scholarly journals Characterization of Hydraulic Heterogeneity of Alluvial Aquifer Using Natural Stimuli: A Field Experience of Northern Italy

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco D’Oria ◽  
Andrea Zanini
Keyword(s):  
Computer Code ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Alluvial Aquifer ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Natural Stimuli ◽  
Geostatistical Approach ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Lake Stage ◽  
Hydraulic Heterogeneity

This study investigates the hydraulic heterogeneity of the alluvial aquifer underneath the dam and the stilling basin of a flood protection structure in Northern Italy. The knowledge of the interactions between the water in the reservoir upstream of the dam and the groundwater levels is relevant for the stability of the structure. A Bayesian Geostatistical Approach (BGA) combined with a groundwater flow model developed in MODFLOW 2005 has been used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity (HK) field in a context of a highly parameterized inversion. The transient hydraulic heads collected in 14 monitoring points represent the calibration dataset; these observations are the results of the hydraulic stresses induced by the variations of the lake stage upstream of the dam (natural stimuli). The geostatistical inversion was performed by means of a computer code, bgaPEST, developed according to the free PEST software concept. The results of the inversion show a moderate degree of heterogeneity of the estimated HK field, consistent with the alluvial nature of the aquifer and the other information available. The calibrated groundwater model is useful for simulating the interactions between the reservoir and the studied aquifer under different flood scenarios and for forecasting the hydraulic head levels due to strong flood events. The use of natural stimuli is useful for obtaining information for aquifer heterogeneity characterization.

scholarly journals Searching for the effects of the May-June 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (northern Italy): medium-depth deformation structures at the periphery of the epicentral area

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Borgatti ◽  
Antonio Edoardo Bracci ◽  
Stefano Cremonini ◽  
Giovanni Martinelli
Keyword(s):  
Ground Level ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Seismic Sequence ◽  
Surface Phenomena ◽  
Po River ◽  
Epicentral Area ◽  
Ground Fissures ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Geological Surveys ◽  
Emilia Romagna Region

<p>In 2012, a seismic sequence occurred in the lowlands of the Emilia-Romagna Region (northern Italy), between the borders of the Modena, Ferrara and Bologna Provinces. It consisted of seven mainshocks (5.9 &gt; Ml &gt; 5) that were recorded between May 20 and 29, 2012 [INGV 2012a] and 2,200 minor earthquakes [INGV 2012b]. An interferometric analysis [Bignami et al. 2012, Salvi et al. 2012, this volume] highlighted three main deformation areas, each of which was 12 km wide (from S to N) and 10 km to 20 km long in an ESE-WNW to E-W direction, thus affecting an area of about 600 km2 (Figure 1). Field and aerial geological surveys recorded numerous surficial effects, such as: (i) sediment liquefaction [Crespellani et al. 2012]; (ii) localized ground fissures resembling surficial faulting [Fioravante and Giretti 2012] (Figure 2); (iii) groundwater levels rising up to 400 cm above the local ground level in phreatic wells during the mainshocks (lower values were observed in confined aquifers); and (iv) dormancy of previously known sinkholes [Borgatti et al. 2010, Cremonini 2010a, and references therein]. Some of the observed surface phenomena were previously recorded as coseismic effects during the earthquakes of Ferrara (1570) and Argenta (1624) [Boschi et al. 1995, Galli 2000], together with the early rising of the water level of the Po River in the Stellata section. […]</p>

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Modelling Approach to Assess Water Use Efficiencies of Different Irrigation Management Options in Rice Irrigation Districts of Northern Italy

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Mayer ◽  
Michele Rienzner ◽  
Sandra Cesari de Maria ◽  
Marco Romani ◽  
Alberto Lasagna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Irrigation District ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Channel Network ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Rice Irrigation ◽  
Winter Flooding ◽  
Irrigation Drainage

European rice production is concentrated in limited areas of a small number of countries. Italy is the largest European producer with over half of the total production grown on an area of 220,000 hectares, predominantly located in northern Italy. The traditional irrigation management (wet seeding and continuous flooding until few weeks before harvest—WFL) requires copious volumes of water. In order to propose effective ‘water-saving’ irrigation alternatives, there is the need to collect site-specific observational data and, at the same time, to develop agro-hydrological models to upscale field/farm experimental data to a spatial scale of interest to support water management decisions and policies. The semi-distributed modelling system developed in this work, composed of three sub-models (agricultural area, groundwater zone, and channel network), allows us to describe water fluxes dynamics in rice areas at the irrigation district scale. Once calibrated for a 1000 ha district located in northern Italy using meteorological, hydrological and land-use data of a recent four-year period (2013–2016), the model was used to provide indications on the effects of different irrigation management options on district irrigation requirements, groundwater levels and irrigation/drainage network efficiency. Four scenarios considering a complete conversion of rice irrigation management over the district were implemented: WFL; DFL—dry seeding and delayed flooding; WDA—alternate wetting and drying; WFL-W—WFL followed by post-harvest winter flooding from 15 November to 15 January. Average results for the period 2013–2016 showed that DFL and WDA would lead to a reduction in summer irrigation needs compared to WFL, but also to a postponement of the peak irrigation month to June, already characterized by a strong water demand from other crops. Finally, summer irrigation consumption for WFL-W would correspond to WFL, suggesting that the considered winter flooding period ended too early to influence summer crop water needs.

