate to high permeability but with acceptable chemical quality.
The resistivity of a geologic unit is a function that includes the quantity of total dissolved solids in the interstitial water and the distribution of the water within the unit. Thus, the resistivity of most granular soils and rocks is controlled more by porosity, water content and water quality than by the conductivity of the matrix materials.
The electrical data delimited a drill site where it was believed that ground water of acceptable chemical quality could be expected. Completion and test pumping of two exploration wells confirmed the electrical sounding results.
The first test well drilled prior to the survey yielded only small amounts of ground water with total dissolved solids in excess of 2,000 mg/L. The second exploration well drilled at the site as a result of the electrical study yielded in excess of 100 gallons per minute of ground water with total dissolved solids of 830 mg/L.     

The relationship of total dissolved solids measurements to bulk electrical conductivity in an aquifer contaminated with hydrocarbon

A recent conceptual model links higher bulk conductivities at hydrocarbon impacted sites to higher total dissolved solids (TDS) resulting from enhanced mineral weathering due to acids produced during biodegradation. In this study, we evaluated the above model by investigating the vertical distribution of bulk conductivity, TDS, and specific conductance in groundwater. The results showed higher TDS at contaminated locations consistent with the above model. Further, steep vertical gradients in bulk conductivity and TDS suggest vertical and spatial heterogeneity at the site. We observed that at fluid conductivities <40 mS/m, bulk conductivity was inversely related to fluid conductivity, but at fluid conductivities >40 mS/m, bulk conductivity increased with increasing fluid conductivity. However, at fluid conductivities >80 mS/m, bulk conductivities increased without a corresponding increase in fluid conductivity, resulting in a poor correlation between bulk conductivity and fluid conductivity for the contaminated samples. This suggests that electrolytic conductivity was not completely responsible for the observed variability in bulk conductivity. We suggest two possible reasons for the inverse relationship at low fluid conductivity and poor positive correlation at high fluid conductivity: (1) geochemical heterogeneity due to biological processes not captured at a scale comparable to the bulk conductivity measurement and (2) variability in the surface conductivity, consistent with a simple petrophysical model that suggests higher surface conductivity for contaminated sediments. We conclude that biodegradation processes can impact both electrolytic and surface conduction properties of contaminated sediments and these two factors can account for the higher bulk conductivities observed in sediments impacted by hydrocarbon.     

Quality Assessment of Southeast Nile Delta Groundwater for Irrigation

The Nile Delta aquifer has deteriorated in the quality of the groundwater due to domestic, agricultural and industrial activities. In order to examine this, a dataset of thirty-one shallow groundwater samples and four surface water samples were collected in May 2014. The objective of our study is to investigate the hydrochemical characteristics of the groundwater at El-Khanka region in El-Qalubia governorate, southern Nile Delta to discuss the possibility of groundwater use for agricultural purpose. Groundwater types were defined, and the suitability for use in irrigation was evaluated. The factor analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between the thirteen variables for exploring the loading of them in the model. Then, the principal component analysis was performed to identify the linear combination of variables that account for the greatest amount of common variance. Results showed that groundwater samples are mainly alkaline with an average pH value of 8.60. The total dissolved solids (TDS) range from 350 to 1456 mg/L. The highest concentrations of the anions and cations are sulfate (\(\rm{SO}_4^{2-}\)) and sodium (Na⁺) respectively. The residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is less than 1.25 meq/L. Also, all groundwater samples are located in good and permissible salinity with TDS < 1500 mg/L. In addition, all samples are located in the low sodium hazard zone where sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is less than 10. Therefore, it is concluded that, the groundwater is suitable for irrigation use in El-Qalubia Governorate. Four factors with Eigenvalues above 1.0 which correlated to each other contributed to the model with 81% of the total variance and governed the spatial variability of the aquifer.