Significance of enhanced infiltration due to groundwater extraction on the disappearance of a headwater lagoon system: Toluca Basin, Mexico

Mexico City relies significantly on groundwater resources drawn from the Sistema Lerma well field located in the Toluca Basin, Mexico. Enhanced infiltration caused by groundwater extraction is suspected to be both a prime factor in the disappearance of a lagoon system at the Toluca Basin and a potential risk to long-term groundwater quality. A combined approach of field investigation and numerical modeling was adopted to assess the groundwater-surface water interactions within the lagoon system. Potentiometric data indicate that current downward vertical hydraulic gradients below the lagoon and surrounding wetland area are extremely low suggesting very slow infiltration rates. Geochemical and isotope data from surface water and groundwater sampling also indicate that very little surface water infiltration has occurred. Numerical simulations demonstrate that enhanced surface water infiltration is unlikely to be the primary cause in the significant reduction in size of the lagoon system. Other factors such as modifications to the surface water drainage system and capture of spring flow from the surrounding mountainous regions are likely more significant. Simulations also suggest that contaminants originating in the lagoon system are currently entering nearby production wells although the total contaminant mass flux to the wells is still very low and significantly diluted.

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Resumen La Ciudad de México depende significativamente de los recursos de aguas subterráneas obtenidos del campo de pozos Sistema Lerma ubicado en la Cuenca Toluca, oeste de la Cuenca de México. Se sospecha que la infiltración estimulada causada por extracción intensiva de aguas subterráneas es un factor principal en la desaparición de un sistema de lagunas en la cabeceras del Río Lerma en el centro de México y un riesgo potencial para la calidad de aguas subterráneas a largo plazo en la región. Se adoptó un enfoque combinado de investigación de campo y modelizado numérico para evaluar las interacciones de agua superficial-agua subterránea dentro del sistema de lagunas. Datos potenciométricos indican que los gradientes hidráulicos verticales descendentes actuales, ubicados por debajo de la laguna y vecina área de humedales, son extremadamente bajos sugiriendo ritmos de infiltración muy lentos. Datos geoquímicos e isotópicos provenientes del muestreo de agua superficial y subterránea también indican que ha ocurrido muy poca infiltración de agua superficial. Las simulaciones numéricas demuestran cuantitativamente que no es probable que la infiltración estimulada de agua superficial sea la causa principal en la reducción significativa del tamaño del sistema de lagunas en la cabecera. Otros factores tal como modificaciones al sistema superficial de drenaje de agua y captura de flujo de manantial en las regiones montañosas vecinas son probablemente más significativos. Las simulaciones también sugieren que los contaminantes que se originan en el sistema de lagunas están actualmente ingresando a pozos de producción cercanos aunque el flujo de masa contaminante total a los pozos es aún muy bajo y diluido significativamente en los volúmenes grandes de extracción. La magnitud de la amenaza a largo plazo a la calidad del agua subterránea en los pozos de producción Sistema Lerma proveniente de contaminantes infiltrados es una preocupación y amerita estudios futuros.

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Résumé La Cité de Mexico dépend significativement des ressources en eau souterraine pompées au site de captages de Sistema Lerma, dans le Bassin de Toluca, à lOuest du Bassin de Mexico. Laugmentation de linfiltration, causée par lextraction extensive des eaux souterraines, est suspectée dêtre à la fois un facteur primaire de la disparition dun système de lagons en amont de la rivière Lerma au centre de Mexico, et un risque potentiel à long-terme pour la qualité de leau souterraine dans la région. Uen approche combinée détudes de terrain et de modélisation numérique a été adoptée pour estimer les interactions entre les eaux de surface et les eaux souterraines, au sein du système de lagons. Les données potentiométriques indiquent que les gradients hydrauliques verticaux descendants sont très bas au niveau des lagons, ce qui suppose un taux dinfiltration faible. Les données géochimiques et isotopiques provenant des eaux de surface et souterraines, indiquent également que peu deau de surface sinfiltrent. La simulation numérique démontre quantitativement que laugmentation de linfiltration des eaux de surface nest probablement pas la première cause de réduction des lagons. Dautres facteurs, tels que les modifications du drainage des eaux de surface, laménagement en captage des sources situées aux pieds des montagnes environnantes, sont probablement plus importants. Les simulations suggèrent également que les contaminants provenant des lagons se retrouvent également dans les captages les plus proches, bien que le flux total de contaminants entrant dans les captages reste faible. Les volumes dextraction étant très important ils diluent effectivement les contaminants. Les effets à long-terme de lextraction critique au niveau des forages de Sistema Lerma et de la dégradation de la qualité des eaux souterraines par les contaminants, nécessite une grande attention pour le futur.

