Analytical investigation of the exact groundwater divide between rivers beyond the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation

The groundwater divide is a key feature of river basins and significantly influenced by subsurface hydrological processes. For an unconfined aquifer between two parallel rivers or ditches, it has long been defined as the top of the water table based on the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation. However, the exact groundwater divide is subject to the interface between two local flow systems transporting groundwater to rivers from the infiltration recharge. This study contributes a new analytical model for two-dimensional groundwater flow between rivers of different water levels. The flownet is delineated in the model to identify groundwater flow systems and the exact groundwater divide. Formulas with two dimensionless parameters are derived to determine the distributed hydraulic head, the top of the water table and the groundwater divide. The locations of the groundwater divide and the top of the water table are not the same. The distance between them in horizontal can reach up to 8.9% of the distance between rivers. Numerical verifications indicate that simplifications in the analytical model do not significantly cause misestimates in the location of the groundwater divide. In contrast, the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation yields an incorrect water table shape. The new analytical model is applied to investigate groundwater divides in the Loess Plateau, China, with a Monte Carlo simulation process taking into account the uncertainties in the parameters.     

长江中下游地区地下水卤素元素的形成及其分布规律

本文以丰富的实际资料，论证了地下水的卤素元素（F、Cl、Br、I）的形成、含量及其分布规律与含水介质成分、上覆岩土性质、地下水退流条件、氧化还原环境、地下水矿化度之间的关系。根据江汉平原东部区和鄱阳湖区地下水中Br、I元素的调查研究结果及它们形成的控制因素与分布规律，结合长江三角洲南部区水文地球化学环境条件分析对比，指出该区是一个形成Br、I矿泉水的有利地区。     

Hydrodynamic control of phytoplankton in low salinity waters of the James River estuary,Virginia, U.S.A.

Autotrophic biomass and productivity as well as nutrient distributions and phytoplankton cell populations in the James River estuary, Virginia, were quantified both spatially and temporally over a 17-month period. Emphasis was placed on the very low salinity region of the estuary in order to gain information on the fate of freshwater phytoplankters. Differing amounts of freshwater plant biomass are advected into the estuary as living material, DOC or POC and the demonstrated variability of this input must play an important role in marine biogeochemical cycling.Late summer and fall maxima in both chlorophyll a and the photosynthetic production of particulate organic carbon in very low salinity regions were inversely correlated with river discharge.During periods of low river discharge greater than 50% of the chlorophyll a biomass measured at 0‰ disappeared within a narrow range of salinity (0–2‰). Cell enumeration data suggest that species introduced from the freshwater end-member tend to comprise the bulk of the biomass removed. Confounding factors, which may contribute to the regulation of both the abundance and species of phytoplankters mid-river, include the flocculation of colloidal material with phytoplankton cells, the presence of the turbidity maximum and the growth of endemic phytoplankton populations.An inverse relationship exists between the phytoplankton abundance in very low salinity waters and the abundance of biomass measured in the lower portion of the river (estuary). Thus, autotrophic production in the fresh and very low salinity areas may indirectly regulate the onset on the spring bloom in the estuary by controlling the amount of nutrients available.     

River sediments,great floods and centennial‐scale Holocene climate change

A new analysis of all 346 published ¹⁴C dated Holocene alluvial units in Britain offers a unique insight into the regional impacts of global change and shows how surprisingly sensitive British rivers have been to relatively modest but repeated changes in climate. Fourteen major but probably brief periods of flooding are identified bracketed within the periods 400–1070, 1940–3940, 7520–8100 and at ca. 10 420 cal. yr BP. There is a strong correspondence between climatic deteriorations inferred from mire wet shifts and major periods of flooding, especially at ca. 8000 cal. yr BP and since ca. 4000 cal. yr BP. The unusually long and complete British record also demonstrates that alterations in land cover have resulted in a step change in river basin sensitivity to variations in climate. This has very important implications for assessing and mitigating the impact of increasing severe flooding. In small and medium‐sized river basins land use is likely to play a key role in either moderating or amplifying the climatic signal. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

WEKU – a GIS-Supported stochastic model of groundwater residence times in upper aquifers for the supraregional groundwater management

 The supraregional GIS-supported stochastical model, WEKU, for the determination of groundwater residence times in the upper aquifers of large groundwater provinces is presented. Using a two-dimensional analytical model of groundwater flow, groundwater residence times are determined within two extreme cases. In the first case, maximal groundwater residence times are calculated, representing the part of groundwater, that is drained by the main surface water of a groundwater catchment area. In the second case, minimal groundwater residence times for drainage into the nearest surface water are determined. Using explicit distribution functions of the input parameters, mean values as well as potential ranges of variations of the groundwater residence times are derived. The WEKU model has been used for the determination of groundwater residence times throughout Germany. The model results – mean values and deviations of the groundwater velocity and the maximal and minimal groundwater residence times in the upper aquifers – are presented by general maps and discussed in detail. It is shown that the groundwater residence times in the upper aquifer vary regionally, differentiated between less than 1 year and more than 2000 years. Using this information, the time scales can be specified, until measures to remediate polluted groundwater resources may lead to a substantial groundwater quality improvement in the different groundwater provinces of Germany. With respect to its supraregional scale of application, the WEKU model may serve as a useful tool for the supraregional groundwater management on a state, federal or international level. Received: 15 August 1995 · Accepted: 15 October 1995     

Distribution and fluxes of metals in the St. Lawrence River from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Québec City

