A novel approach for estimating karst groundwater recharge in mountainous regions and its application in Switzerland

A pragmatic and simple approach for estimating the groundwater recharge of karst aquifers in mountainous regions by extrapolation of the hydrological regimes of gauged and well‐documented systems is presented. Specific discharge rates are derived using annual precipitation and spring measurements by taking into account catchment size and elevation, which are assumed to be the dominant factors. Reference sites with high data reliability are used for calibration and regional extrapolation. This is performed with normalized values employing spatial precipitation deviations and correlation with the elevation of the catchment areas. A tiered step procedure provides minimum and maximum normalized gradients for the relationship between recharge quantity and elevation for karst regions. The normalized recharge can therefore be obtained and extrapolated for any location using the spatial precipitation variability to provide an estimate of annual groundwater recharge. The approach was applied to Switzerland (approximately 7500 km² of karst terrain situated between 200 and over 4000 m a.s.l.) using annual precipitation data from meteorological stations for the years 2000 to 2011. Results show that the average recharge rates of different Swiss karst domains range from 20 to 46 L/km²s, which corresponds to an infiltration ratio between 0.6 and 0.9 of total precipitation. Despite uncertainties inherent in the approach, these results provide a benchmark for renewable karst groundwater resources in Switzerland of about 8.4 km³/year. The approach can be applied to any other mountainous karst region, that is, where a clear relationship between elevation, precipitation and recharge can be assumed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissolved inorganic carbon evolution in neutral discharge from mine tailings piles

We measured the concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and major ions and the stable carbon isotope ratios of DIC (δ¹³C_DIC) in two creeks discharging from carbonate‐rich sulphide‐containing mine tailings piles. Our aim was to assess downstream carbon evolution of the tailings discharge as it interacted with the atmosphere. The discharge had pH of 6.5–8.1 and was saturated with respect to carbonates. Over the reach of one creek, the DIC concentrations decreased by 1.1 mmol C/l and δ¹³C_DIC increased by ~4.0‰ 200 m from the seep source. The decrease in the DIC concentrations was concomitant with decreases in the partial pressure of CO_2(aq) because of the loss of excess CO_2(aq) from the discharge. The corresponding enrichment in the δ¹³C_DIC is because of kinetic isotope fractionation accompanying the loss of CO_2(g). Over the reach of the other creek, there was no significant decrease in the DIC concentrations or notable changes in the δ¹³C_DIC. The insignificant change in the DIC concentrations and the δ¹³C_DIC is because the first water sample was collected 160 m away from the discharge seep, not accessible during this research. In this case, most of the excess CO_2(aq) was lost before our first sampling station. Our results indicate that neutral discharges from tailings piles quickly lose excess CO_2(aq) to the atmosphere and the DIC becomes enrich in ¹³C. We suggest that a significant amount of carbon cycling in neutral discharges from tailings piles occur close to the locations where the discharge seeps to the surface. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-term hydrological,biogeochemical, and climatological data from Walker Branch Watershed,East Tennessee,USA

In 1967, the original Walker Branch Watershed (WBW) project was established to study elemental cycling and mass balances in a relatively unimpacted watershed. Over the next 50+ years, findings from additional experimental studies and long-term observations on WBW advanced understanding of catchment hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology and established WBW as a seminal site for catchment science. The 97.5-ha WBW is located in East Tennessee, USA, on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation. Vegetation on the watershed is characteristic of an eastern deciduous, second-growth forest. The watershed is divided into two subcatchments: the West Fork (38.4 ha) and the East Fork (59.1 ha). Headwater streams draining these subcatchments are fed by multiple springs, and thus flow is perennial. Stream water is high in base cations due to weathering of dolomite bedrock and nutrient concentrations are low. Long-term observations of climate, hydrology, and biogeochemistry include daily (1969–2014) and 15-min (1994–2014) stream discharge and annual runoff (1969–2014); hourly, daily, and annual rainfall (1969–2012); daily climate and soil temperature (1993–2010); and weekly stream water chemistry (1989–2013). These long-term datasets are publicly available on the WBW website (https://walkerbranch.ornl.gov/long-term-data/ ). While collection of these data has ceased, related long-term measurements continue through the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where WBW is the core terrestrial and aquatic site in the Appalachian and Cumberland Plateau region (NEON's Domain 7) of the United States. These long-term datasets have been and will continue to be important in evaluating the influence of climatic and environmental drivers on catchment processes.     

Scales and magnitude of hyporheic,river–aquifer and bank storage exchange fluxes

Many studies have investigated the exchange processes that occur between rivers and groundwater systems and have successfully quantified the water fluxes involved. Specifically, these exchange processes include hyporheic exchange, river–aquifer exchange (groundwater discharge and river loss) and bank storage exchange. Remarkably, there are relatively few examples of field studies where more than one exchange process is quantified, and as a consequence, the relationships between them are not well understood. To compare the relative magnitudes of these common exchange processes, we have collected data from 54 studies that have quantified one or more of these exchange flux types. Each flux value is plotted against river discharge at the time of measurement to allow the different exchange flux types to be compared. We show that there are positive relationships between the magnitude of each exchange flux type and increasing river discharge across the different studies. For every one order of magnitude increase in river discharge, the hyporheic, river–aquifer and bank storage exchange fluxes increase by factors of 2.7, 2.9 and 2.5, respectively. On average, hyporheic exchange fluxes are almost an order of magnitude greater than river–aquifer exchange fluxes, which are, in turn, approximately four times greater than bank storage exchange fluxes for the same river discharge. Unless measurement approaches that can distinguish between different types of exchange flux are used, there is potential for hyporheic exchange fluxes to be misinterpreted as river–aquifer exchange fluxes, with possible implications for water resource management decisions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stormflow concentration–discharge dynamics of suspended sediment and dissolved phosphorus in an agricultural watershed