scholarly journals Influence of sewage disposal on the water quality of the Sucuru River alluvial aquifer in the municipality of Sumé-PB, Brazil

RBRH ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaqueline Pereira Salgado ◽  
Mônica Amorim Coura ◽  
Dayse Luna Barbosa ◽  
Patricia Hermínio Cunha Feitosa ◽  
Marcela Antunes Meira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Alluvial Aquifer ◽  
Gradual Reduction ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Urban Sewage ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Water Recharge ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Microbiological Analyses

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of sewage discharge on the quality of the water exploited from the Sucuru River alluvial aquifer, located in the municipality of Sumé, Paraíba state, Brazil. The study was based on physical-chemical and microbiological analyses of the waters from nine wells located along the alluvium. The results of the indicators showed that the alluvial aquifer studied has the capacity to filter and disperse pollutants. It is possible to observe a gradual reduction of chlorides, chemical oxygen demand and total dissolved solids along the alluvial perimeter. Thus, urban sewage becomes a source of water recharge with potential to be reused. We concluded that the utilization of water from this type of aquifer, which has been intensified in recent dry years, can be established in a safe and sustainable way. However, a strict monitoring plan for controlling recharge groundwater levels is highly necessary. Further studies in this direction should lead to a model of adequate use of this system, which can be reproduced in the Brazilian semi-arid region.

scholarly journals Temporal dependence of potentiometric levels and groundwater salinity in alluvial aquifer upon rainfall and evapotranspiration

RBRH ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robertson Valério de Paiva Fontes Júnior ◽  
Abelardo Antônio de Assunção Montenegro
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Alluvial Aquifer ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Groundwater Salinity ◽  
Temporal Dependence ◽  
Time Pattern ◽  
Groundwater Levels

ABSTRACT Rainfall uncertainty and high evapotranspiration rates in the semiarid regions not only play an important impact on surface water scarcity, but interfere on shallow groundwater quantity and quality. The aim of this study was to apply geostatistical methodology to analyze the time dependence of potentiometric levels and groundwater salinity in an intensively monitored alluvial aquifer upon agroclimatological variables, and thus investigate possible monthly and annual correlations. Statistically stable piezometers were considered for the temporal analysis, representing the mean behavior of the whole aquifer. It has been verified that stable piezometers for groundwater levels exhibited temporal dependence of 7 months, similar to the temporal scale of variation for monthly precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, which is consistent to the resulting crossed-semivariogram. Meanwhile, stable piezometers for electrical conductivity showed high uncertainty on temporal dependence scale, which ranged from 3 to 8 months. Thus, rainfall and evapotranspiration alone did not properly explain the temporal dynamics of groundwater salinity. The produced maps successfully identified the long term time pattern of groundwater variation, constituting an important support for water resources evaluation.

Gradient Boosting for Forecasting Groundwater Levels from Sparse Data Sets in an Alluvial Aquifer Subjected to Heavy Pumping and Flooding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Xiao ◽  
Dioni Cendón ◽  
Bryce Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Alluvial Aquifer ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Sediment Type ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Deep Drainage ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Average Rainfall

&lt;p&gt;In most catchments, there is usually inadequate information to build an accurate three-dimensional representation of the sediment type and associated hydraulic properties. This makes it challenging to build a physics-based groundwater flow model that accurately replicates measured fluctuations in the groundwater level, and it also results in considerable uncertainty in forecasting the groundwater level under various climate scenarios. However, in many catchments in Australia, and around the world, there are 100 year-long rainfall and streamflow records. Good groundwater level data sets often date from mid last century, when advances in pumping technology enable high volume groundwater extractions to support irrigated agriculture. For the lower Murrumbidgee alluvial aquifer in Australia, which covers an area of 33,000 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;, we demonstrate that it is possible to train the gradient boosting algorithm to predict the annual change in the groundwater level to within a few centimetres.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The lower Murrumbidgee aquifer, which is up to 300 m thick, is an important but highly stressed aquifer system in Australia. Annually the groundwater level fluctuates many metres due to groundwater withdrawals and occasional flooding. &amp;#160;Some portions of the alluvial aquifer are unconfined and other portions semi-confined. Under current groundwater pumping conditions, groundwater levels decline in the semi-confined portions of the aquifer during extended periods of below average rainfall. In other portions of the catchment, there have been periods of groundwater level rise due to deep drainage beneath irrigated crops.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Despite the catchment size, groundwater levels throughout the region are driven by four primary processes: ongoing river leakage, pumping, deep drainage and occasional flooding. Combined with knowledge of the hydrogeological setting, we successfully used just rainfall, streamflow and annual groundwater withdrawal records to build a gradient boosting model to predict where the groundwater level will rise and fall, in both space and time. Under existing annual pumping rates, the gradient boosting model forecasts that the groundwater level will fall many metres if the catchment has a period of below average rainfall as occurred from 1917 to 1949. This fall in the groundwater level will trigger groundwater access restrictions in some portions of the aquifer.&lt;/p&gt;

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