Six anchor stations in the St. Lawrence River from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Quebec City, were occupied for ca. 24 hours in June 1987 during low flow conditions. Samples of water and suspended particulate matter were separated by continuous-flow centrifugation, and were collected every two hours.During this sampling period, fluxes of dissolved forms of zinc, copper and nickel increased in Lac St. François and downstream relative to the sum of the fluxes for the two upstream stations at the outflow of Lake Ontario. Increases in the flux of dissolved zinc and copper were pronounced below Montreal and above Lac St. Pierre. For particulate forms of metals, all five metals show that there are significant inputs in the section of the St. Lawrence River between Lac St. François and the station just above the entrance to Lac St. Pierre.The average concentrations of dissolved cadmium, lead, zinc, copper and nickel ranged from 7–23 ng/l; 9–35 ng/l; 0.434–0.939 g/l; 0.15–0.89 g/l and 0.58–1.12 g/l respectively.Regression analysis of the dissolved and particulate metal concentrations suggests that the concentration of dissolved cadmium, lead, zinc and nickel can be predicted from the regression equation and the determination of particulate metal concentration. This prediction appears to be independent of the suspended particulate matter concentration which varies from ca. 1 to 10 mg/l from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Québec City.     

Stratigraphy and sedimentation rates of Upper Cretaceous deep-water systems of the Rhenodanubian Group (Eastern Alps, Germany)

In the Bavarian Alps (Germany), west of the Isar River, the abyssal deposits of the Lower Barremian to Upper Campanian Rhenodanubian Group consist of siliciclastic and calcareous turbidites alternating with hemipelagic non-calcareous mudstones. The up to 1500-m-thick succession, deposited in the Penninic Basin to the south of the European Plate, is characterized by a low mean sedimentation rate (c. 25 mm kyr⁻¹) over 60 million years. Palaeocurrents and turbidite facies distribution patterns suggest that sedimentation occurred on a weakly inclined abyssal plain. The highest sedimentation rates (up to 240 mm kyr⁻¹) were associated with the calcareous mud turbidites of the newly defined Röthenbach Subgroup, which includes the Piesenkopf, Kalkgraben and Hällritz formations (Middle Coniacian to Middle Campanian). These calcareous turbidites prograded from the west, and interfinger towards the east with red hemipelagic claystone. A high sea level presumably favoured pelagic carbonate production and accumulation on the shelves and on internal platforms in the western part of the basin, whereas siliciclastic shelves with steep slope angles have bordered the eastern part of the basin, where a dearth of turbidite sedimentation and increased Cretaceous oceanic red beds deposition occurred. In contrast to the eustatically-induced Middle Coniacian to Lower Campanian Cretaceous oceanic red beds (calcareous nannoplankton zones CC14 to CC18), red hemipelagites of Early Cenomanian age (upper part of calcareous nannoplankton zone CC9) and early Late Campanian age (upper part of zone CC21 and zone CC22) are interpreted as the result of regional tectonic activity.     

Palynofacies and sea-level changes in the Upper Cretaceous of the Vocontian Basin, southeast France

Upper Cretaceous platform carbonates of the Vocontian Basin (southeastern France) have been investigated in a cross-section from the proximal deposits exposed in the lower Rhône Valley to the distal part of the basin in the Southern Subalpine Ranges north of Nice. The stratigraphic interval studied in detail spans the uppermost Turonian and Coniacian.Palynofacies patterns were used to detect eustatic signals at a third-order scale and are the tool for correlation of proximal and distal platform deposits. The organic constituents observed in the studied samples have been grouped into a continental fraction, including higher plant debris (phytoclasts) and sporomorphs, and a marine fraction with dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, prasinophytes, and foraminiferal test linings. The main factors influencing the stratigraphic and spatial distribution of land-derived, allochthonous, and marine, relatively autochthonous, organic particles are the proximity of land, the organic productivity, the degree of biodegradation and the hydrodynamic conditions of the depositional system. Palynofacies parameters used for the sequence stratigraphic interpretation are: (1) the ratio of continental to marine constituents (CONT/MAR ratio); (2) the ratio of opaque to translucent phytoclasts (OP/TR ratio); (3) the phytoclast particle size and shape; and (4) the relative proportion and species diversity of marine plankton. Ternary diagrams illustrating significant proximality changes were used to decipher transgressive-regressive trends within the succession.High amounts of translucent phytoclasts and decreasing values of the CONT/MAR ratio occur during the phase of relative sea-level rise in the upper Turonian. The stratigraphic interval of maximum flooding around the Turonian/Coniacian boundary is marked by the highest abundance and species diversity of dinoflagellate cysts, and by high percentages of opaque, equidimensional particles within the phytoclast group. The OP/TR ratio is still high within the lower Coniacian representing the early highstand deposits, whereas the relative abundance of marine constituents is again decreasing. Sedimentary organic matter of the upper Coniacian is dominated by large, blade-shaped, mainly opaque phytoclasts, which are a characteristic palynofacies signature of late highstand deposits.The present study demonstrates the high potential of palynofacies analysis in high-resolution stratigraphy and correlation of sedimentary series of shallow epeiric seas.     

Belemnites from the lower middle Cenomanian of Hoppenstedt, northern Germany: significance and integrated correlation

The belemnite species Praeactinocamax primus (Arkhangelsky, 1912) and Belemnocamax boweri Crick, 1910 are described from the Cenomanian of the abandoned limestone quarry section of Hoppenstedt (Sachsen-Anhalt, northern Germany). They co-occur in the upper part of a prominent tripartite bioclastic limestone bed associated with the ammonite Acanthoceras rhotomagense, indicating the primus Event of the lower middle Cenomanian A. rhotomagense ammonite Zone. An integrated stratigraphical calibration including carbon stable isotope correlation to southern England suggests that the belemnite event horizon at Hoppenstedt occupies exactly the same chronostratigraphical position as elsewhere, highlighting the strictly isochronous character of the primus Event across northwestern Europe. Furthermore, stratigraphical gaps in the Hoppenstedt succession are evaluated.