Concentration–discharge (C-Q) relationships are an effective tool for identifying watershed biogeochemical source and transport dynamics over short and long timescales. We examined stormflow C-Q, hysteresis, and flushing patterns of total suspended sediment (TSS) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in two stream reaches of a severely impaired agricultural watershed in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. The upper watershed reach—draining a relatively flat, row crop-dominated contributing area—showed predominantly anti-clockwise TSS hysteresis during storms, suggesting that particulate materials were mobilized more from distal upland sources than near- and in-channel areas. In contrast, the incised lower watershed reach produced strong TSS flushing responses on the rising limb of storm hydrographs and clockwise hysteresis, signalling rapid mobilization of near- and in-channel materials with increasing event flows. C-Q relationships for SRP showed complex patterns in both the upper and lower reaches, demonstrating largely non-linear chemodynamic C-Q behaviour during events. As with TSS, anti-clockwise SRP hysteresis in the upper reach suggested a delay in the hydrologic connectivity between SRP sources and the stream, with highly variable SRP concentrations during some events. A broad range of clockwise, anti-clockwise, and complex SRP hysteresis patterns occurred in the lower watershed, possibly influenced by in-channel legacy P stores and connection to tile drainage networks in the lower watershed area. Total suspended sediment and SRP responses were also strongly related to precipitation event characteristics including antecedent precipitation, recovery period, and precipitation intensity, highlighting the complexity of stormflow sediment and phosphorus responses in this severely impaired agricultural stream.     

Hydrology and geomorphology of the Upper White Nile lakes and their relevance for water resources management in the Nile basin

Remote sensing data and digital elevation models were utilized to extract the catchment hydrological parameters and to delineate storage areas for the Ugandan Equatorial Lakes region. Available rainfall/discharge data are integrated with these morphometric data to construct a hydrological model that simulates the water balance of the different interconnected basins and enables the impact of potential management options to be examined. The total annual discharges of the basins are generally very low (less than 7% of the total annual rainfall). The basin of the shallow (5 m deep) Lake Kioga makes only a minor hydrological contribution compared with other Equatorial Lakes, because most of the overflow from Lake Victoria basin into Lake Kioga is lost by evaporation and evapotranspiration. The discharge from Lake Kioga could be significantly increased by draining the swamps through dredging and deepening certain channel reaches. Development of hydropower dams on the Equatorial Lakes will have an adverse impact on the annual water discharge downstream, including the occasional reduction of flow required for filling up to designed storage capacities and permanently increasing the surface areas of water that is exposed to evaporation. On the basis of modelling studies, alternative sites are proposed for hydropower development and water storage schemes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于小波分析的抚松县降水量变化对矿泉水资源量的响应研究

大气降水是抚松县矿泉水资源的重要补给来源,探究其变化规律及极值概率对泉流量是否能够得到持续补给具有重要意义。为此,首先利用1960~2013年的降水资料和1981~2008年部分泉流量观测数据,对抚松县降水量的年内分配、年际变化和不同年代降水量均值变化进行降水特征分析;之后,运用皮尔逊Ⅲ型模型分析最大年降水量的概率分布;接着,利用1981年7月~2008年11月期间降水量和部分泉的泉流量监测数据,采用连续小波分析法对二者周期进行分析;最后,运用交叉小波变换法对同一时段内降水量和泉流量多时间尺度变化的相关性进行分析。结果表明:1960~2013年的54间,研究区内年降水量呈现周期性变化,变差系数为1.017×10-17,降水稳定,未发生异常变化。降水量和泉流量均存在约11个月的主震荡周期,二者属于同相位(即泉流量对降水量的变化产生即刻反应),降水量作为本区矿泉水补给的重要影响因素,可为矿泉水资源得到有效补给提供保证。     

高放废物处置库新疆阿奇山预选地段区域水文地质特征

新疆阿奇山地区是我国高放废物处置库预选地段之一。在野外调查、样品采集和测试的基础上,讨论了该地段区域水文地质特征,结果表明,阿奇山地段地下水可划分为松散岩类孔隙水、碎屑岩类裂隙孔隙水和基岩裂隙水3种类型,其单井涌水量一般10m~3/d,属于典型的低含水介质;区域地下水流向为自南东流向北西;位于吐鲁番盆地的艾丁湖一带为阿奇山地段地下水的最终排泄区。     

一种底座式ADCP流量自动监测探头支撑装置的研制与应用

在流量自动监测系统中,底座式ADCP设备探头位于河底,维修极为不便。该研制装置采用304不锈钢支架配合滑轮、钢索、绞盘等手摇传动系统,将底座式ADCP设备探头从河底传送到水上岸边检修台,实现对设备探头的维护、检修、更换、安装、调试等操作,再通过该装置将底座式ADCP设备探头传送到河底原位,经十里长街等站实际应用,运行稳定可靠,运用极为方便;该装置防磁、防锈、防腐性能良好,为底座式ADCP探头提供一个很好的工作环境,且结构简单,运输方便,可作为中小河流永久流量自动监测站装置使用。     

基于生态水力学法的金沙电站最小下泄流量计算

最小下泄流量的确定是环境影响评价工作的重点,以金沙水电站为例,采用生态水力学法,在综合评判河段水深、流速、水面宽、湿周率、过水断面面积等水力参数以及水力形态要素的基础上,确定金沙水电站最小下泄流量,以满足下游河道鱼类生产繁衍的必要条件。