Impact of water table on hierarchically nested groundwater flow system

Water table configuration gives rise to hierarchically nested groundwater flow systems.However,there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the controlling factors of water table and its impact on flow systems.Moreover,it remains challenging to identify characteristics of water table space variation through limited groundwater observations at the regional scale.Based on two ideal two-dimensional cross-section analytical models,this study presents a simplified approach to preliminarily assess the nonlinear interactions between water table variation and three driving factors:Topography,geol-ogy and climate.Two criteria,C1 and C2,are utilized to address issues at different scales ranging from basin to local:(i)the influence of various factors on water table configuration;and(ii)the influence of water table on groundwater flow pattern.Then,the Ordos Plateau is taken as an example to explore the role of the water table in nested groundwater systems using the provided approach and criterion.The applica-tion of this approach in the Ordos Plateau demonstrates its appropriateness as a practical method for prelim-inarily determining the characteristics of water table configuration and its impact on flow systems.The study explores the mechanism influencing spatial variation in the water table and improves understanding of the interaction between topography,geology,and climate on groundwater flow patterns.

Groundwater flow through fractured rocks and seepage control in geotechnical engineering: Theories and practices

Groundwater flow through fractured rocks has been recognized as an important issue in many geotechnical engineering practices.Several key aspects of fundamental mechanisms,numerical modeling and engineering applications of flow in fractured rocks are discussed.First,the microscopic mechanisms of fluid flow in fractured rocks,especially under the complex conditions of non-Darcian flow,multiphase flow,rock dissolution,and particle transport,have been revealed through a com-bined effort of visualized experiments and theoretical analysis.Then,laboratory and field methods of characterizing hydraulic properties(e.g.intrinsic permeability,inertial permeability,and unsaturated flow parameters)of fractured rocks in different flow regimes have been proposed.Subsequently,high-performance numerical simulation approaches for large-scale modeling of groundwater flow in frac-tured rocks and aquifers have been developed.Numerical procedures for optimization design of seepage control systems in various settings have also been proposed.Mechanisms of coupled hydro-mechanical processes and control of flow-induced deformation have been discussed.Finally,three case studies are presented to illustrate the applications of the improved theoretical understanding,characterization methods,modeling approaches,and seepage and deformation control strategies to geotechnical engi-neering projects.

Changes of groundwater flow field of Luanhe River Delta under the human activities and its impact on the ecological environment in the past 30 years

The Luanhe River Delta is located in the center of the Circum-Bohai Sea Economic Zone.It enjoys rapid economic and social development while suffering relatively water scarcity.The overexploitation of groundwater in the Luanhe River Delta in recent years has caused the continuous drop of groundwater level and serious environmental and geological problems.This study systematically analyzes the evolution characteristics of the population,economy,and groundwater exploitation in the Luanhe River Delta and summarizes the change patterns of the groundwater flow regime in different aquifers in the Luanhe River Delta according to previous water resource assessment data as well as the latest groundwater survey results.Through comparison of major source/sink terms and groundwater resources,the study reveals the impacts of human activities on the groundwater resources and ecological environment in the study area over the past 30 years from 1990 to 2020.The results are as follows.The average annual drop rate of shallow groundwater and the deep groundwater in the centers of depression cones is 0.4 m and 1.64 m,respectively in the Luanhe River Delta in the past 30 years.The depression cones of shallow and deep groundwater in the study area cover an area of 545.32 km^(2)and 548.79 km^(2),respectively,accounting for more than 10%of the total area of the Luanhe River Delta.Overexploitation of groundwater has further aggravated land subsidence.As a result,two large-scale subsidence centers have formed,with a maximum subsidence rate of up to 120 mm/a.The drop of groundwater level has induced some ecological problems in the Luanhe River Delta area,such as the zero flow and water quality deterioration of rivers and continuous shrinkage of natural wetlands and water.Meanwhile,the proportion of natural wetland area to the total wetland area has been decreased from 99%to 8%and the water area from 1776 km^(2)to 263 km^(2).These results will provide data for groundwater overexploitation control,land subsidence prevention,and ecological restoration in plains and provide services for water resources management and national land space planning.

Modified asymptotic Adomian decomposition method for solving Boussinesq equation of groundwater flow

The Adomian decomposition method （ADM） is an approximate analytic method for solving nonlinear equations. Generally, an approximate solution can be ob- tained by using only a few terms. However, in applications, we need to use it flexibly according to the real problem. In this paper, based on the ADM, we give a modified asymptotic Adomian decomposition method and use it to solve the nonlinear Boussinesq equation describing groundwater flows. The example shows effectiveness of the modified asymptotic Adomian decomposition method.

