Ecological Engineering Approaches to Improve Hydraulic Properties of Infiltration Basins Designed for Groundwater Recharge

Morgane Gette-Bouvarot; Laurence Volatier; Laurent Lassabatere; Damien Lemoine; Laurent Simon; Cécile Delolme; Florian Mermillod-Blondin

doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01642

Dating of Groundwater Recharge in Two Small Adjacent Aquifers in Israel and Their Initial 14C Activities

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s003382220003441x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 137-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J Guttman ◽

J Kronfeld ◽

I Carmi

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Unsaturated Zone ◽

Hydraulic Properties ◽

Isotopic Fractionation ◽

Apparent Difference ◽

Pleistocene Aquifer ◽

Fractionation Factors

Radiocarbon and tritium determinations were carried out in 2 adjacent small aquifers in Israel. These aquifers have small storage capacities and good hydraulic properties. Darcy calculations suggest that the aquifers contain young waters, ≃50 yr in age. 14C concentrations in the Pleistocene aquifer are between 23–60 pMC, with the lowest activity related to contamination by petroleum-based fertilizers with no 14C. 14C concentrations in the Judea Group aquifer range from 62 to 95 pMC. An apparent difference of ≃1000 yr is indicated for the average recharge age between the 2 aquifers. The tritium data suggests that the water in both aquifers is quite young. The 1000-yr difference is an artifact of initial isotopic fractionation differences through the unsaturated zone as established elsewhere for these 2 aquifers. When these individual fractionation factors (0.54 for the Pleistocene and 0.62 for the Judea Group) are used, it is revealed that both aquifers contain young water, in agreement with the Darcy calculation, which was recharged at the beginning of the period of thermonuclear atmospheric testing in the early 1960s.

Download Full-text

Uncertainty in soil hydraulic properties limits the predictability of global water and carbon dynamics

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7127 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Athanasios Paschalis ◽

Sara Bonetti ◽

Yiannis Moustakis ◽

Simone Fatichi

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Hydraulic Properties ◽

Uncertainty Propagation ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Ecosystem Dynamics ◽

Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽

Energy Fluxes ◽

Hydrological Fluxes ◽

Soil Hydraulic ◽

Runoff Production

Water transport at the land surface and in the soil &#8211; the critical zone - is highly dependent on the soil hydraulic properties. Such properties influence simultaneously the terrestrial water and carbon cycles as they determine the water fluxes in the soil and the soil&#8217;s water holding capacity, ultimately affecting runoff production, groundwater recharge, and the amount and temporal variability of plant available water (i.e. plant water stress). Despite their paramount importance, limited global information concerning the spatial distribution of soil hydraulic properties currently exists. Information at the global scale, commonly used in Earth System Models, mostly originates from pedotransfer functions (PTFs). PFTs are empirical relations that express the dependence of soil hydraulic properties on easily measured attributes as soil properties. Several PFTs currently exist, which adopt different formulations, spanning from simple linear regressions to elaborate machine learning, and are trained with different datasets, yielding different soil hydraulic properties for the same soil texture. &#160;&#160;The question we ask in this study is: how does uncertainty in the soil hydraulic parameters propagate in global ecosystem responses? To achieve this, we deploy a numerical experiment covering many different ecosystems. The terrestrial ecosystem model T&C is used to model energy, water, and carbon dynamics at 80 locations worldwide, spanning all climatological regimes, major biomes and soil types. Soil hydraulic properties at each site were estimated using six widely used PTFs starting from local soil textural information. Uncertainty propagation from soil hydraulic properties to modelled ecosystem dynamics was evaluated for all sites and its dependence on soil textural properties and local topography was quantified.Our results highlight that uncertainty propagation from hydraulic properties to ecosystem dynamics is much stronger for hydrological fluxes (e.g. infiltration, groundwater recharge and runoff production) than carbon dynamics (e.g. gross and net primary productivity and leaf area dynamics) or energy fluxes (net radiation, sensible and latent heat). Uncertainty in hydrological fluxes can be up to 400% using different PTFs, whereas uncertainties in carbon and energy fluxes are typically less than 20%. The largest uncertainties were observed for slow draining soils, containing large fractions of clay, located in regions with intermediate values of wetness (i.e. annual precipitation &#8776; annual potential evapotranspiration). Complex topographic features further enhance the role of uncertainty in soil hydraulic properties. Lateral water redistribution affects both runoff production and soil moisture dynamics increasing the effects on both hydrological and carbon dynamics.

Download Full-text

Prediction of changes in groundwater dynamics caused by relocation of river embankments

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-7-67-2003 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 67-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

U. Mohrlok

Keyword(s):

Numerical Modelling ◽

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Hydraulic Properties ◽

Quantitative Prediction ◽

Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽

Statistical Parameters ◽

Groundwater Levels ◽

Groundwater Dynamics ◽

Soil Hydraulic ◽

River Embankment

Abstract. Ecosystems in river valleys are affected mainly by the hydraulic conditions in wetlands including groundwater dynamics. The quantitative prediction of changes in groundwater dynamics caused by river embankment relocation requires numerical modelling using a physically-based approach. Groundwater recharge from the intermittently flooded river plains was determined by a leakage approach considering soil hydraulic properties. For the study area in the Elbe river valley north of Magdeburg, Germany, a calibrated groundwater flow model was established and the groundwater dynamics for the present situation as well as for the case of embankment relocation were simulated over a 14-year time period. Changes in groundwater depth derived from simulated groundwater levels occurred only during flood periods. By analysing the spatial distributions of changes in statistical parameters, those areas with significant impact on the ecosystems by embankment relocation can be determined. Keywords: groundwater dynamics,groundwater recharge, flood plains, soil hydraulic properties, numerical modelling, river embankment relocation

Download Full-text