Groundwater flow model, recharge estimation and sustainability in an arid region of Patagonia, Argentina

The Península Valdés, in northeastern Patagonia, Argentina, is characterised by its arid climate and the lack of perennial watercourses; thus, all economic activities depend on the groundwater resources. Water demand is mainly associated with tourism, which is centralised in Puerto Pirámides and supplied by a water desalination plant, and to sheep farming, supplied by the local aquifer. Due to the exponential growth of tourism, the government is planning to exploit groundwater and convey it by aqueduct to the abovementioned locality. The objectives of this study were to corroborate the conceptual geohydrological model, to develop a mathematical model to simulate the response of the aquifer to different scenarios, and to assess the incidence of water input into the system as a variable—a function that poses difficulties in the models for arid regions. The Visual Modflow 4.1 code was used, calibrating it in trial-and-error mode, changing the recharge and hydraulic conductivity parameters with different variants in the recharge zone and in the inclusion or exclusion of the evapotranspiration module. Results indicate the importance of the recharge analysis by treating rainfall at daily time steps. The adjusted model was exposed to four scenarios with variations in water input and in output by pumping. It can be concluded that under different input conditions, but with a controlled extraction, the system responds in a sustainable manner.     

Study of an unexpected convective storm

The occurrence of a severe storm in the Argentine littoral has been analyzed. Although general atmospheric conditions were not favorable to the development of deep convection, this storm produced strong winds and hail of considerable intensity. Its occurrence was associated with the entrance of a pulse of humid air at low levels and could be related to the development of two vorticity centers in the region. Atmospheric conditions existing above a low-level inversion are used to simulate two possible clouds, with base altitudes at 2200 and 3000 m and updraft speeds reaching maximum values of 27 and 29 m s⁻¹ respectively. It is noted that the base temperature of about 13°C, found for the first cloud, can be correlated with the prevalence of frozen drop embryos, observed in an analyzed hailstone sample. Hailstone vertical trajectories are simulated in both modeled clouds, assuming spheroidal and spherical particles and assigning different values to the drag coefficient C_d.     

Runoff from soils under different management and simulated rainfall regimes in southern Brazil

Abstract

Surface runoff and drainage were evaluated for southern Brazilian soils subjected to different rainfall intensities and management practices. Soils received up to four applications of simulated rainfall in sequences with one application per day. Seven lysimeters, each of 1 m³ volume, were used to measure drainage volume, with measurement of initial and final water content, times at which surface runoff and lysimeter drainage began, and the volume rates of flow. At the end of the second test, soils were subjected to two levels of disturbance (denoted by low and high soil movement) by opening furrows. These cultivation treatments altered the times at which lysimeter surface runoff and drainage were initiated, the rates of surface runoff, the final infiltration and internal drainage, and the components of the water balance throughout the series of trials. Mean times at which surface runoff was initiated in lysimeters subjected to greater soil disturbance were longer than those with little soil disturbance. Final infiltration rates were greater in lysimeters with little soil disturbance. It was also found that lysimeter surface runoff generation was influenced by the state of development of maize grown in the lysimeter.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor G. Mahé     

Modelling sediment deposition and phosphorus retention in a river floodplain

Phosphorus (P) is one of the major limiting nutrient in many freshwater ecosystems. During the last decade, attention has been focused on the fluxes of suspended sediment and particulate P through freshwater drainage systems because of severe eutrophication effects in aquatic ecosystems. Hence, the analysis and prediction of phosphorus and sediment dynamics constitute an important element for ecological conservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems. In that sense, the development of a suitable prediction model is justified, and the present work is devoted to the validation and application of a predictive soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) uptake and sedimentation models, to a real riparian system of the middle Ebro river floodplain. Both models are coupled to a fully distributed two‐dimensional shallow‐water flow numerical model. The SRP uptake model is validated using data from three field experiments. The model predictions show a good accuracy for SRP concentration, where the linear regressions between measured and calculated values of the three experiments were significant (r² ≥ 0.62; p ≤ 0.05), and a Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (E) that ranged from 0.54 to 0.62. The sedimentation model is validated using field data collected during two real flooding events within the same river reach. The comparison between calculated and measured sediment depositions showed a significant linear regression (p ≤ 0.05; r² = 0.97) and an E that ranged from 0.63 to 0.78. Subsequently, the complete model that includes flow dynamics, solute transport, SRP uptake and sedimentation is used to simulate and analyse floodplain sediment deposition, river nutrient contribution and SRP uptake. According to this analysis, the main SRP uptake process appears to be the sediment sorption. The analysis also reveals the presence of a lateral gradient of hydrological connectivity that decreases with distance from the river and controls the river matter contribution to the floodplain. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SlugIn 1.0: A Free Tool for Automated Slug Test Analysis

The correct characterization of aquifer parameters is essential for water‐supply and water‐quality investigations. Slug tests are widely used for these purposes. While free software is available to interpret slug tests, some codes are not user‐friendly, or do not include a wide range of methods to interpret the results, or do not include automatic, inverse solutions to the test data. The private sector has also generated several good programs to interpret slug test data, but they are not free of charge. The computer program SlugIn 1.0 is available online for free download, and is demonstrated to aid in the analysis of slug tests to estimate hydraulic parameters. The program provides an easy‐to‐use Graphical User Interface. SlugIn 1.0 incorporates automated parameter estimation and facilitates the visualization of several interpretations of the same test. It incorporates solutions for confined and unconfined aquifers, partially penetrating wells, skin effects, shape factor, anisotropy, high hydraulic conductivity formations and the Mace test for large‐diameter wells. It is available in English and Spanish and can be downloaded from the web site of the Geological Survey of Spain. Two field examples are presented to illustrate how the software operates.     

