Regional-scale groundwater flow in a Canadian Shield setting

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 813-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan F. Sykes ◽  
Stefano D. Normani ◽  
Mark R. Jensen ◽  
Edward A. Sudicky
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Complex Surface ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Water Drainage ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Matrix Permeability

A three-dimensional numerical analysis of a 5734 km2 watershed situated in the Canadian Shield has been conducted to illustrate aspects of regional-scale groundwater flow in a crystalline rock setting. An essential requirement of the analysis is the preservation and accurate description of the complex topography, surface water drainage network, groundwater salinity distribution, and permeability distributions. The postglacial evolution of the groundwater flow system was investigated using the finite difference model SWIFT-III. Robustness was assessed by exploring the sensitivity of groundwater flow to topography, variable matrix permeability distribution models, pore-water salinity, and the dissipation of elevated initial pore pressures that result from ice that overlaid the watershed in the last glacial period. Groundwater flow analyses indicate that freshwater heads in all model layers are highly correlated with the complex surface topography such that the transition from zones of groundwater recharge to zones of discharge occurs over distances that can be relatively short. Shallow flow to a depth of tens of metres dominates the overall water balance, and the length of flow paths is relatively short. The analyses of this study indicate that the flow in deeper rock is not regional but rather is a subdued reflection of the local-scale surface topography.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional hydrostratigraphy and groundwater flow models in complex Quaternary deposits and weathered/fractured bedrock: evaluating increasing model complexity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Charlotta Åberg ◽  
Annika Katarina Åberg ◽  
Kirsti Korkka-Niemi
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
Quaternary Sediments ◽  
Fractured Bedrock ◽  
Flow Models ◽  
Flow Modelling ◽  
Crystalline Bedrock ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
Geological Units

AbstractGreater complexity in three-dimensional (3D) model structures yields more plausible groundwater recharge/discharge patterns, especially in groundwater/surface-water interactions. The construction of a 3D hydrostratigraphic model prior to flow modelling is beneficial when the hydraulic conductivity of geological units varies considerably. A workflow for 3D hydrostratigraphic modelling with Leapfrog Geo and flow modelling with MODFLOW-NWT was developed. It was used to evaluate how the modelling results for groundwater flow and recharge/discharge patterns differ when using simple or more complex hydrostratigraphic models. The workflow was applied to a study site consisting of complex Quaternary sediments underlain by fractured and weathered crystalline bedrock. Increasing the hydrostratigraphic detail appeared to improve the fit between the observed and simulated water table, and created more plausible groundwater flow patterns. Interlayered zones of low and high conductivity disperse the recharge/discharge patterns, increasing the vertical flow component. Groundwater flow was predominantly horizontal in models in which Quaternary sediments and bedrock were simplified as one layer per unit. It appears to be important to define the interlayered low-conductivity units, which can limit groundwater infiltration and also affect groundwater discharge patterns. Explicit modelling with Leapfrog Geo was found to be effective but time-consuming in the generation of scattered and thin-layered strata.

scholarly journals Combining 3D Structured Light Imaging and Spine X-ray Data Improves Visualization of the Spinous Lines in the Scoliotic Spine

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 301
Author(s):  
Sławomir Paśko ◽  
Wojciech Glinkowski
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Exposure ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Structured Light ◽  
Spinous Process ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Spinous Processes

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional trunk and spinal deformity. Patient evaluation is essential for the decision-making process and determines the selection of specific and adequate treatment. The diagnosis requires a radiological evaluation that exposes patients to radiation. This exposure reaches hazardous levels when numerous, repetitive radiographic studies are required for diagnostics, monitoring, and treatment. Technological improvements in radiographic devices have significantly reduced radiation exposure, but the risk for patients remains. Optical three-dimensional surface topography (3D ST) measurement systems that use surface topography (ST) to screen, diagnose, and monitor scoliosis are safer alternatives to radiography. The study aimed to show that the combination of plain X-ray and 3D ST scans allows for an approximate presentation of the vertebral column spinous processes line in space to determine the shape of the spine’s deformity in scoliosis patients. Twelve patients diagnosed with scoliosis, aged 13.1 ± 4.5 years (range: 9 to 20 years) (mean: Cobb angle 17.8°, SD: ±9.5°) were enrolled in the study. Patients were diagnosed using full-spine X-ray and whole torso 3D ST. The novel three-dimensional assessment of the spinous process lines by merging 3D ST and X-ray data in patients with scoliosis was implemented. The method’s expected uncertainty is less than 5 mm, which is better than the norm for a standard measurement tool. The presented accuracy level is considered adequate; the proposed solution is accurate enough to monitor the changes in the shape of scoliosis’s spinous processes line. The proposed method allows for a relatively precise calculation of the spinous process lines based on a three-dimensional point cloud obtained with a four-directional, three-dimensional structured light diagnostic system and a single X-ray image. The method may help reduce patients’ total radiation exposure and avoid one X-ray in the sagittal projection if biplanar radiograms are required for reconstructing the three-dimensional line of the spinous processes line.

scholarly journals Nonlinear effects of locally heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity fields on regional stream–aquifer exchanges