Influence of underground space development mode on the groundwater flow field in Xiong’an new area

The degree and scale of underground space development are growing with the continuous advancement of urbanization in China.The lack of research on the change of the groundwater flow field before and after the development of underground space has led to various problems in the process of underground space development and operation.This paper took the key development zone of the Xiong’an New Area as the study area,and used the Groundwater modeling system software(GMS)to analyse the influence on the groundwater flow field under the point,line,and surface development modes.The main results showed that the underground space development would lead to the expansion and deepening of the cone of depression in the aquifer.The groundwater level on the upstream face of the underground structure would rise,while the water level on the downstream face would drop.The“line”concurrent development has the least impact on the groundwater flow field,and the maximum rise of water level on the upstream side of the underground structure is expected to be approximately 3.05 m.The“surface”development has the greatest impact on the groundwater flow field,and the maximum rise of water level is expected to be 7.17 m.

The Design of a Three-Dimensional Physical Modeling System for Real-Time Groundwater Flows

In the past decades,physical modeling has been widely used in hydrogeology for teaching,studying and exhibition purposes.Most of these models are used to illustrate hydrogeological profiles,but few can depict three-dimensional groundwater flows,making it impossible to validate groundwater flows simulated by numerical methods with physical modeling.

Quantitative Analysis of Groundwater Flow near a Partially Penetrating River under Riverside Pumping

According to practical geological and hydrogeological conditions of riverside water-supply well fields in northwestern China, an ideal hydrogeological model has been generalized and a three-dimensional mathematical model has been set up. A finite difference method was applied to simulating groundwater flow near a partially penetrating river under riverside pumping, and to analyzing the effects of river width, partial penetration and permeability of riverbed sediments on groundwater recharges. Results show that riverside pumping may cause groundwater to flow beneath the partially penetrating river, and that river width, penetration and riverbed permeability obviously influence flows from the partially penetrating river and constant-head boundaries. However, the pumping output is mainly from the partially penetrating river.

Groundwater Flow Modelling of Galma Basin, Nigeria： Using Finite Element Method

The groundwater flow characteristics of the Galma River Basin were simulated numerically by using the finite element method. The two-dimensional partial differential equation governing transient flow in an unconfined aquifer was modified to incorporate the effect of precipitation as a measurable source as it affects groundwater flow, such that for a given amount of precipitation over the basin, the flow of groundwater can be predicted at any point in the basin. With appropriate initial and boundary conditions, the modified equation was solved and the solution programmed for computer run. After calibration and verification, the borehole hydraulic data for the basin was used to predict flow due to groundwater hydraulic heads for 20 years. Findings revealed that there is a direct correlation of 0.79 and a strong linear relationship between simulated and observed hydraulic heads, and that data availability and choice of appropriate initial and boundary conditions are significant for good numerical modelling results. The contour plot of the hydraulic heads showed variation of heads from higher values at the upstream to lower values downstream, and groundwater flow follows the natural topography of the land from the upstream end of the basin towards the main streams and Galma River.

Life cycle dynamic formation temperature response and thermal energy extraction of mine geothermal system considering groundwater flow

As mining activities expand deeper,deep high-temperature formations seriously threaten the future safe exploitation,while deep geothermal energy has great potential for development.Combining the formation cooling and geothermal mining in mines to establish a thermos-hydraulic coupling numerical model for fractured formation.The study investigates the formation heat transfer behaviour,heat recovery performance and thermal economic benefits influenced during the life cycle.The results show that the accumulation of cold energy during the cold storage phase induces a decline in formation temperature.The heat recovery phase is determined by the extent of the initial cold domain,which contracts inward from the edge and decelerates the heat recovery rate gradually.With groundwater velocity increases,the thermal regulation efficiency gradually increases,the production temperature decreases,while the effective radius and thermal power increase first and then decrease.The injected volume and temperature significantly affect,with higher injection temperatures slowing thermal recovery,and the thermal regulation efficiency is more sensitive to changes in formation permeability and thermal conductivity.The heat extraction performance is positively correlated with all factors.The levelized cost of electricity is estimated at 0.1203$/(kW·h)during the cold storage.During the heat recovery,annual profit is primarily driven by cooling benefits.

Numerical modeling of regional groundwater flow in the Heihe River Basin,China:Advances and new insights

Numerical groundwater modeling is an effective tool to guide water resources management and explore complex groundwater-dependent ecosystems in arid regions.In the Heihe River Basin(HRB),China’s second largest inland river basin located in arid northwest China,a series of groundwater flow models have been developed for those purposes over the past 20 years.These models have elucidated the characteristics of groundwater flow systems and provided the scientific basis for a more sustainable management of groundwater resources and ecosystem services.The first part of this paper presents an overview of previous groundwater modeling studies and key lessons learned based on seven different groundwater models in the middle and lower HRB at sub-basin scales.The second part reviews the rationale for development of a regional basin-scale groundwater flow model that unifies previous sub-basin models.In addition,this paper discusses the opportunities and challenges in developing a regional groundwater flow model in an arid river basin such as the HRB.

STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER FLOW SUBJECT TO RANDOM BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

A stochastic model was developed to simulate the flow in heterogeneous media subject to random boundary conditions. Approximate partial differential equations were derived based on the Karhunen-Loeve （KL） expansion and perturbation expansion. The effect of random boundary conditions on the two-dimensional flow was examined. It is shown that the proposed stochastic model is efficient to include the random boundary conditions. The random boundaries lead to the increase of head variance and velocity variance. The influence of the random boundary conditions on head uncertainty is exerted over the whole simulated region, while the randomness of the boundary conditions leads to the increase of the velocity variance in the vicinity of boundaries.

Assessing the Connectivity of a Regional Fractured Aquifer Based on a Hydraulic Conductivity Field Reversed by Multi-Well Pumping Tests and Numerical Groundwater Flow Modeling

Aquifer connectivity could greatly affect groundwater flow and further control the contaminant transport in fractured medium.However,assessing connectivity of fractured aquifer at regional scales is still a challenge because such connectivity is difficult to be measured directly.This study proposes a framework for assessing connectivity of a fractured aquifer,with Qitaihe area,Heilongjiang Province,northeastern China as an illustrating study area.The 3-D finite difference numerical models were established to interpret the results of three multi-well pumping tests and inversely estimate the distribution of hydraulic conductivity(K)in the fractured aquifer.A static connectivity metric of the minimum hydraulic resistance(MHR)was calculated,based on the optimized K-field,to evaluate the hydraulic connectivity in the aquifer,and the corresponding least resistance paths(LRPs)were identified.The results indicate a better horizontal connectivity in the fractured aquifer in the northeastern and middle parts than in the southwestern part of the study area.The identified LRP indicated that the preferential flow channels at regional scales were controlled mainly by aquifer connectivity instead of local high-K zones.The results of this study can provide a method for aquifer connectivity estimation at regional scales.

Numerical Investigation of Residence Time Distribution for the Characterization of Groundwater Flow System in Three Dimensions

How to identify the nested structure of a three-dimensional(3D)hierarchical groundwater flow system is always a difficult problem puzzling hydrogeologists due to the multiple scales and complexity of the 3D flow field.The main objective of this study was to develop a quantitative method to partition the nested groundwater flow system into different hierarchies in three dimensions.A 3D numerical model with topography derived from the real geomatic data in Jinan,China was implemented to simulate groundwater flow and residence time at the regional scale while the recharge rate,anisotropic permeability and hydrothermal effect being set as climatic and hydrogeological variables in the simulations.The simulated groundwater residence time distribution showed a favorable consistency with the spatial distribution of flow fields.The probability density function of residence time with discontinuous segments indicated the discrete nature of time domain between different flow hierarchies,and it was used to partition the hierarchical flow system into shallow/intermediate/deep flow compartments.The changes in the groundwater flow system can be quantitatively depicted by the climatic and hydrogeological variables.This study provides new insights and an efficient way to analyze groundwater circulation and evolution in three dimensions from the perspective of time domain.

Parallel Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the North China Plain

Numerical modeling is of crucial importance in understanding the behavior of regional groundwater system. However, the demand on modeling capability is intensive when performing high-resolution simulation over long time span. This paper presents the application of a parallel program to speed up the detailed modeling of the groundwater flow system in the North China Plain. The parallel program is implemented by rebuilding the well-known MODFLOW program on our parallelcomputing framework, which is achieved by designing patch-based parallel data structures and algorithms but maintaining the compute flow and functionalities of MODFLOW. The detailed model with more than one million grids and a decade of time has been solved. The parallel simulation results were examined against the field observed data and these two data are generally in good agreement. For the comparison on solution time, the parallel program running on 32 cores is 6 times faster than the fastest MICCG-based MODFLOW program and 11 times faster than the GMG-based MODFLOW program. Therefore, remarkable computational time can be saved when using the parallel program, which facilitates the rapid modeling and prediction of the groundwater flow system in the North China Plain.

Monitoring and Modeling the Effects of Groundwater Flow on Arsenic Transport in Datong Basin

Although arsenic-contaminated groundwater in the Datong Basin has been studied for more than 10 years, little has been known about the complex patterns of solute transport in the aquifer systems. Field monitoring and transient 3D unsaturated groundwater flow modeling studies were car- ried out on the riparian zone of the Sanggan River at the Datong Basin, northern China, to better un- derstand the effects of groundwater flow on As mobilization and transport. The results indicate that ir- rigation is the primary factor in determining the groundwater flow paths. Irrigation can not only in- crease groundwater level and reduce horizontal groundwater velocity and thereby accelerate vertical and horizontal groundwater exchange among sand, silt and clay formations, but also change the HS concentration, redox conditions of the shallow groundwater. Results of net groundwater flux estimation suggest that vertical infiltration is likely the primary control of As transport in the vadose zone, while horizontal water exchange is dominant in controlling As migration within the sand aquifers. Recharge water, including irrigation return water and flushed saltwater, travels downward from the ground surface to the aquifer and then nearly horizontally across the sand aquifer. The maximum value of As enriched in the riparian zone is roughly estimated to be 1 706.2 mg.d-1 for a horizontal water exchange of 8.98 m3.d-1 close to the river and an As concentration of 190 μg.L-1.