     

RNDSI: A ratio normalized difference soil index for remote sensing of urban/suburban environments

Understanding land use land cover change (LULCC) is a prerequisite for urban planning and environment management. For LULCC studies in urban/suburban environments, the abundance and spatial distributions of bare soil are essential due to its biophysically different properties when compared to anthropologic materials. Soil, however, is very difficult to be identified using remote sensing technologies majorly due to its complex physical and chemical compositions, as well as the lack of a direct relationship between soil abundance and its spectral signatures. This paper presents an empirical approach to enhance soil information through developing the ratio normalized difference soil index (RNDSI). The first step involves the generation of random samples of three major land cover types, namely soil, impervious surface areas (ISAs), and vegetation. With spectral signatures of these samples, a normalized difference soil index (NDSI) was proposed using the combination of bands 7 and 2 of Landsat Thematic Mapper Image. Finally, a ratio index was developed to further highlight soil covers through dividing the NDSI by the first component of tasseled cap transformation (TC1). Qualitative (e.g., frequency histogram and box charts) and quantitative analyses (e.g., spectral discrimination index and classification accuracy) were adopted to examine the performance of the developed RNDSI. Analyses of results and comparative analyses with two other relevant indices, biophysical composition index (BCI) and enhanced built-up and bareness Index (EBBI), indicate that RNDSI is promising in separating soil from ISAs and vegetation, and can serve as an input to LULCC models.     

增强型地热系统（EGS）的裂隙模拟方法

增强型地热系统（EGS）是在干热岩技术基础上提出来的一个清洁能源概念,水力压裂建立人工热储是开采地下干热岩热能的有效方法之一。利用TOUGH2系列软件对增强型地热系统进行模拟,具体介绍了对水压致裂过程中裂隙网络模拟的处理方法。裂隙中的水流可以采用不同的概念模型,最为常见的模型包括双空隙率、双渗透率、多重相互作用连续统一体（MINC）以及有效连续统一体（ECM）,这些模型明确了对离散的裂隙和基质的模拟方法。应根据基质的渗透性和裂隙的性质灵活地选择裂隙处理方法,也可将不同方法结合起来使用。提出了几种有效的混合模拟方案,对将来高温岩体地热开发具有重要意义。     

增强型多时相云检测

针对云检测在高亮度地表以及雪覆盖区域存在过度检测的问题,设计了一种不依赖热红外波段的增强型多时相云检测EMTCD(Enhanced Multiple Temporal Cloud Detection)算法。首先,利用云的光谱特征建立单时相云检测规则,并基于云、雪的光谱差异构建了增强型云指数ECI(Enhanced Cloud Index),改进了云、雪的区分能力;其次,以同一区域无云影像为参考,基于ECI指数构建了多时相云检测算法,较好地克服了单时相云检测中高亮度地表、雪和云容易混淆的问题,提高了云检测的精度;最后,选择两个典型区域的Landsat-8 OLI影像,对比分析了不同算法的云检测结果。实验结果表明:ECI指数能够有效区分云、雪,EMTCD方法的平均检测精度达到93.2%,高于Fmask(Function of mask)(81.85%)、MTCD(Multi-Temporal Cloud Detection)(66.14%)和Landsat-8地表反射率产品LaSRC(Landsat-8 Surface Reflectance Code)的云检测结果(86.3%)。因此,本文提出的EMTCD云检测算法能够有效地减少高亮度地表和雪的干扰,实现不依赖热红外波段的高精度云检测。     

Lp模反褶积及其在地震勘探中的应用

在文献[1,2]的基础上,本文提出一种矩阵逆迭代和增强强反射的自适应算法,方法简明,使用方便。理论模拟和实际资料处理结果说明该法是很有效的。     

ANAEROBIC DECHLORINATION OF PCBs IN SEDIMENTS OF KINNICKINNIC RIVER, WISCONSIN

1 INTRODUCTION Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used for several decades in a variety of industrial applications such as for transformers, capacitors, and hydraulic fluids (Rachdawong and Christensen, 1997). Because of their stability and desirable hydraulic and dielectric properties, PCBs were used extensively. However, later it became clear that they can be toxic and can have deleterious reproductive effects on biota and humans. They may also display dioxin-like toxicity…     

Natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents: a comparative study

Sites contaminated by chlorinated solvents have been investigated. Sites Dolni Tresnovec and Zetor located in Czech Republic exhibit relatively reducing conditions. Primary chlorinated solvents are attenuated by reductive dechlorination processes, and plumes have probably reached steady-state at Zetor site. Terminal electron accepting processes (TEAP) are ferric iron reduction and sulfate reduction at respective Dolni Tresnovec and Zetor sites. Source of organic matter at Dolni Tresnovec site is the waste deposited at local landfill. At Zetor site reducing conditions are linked to the petroleum hydrocarbons spill from broken pipeline. In contrast, site Dubnica in Slovak Republic exhibits oxidizing conditions, and natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents occurs mostly by dispersion. Modeling by the program BIOCHLOR indicated formation of steady-state plumes close to source at Zetor site, much longer steady-state plumes at Dolni Tresnovec site, and extremely long plumes at Dubnica site. Results demonstrate an important role of redox conditions in natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents.     