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 4531-4545 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zhu ◽  
C. L. Winter ◽  
Z. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Effective Conductivity ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Heihe River ◽  
Effective Parameters ◽  
Aquifer Systems ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Local Grid

Abstract. Computational experiments are performed to evaluate the effects of locally heterogeneous conductivity fields on regional exchanges of water between stream and aquifer systems in the Middle Heihe River basin (MHRB) of northwestern China. The effects are found to be nonlinear in the sense that simulated discharges from aquifers to streams are systematically lower than discharges produced by a base model parameterized with relatively coarse effective conductivity. A similar, but weaker, effect is observed for stream leakage. The study is organized around three hypotheses: (H1) small-scale spatial variations of conductivity significantly affect regional exchanges of water between streams and aquifers in river basins, (H2) aggregating small-scale heterogeneities into regional effective parameters systematically biases estimates of stream–aquifer exchanges, and (H3) the biases result from slow paths in groundwater flow that emerge due to small-scale heterogeneities. The hypotheses are evaluated by comparing stream–aquifer fluxes produced by the base model to fluxes simulated using realizations of the MHRB characterized by local (grid-scale) heterogeneity. Levels of local heterogeneity are manipulated as control variables by adjusting coefficients of variation. All models are implemented using the MODFLOW (Modular Three-dimensional Finite-difference Groundwater Flow Model) simulation environment, and the PEST (parameter estimation) tool is used to calibrate effective conductivities defined over 16 zones within the MHRB. The effective parameters are also used as expected values to develop lognormally distributed conductivity (K) fields on local grid scales. Stream–aquifer exchanges are simulated with K fields at both scales and then compared. Results show that the effects of small-scale heterogeneities significantly influence exchanges with simulations based on local-scale heterogeneities always producing discharges that are less than those produced by the base model. Although aquifer heterogeneities are uncorrelated at local scales, they appear to induce coherent slow paths in groundwater fluxes that in turn reduce aquifer–stream exchanges. Since surface water–groundwater exchanges are critical hydrologic processes in basin-scale water budgets, these results also have implications for water resources management.

Study on Feed Offset in Elliptical Vibration Cutting

2014 ◽  
Vol 490-491 ◽  
pp. 600-606
Author(s):  
Jie Qiong Lin ◽  
Jin Guo Han ◽  
Dan Jing ◽  
Xian Jing
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Surface Quality ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Curved Surface ◽  
Elliptical Vibration Cutting ◽  
Vibration Cutting ◽  
Elliptical Vibration ◽  
Tool Edge

Elliptical vibration cutting (EVC) process and three dimensional cutting surfaces are analyzed in this paper to understand the formation of surface topography. The model of EVC surface topography is established based on curved surface remove function under the assumption that the tool edge is sharp enough. And simulation analysis of surface topography is conducted with different feed offset ratios. Results indicate that RMS change with feed offset ratios λ. The range of RMS is larger when feed offset ratio ranges from both 0 to 0.4 and 0.6 to 1, while the range is smaller when feed offset ratio changes from 0.4 to 0.6. Whats more, RMS reaches the minimum when feed offset ratio is 0.5. The present research provides some references for reducing the height of vibration ripples and improving EVC surface quality.

Analyses of groundwater flow and plant evapotranspiration in a vegetated soil slope

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 1204-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K. Leung ◽  
C.W.W. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Soil Slopes ◽  
Transient Seepage

Understanding seasonal hydrogeological responses of vegetated soil slopes is vital to slope stability because pore-water pressure (PWP) varies from positive values upon rainfall in wet seasons to negative values upon plant evapotranspiration (ET) in dry seasons. There are, however, few case histories that report seasonal performance of vegetated soil slopes. In this study, a vegetated slope situated in Hong Kong was instrumented to analyse (i) groundwater flow during rainfall in the wet season and (ii) effects of plant ET on PWP in the dry season. Two- and three-dimensional anisotropic transient seepage analyses are conducted to identify groundwater flow mechanism(s) during a heavy rainstorm. Through water and energy balance calculations, measured plant-induced suction is interpreted with plant characteristic and climatic data. During the rainstorm, substantial recharge of the groundwater table was recorded, likely due to preferential water flow along relict joints and three-dimensional cross-slope groundwater flow. During the dry season, the peak suction induced by plant ET is up to 200 kPa and the depth of influence is shallower than 200% of the root depth. For the range of suctions monitored, root-water uptake is revealed to have been restricted by suction not very significantly and was driven mainly by the climatic variation.

Three-dimensional surface topography segmentation through clustering

Wear ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 262 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 395-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Senin ◽  
M. Ziliotti ◽  
R. Groppetti
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Surface

scholarly journals Programming the shape-shifting of flat soft matter: from self-rolling/self-twisting materials to self-folding origami

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 536-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Janbaz ◽  
R. Hedayati ◽  
A. A. Zadpoor
Keyword(s):  
Soft Matter ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Complex Surface ◽  
Surface Features

Rational programming of the shape-shifting behavior of flat materials (possibly decorated with complex surface features) to create complex three-dimensional structures.

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