The infrared dielectric properties of maghemite, γ-Fe2O3, from reflectance measurement on pressed powders

The infrared complex permittivity functions of three varieties of maghemite, γ-Fe₂O₃, having different degrees of vacancy ordering, have been determined from their IR reflectance spectra, measured at near to normal incidence on pressed powder pellets. The optical constants therefrom obtained have been verified by using them in the simulation of the corresponding absorption spectra for KBr-diluted pellets, and these are in excellent agreement with the experimental spectra. All calculations are based on a procedure for the estimation of the effective dielectric function of a mixture, which incorporates percolation features, recently developed by the authors.     

Partitioning,bioavailability and origin of heavy metals from the Nador Lagoon sediments (Morocco) as a basis for their management

Nador Lagoon sediments show low trace element concentrations, and, in relation to the lagoon geochemical baseline, only some anomalies for As, Cd, Cu and Pb in the NW of the lagoon deserve to be outstanding. The distribution of major, minor and trace elements in the lagoon allows a breakdown in four zones. Between “Beni Ensar” and “Atelouane” (zone A), a quite confined zone rich in organic matter and S, the most important trace-element anomalies (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn) were found, mainly around industry and old mining activities. In the surrounding of the city of Nador (zone B), the anomalies correspond to Mn, Cu and Zn. The coastal barrier and Kebdana channel (zone C) show moderately concentrations of Cd, Cr and Ni at specific sites. The less polluted area is the SE of the lagoon (zone D), with no outstanding anomaly. In lagoon sediments, metal bioavailability is very low. The metal partitioning patterns show that Cu, Pb and Zn present a low availability because they are bounded to the residual, non-mobile phases of the sediments. Only in some sites, the fraction was associated with organic matter, which could be liberated easily. Arsenic is concentrated in both the residual phases and the organic matter, the latter being more available. Cadmium is mainly concentrated in some samples in the interchangeable fraction, which could be considered as a potentially toxic element because it is easily released. Concerning the origin of these trace elements, those found in zone A correspond mostly to a natural source by weathering of mount Gourougou volcanic rocks (As, Co, Cu, Pb and Zn), and to an anthropogenic origin (Cd) owing to the presence of industry and old mines. In zone B, contributions of Cu and Zn enter the lagoon through soil weathering and river-borne, and as anthropogenic pollution from urban wastes. In zone C the most important pollutant is Cd deduced to be of anthropogenic origin from the close industry and intensive agriculture area. In spite of the intense socio-economic activities developed in the Nador Lagoon (agriculture, industry, fishing, tourism) trace element concentrations in the sediments are low and with scarce bioavailability. Only the NW sector is relativity polluted because of geogenic features.     

Structural and kinematic analysis of the Corredoiras detachment: evidence for early Variscan synconvergent extension in the Ordenes Complex, NW Spain

 An important detachment is described in the allochthonous Ordenes Complex, in the NW Iberian Massif, and its meaning is related to the kinematics of contemporaneous convergent structures. The Corredoiras Detachment (CD) separates a hangingwall unit, characterised by a medium-pressure metamorphic gradient, from a footwall high-pressure and high-temperature unit and an underlying ophiolitic unit. An associated ductile shear zone, nearly 2000 m thick, developed in the lower part of the hangingwall unit, where the Corredoiras Orthogneiss, a Lower Ordovician metagranite, was progressively transformed into augengneisses, mylonitic and ultramylonitic gneisses. The attitude of the stretching and mineral lineation in the mylonites varies due to late refolding at map scale, but the sense of movement can be estimated, being roughly top to the SE. According to crosscutting relationships, the CD developed subsequent to the thrusting of the high-pressure/high-temperature unit onto the ophiolitic unit, and prior to younger extensional detachments, upright folding and strike-slip tectonics. The geometric relationships of the CD with the previous structures in the footwall unit, the subtractive character of the metamorphic gap between its hangingwall and footwall, and the available isotopic data suggest that the CD is an early Variscan, ductile extensional detachment, the movement of which was roughly simultaneous with the onset of thrusting of the allochthonous complexes over their relative autochthon. Received: 17 November 1998 / Accepted: 4 April 1999     

Estimating suspended sediment concentrations from turbidity measurements and the calibration problem

In situ turbidity meters are being increasingly used to generate continuous records of suspended sediment concentration in rivers. However, the usefulness of the information obtained depends heavily on the existence of a close relationship between fluctuations in suspended sediment concentration and turbidity and the calibration procedure that relates suspended sediment concentration to the turbidity meter's signal. This study assesses the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity for a small (1·19 km²) rural catchment in southern Brazil and evaluates two calibration methods by comparing the estimates of suspended sediment concentration obtained from the calibrated turbidity readings with direct measurements obtained using a USDH 48 suspended sediment sampler. With the first calibration method, the calibration relationship is derived by relating the turbidity readings to simultaneous measurements of concentration obtained from suspended sediment samples collected from the vicinity of the turbidity probe during flood events. With the second method, the calibration is based on the readings obtained from the turbidity meter when the probe immersed in samples of known concentration prepared using soils collected from the catchment. Overall, there was a close link between fluctuations in suspended sediment concentration and turbidity in the stream at the outlet of the catchment, and the estimates of sediment concentration obtained using the first calibration method corresponded closely with the conventionally measured sediment concentrations. However, use of the second calibration method introduced appreciable errors. When the estimated sediment concentrations were compared with the measured values, the mean errors were ± 122 mg l^?1 and + 601 mg l^?1 for the first and second calibration procedures respectively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.