Accessibility to sport facilities in Wales: A GIS-based analysis of socio-economic variations in provision

Previous studies concerned with investigating the relationship between levels of physical activity and aspects of the built environment have often led to inconsistent and mixed findings concerning associations between the availability of recreational or sport facilities and area socio-economic status. Further complications may arise when analysis is conducted separately for access to either publicly available or private facilities or where alternative methodological approaches to measuring accessibility are adopted. This paper provides a review of such research before exploring the potential use of methods for examining variations in accessibility based on enhanced floating catchment area (FCA) models which are increasingly being advocated in medical geography applications. Using bespoke tools developed within a commercial GIS package, which are being made publicly available by the authors, and a national database of sport facilities, variations in accessibility are investigated in relation to a widely used measure of deprivation in the UK. Findings from this analysis suggest that whilst those living in deprived areas of Wales have greater potential access to publicly available sporting opportunities, associations with privately owned facilities are reversed for some distance thresholds and at different spatial scales. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the implications of such findings given current financial pressures on local government and other sport and leisure providers and highlights how spatial analytical techniques can be used to monitor such trends.     

CO2-induced dissolution of low permeability carbonates. Part II: Numerical modeling of experiments

We used the 3D continuum-scale reactive transport models to simulate eight core flood experiments for two different carbonate rocks. In these experiments the core samples were reacted with brines equilibrated with pCO₂ = 3, 2, 1, 0.5 MPa (Smith et al., 2013 [27]). The carbonate rocks were from specific Marly dolostone and Vuggy limestone flow units at the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. Initial model porosity, permeability, mineral, and surface area distributions were constructed from micro tomography and microscopy characterization data. We constrained model reaction kinetics and porosity–permeability equations with the experimental data. The experimental data included time-dependent solution chemistry and differential pressure measured across the core, and the initial and final pore space and mineral distribution. Calibration of the model with the experimental data allowed investigation of effects of carbonate reactivity, flow velocity, effective permeability, and time on the development and consequences of stable and unstable dissolution fronts.The continuum scale model captured the evolution of distinct dissolution fronts that developed as a consequence of carbonate mineral dissolution and pore scale transport properties. The results show that initial heterogeneity and porosity contrast control the development of the dissolution fronts in these highly reactive systems. This finding is consistent with linear stability analysis and the known positive feedback between mineral dissolution and fluid flow in carbonate formations. Differences in the carbonate kinetic drivers resulting from the range of pCO₂ used in the experiments and the different proportions of more reactive calcite and less reactive dolomite contributed to the development of new pore space, but not to the type of dissolution fronts observed for the two different rock types. The development of the dissolution front was much more dependent on the physical heterogeneity of the carbonate rock. The observed stable dissolution fronts with small but visible dissolution fingers were a consequence of the clustering of a small percentage of larger pores in an otherwise homogeneous Marly dolostone. The observed wormholes in the heterogeneous Vuggy limestone initiated and developed in areas of greater porosity and permeability contrast, following pre-existing preferential flow paths.Model calibration of core flood experiments is one way to specifically constrain parameter input used for specific sites for larger scale simulations. Calibration of the governing rate equations and constants for Vuggy limestones showed that dissolution rate constants reasonably agree with published values. However the calcite dissolution rate constants fitted to the Marly dolostone experiments are much lower than those suggested by literature. The differences in fitted calcite rate constants between the two rock types reflect uncertainty associated with measured reactive surface area and appropriately scaling heterogeneous distribution of less abundant reactive minerals. Calibration of the power-law based porosity–permeability equations was sensitive to the overall heterogeneity of the cores. Stable dissolution fronts of the more homogeneous Marly dolostone could be fit with the exponent n = 3 consistent with the traditional Kozeny–Carman equation developed for porous sandstones. More impermeable and heterogeneous cores required larger n values (n = 6–8).     

Development of large-area land cover and forest change indicators using multi-sensor Landsat imagery: Application to the Humber River Basin,Canada

Monitoring ecological indicators is important for assessing impacts of human activities on ecosystems. A means of identifying and applying appropriate indicators is a prerequisite for: environmental assessment; better assessment and understanding of ecosystem health; elucidation of biogeochemical trends; and more accurate predictions of future responses to global change, particularly those due to anthropogenic disturbance. The challenge is to derive meaningful indicators of change that capture the complexities of ecosystems yet can be monitored consistently over large areas and across time. In this study, methods for monitoring indicators of land cover (LC) and forest change were developed using multi-sensor Landsat imagery. Mapping and updating procedures were applied to the Humber River Basin (HRB) in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of four test sites in Canada selected for testing the development of national-scale methods. Procedures involved unsupervised clustering and labeling of baseline imagery, followed by image-to-image spectral clustering to derive binary change masks within which new LC types were classified for non-baseline imagery. Updated maps were compatible with the baseline map and reflected change in LC for three time periods: 1976–1990, 1990–2001, and 2001–2007. From the LC products, several change indicators were quantified including: forest depletion, forest regeneration, forest change, net forest change, and annual rates of change. The procedures were validated using field plots to assess the accuracy of the 2007 LC product (74.2% for 10 LC classes) and change classes observed from 2001 to 2007 (87.8% for four change classes: depletion, regeneration, non-treed class no change, and treed class no change). Methods were considered to be highly efficient and operationally feasible over large areas spanning multiple Landsat scenes. Specific results for the test site provided trend information supporting land and resource management in the HRB region.