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.

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.

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.

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.

Boundary Element Analysis (Laplace Transform Solution) of Groundwater Unsteady Flow to a Multiple Well System in a Confined Aquifer

The calculations of unsteady flow to a multiple well system with the application of boundary elementmethod (BEM) are discussed. The mathematical model of unsteady well flow is a boundary value problem ofparabolic differential equation. It is changed into an elliptic one by Laplace transform to eliminate time varia-ble. The image function of water head H can be solved by BEM. We derived the boundary integral equation ofthe transformed variable H and the discretization form of it, so that there is no need to discretize the bounda-ries of well walls and it becomes easier to solve the groundwater head H by numerical inversion.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The research of three-dimensional numerical simulation of groundwater-flow: taking the Ejina Basin, Northwest China as example

Water is a primary controlling factor for economic development and ecological environmental protection in the inland river basins of arid western China. And it is groundwater, as the most important component of total water resources, that plays a dominant role in the development of western China. In recent years, the use-ratio of surface water has been raised, the groundwater recharge rate from surface water has been reduced, and groundwater has been exploited on a large scale. This has led to the decline of ground-water levels and the degradation of eco-environments in the Heihe watershed. Therefore, the study on the change in groundwater levels in recent years, as well as simulating and predicting groundwater levels in the future, have become very significant for im-proving the ecological environment of the Heihe River Basin, to coordinate the water contradiction among upper, middle and lower reaches of Heihe River Basin and to allocate the water resources. The purpose of this study is to analyze the groundwa-ter-level variations of the Ejina region based on a large scale, to develop and evaluate a conceptual groundwater model in Ejina Basin, to establish the groundwater flow model using the experimental observation data and combining Modular Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow Model (MODFLOW) and GIS software, to simulate the regional hydrologic regime in re-cent 10 years and compare various water-delivery scenarios from midstream, and to determine which one would be the best plan for maintaining and recovering the groundwater levels and increasing the area of Ejina oasis. Finally this paper discusses the pos-sible vegetation changes of Ejina Basin in the future.

Hydrogeochemistry and Water Quality Evaluation along the Flow Path in the Unconfined Aquifer of the Düzce Plain, North-western Turkey

The Diizce Plain has a multi-aquifer system, which consists of a near surface unconfined aquifer, along with first and second deeper confined aquifers. Hydrochemical evolution and water quality are related to infiltration of the precipitation, recharge from the formations surrounding the plain, flow path of groundwater and the relationship between surface and groundwater. The groundwater in the unconfined aquifer flows towards the Efteni Lake and the Biiyiik Melen River. Surface waters are divided into two main hydrochemical facies in the study area： （a） Ca2＋-HCO3-; and （b） Ca2＋, Mg2＋-HCOc-, SO4^2-. The groundwater has generally three main hydrochemical facies： （a） Ca2＋-HCO3-; （b） Ca2＋, Mg2＋-HCO3-; and （c） Ca2＋, Mg2＋-HCO3-, Cl-. The hydrochemical facies ＂a＂ and ＂b＂ dominate within shallow depths in recharge areas under rapid flow conditions, while hydrochemical facies ＂c＂ characterizes shallow and mixed groundwater, which dominate intermediate or discharge areas （near Efteni Lake and Biiyiik Melen River） during low flow conditions and agricultural contamination. Calcium and bicarbonate ions, total hardness and electrical conductivity of total dissolved solids （EC-TDS） values increase along the groundwater flow path; but these parameters remain within the limits specified by the standards set for industrial and agricultural usages.

Evaluation of groundwater sustainability based on groundwater age simulation in the Zhangye Basin of Heihe River watershed, northwestern China

Water resources, as the primary limiting factor, constrain the economic and social development in arid inland areas. The Zhangye Basin is a representative area of inland river basins, which is located in the middle parts of the Heihe River watershed, northwestern China. Facing with the huge water shortage, people exploited ground- water at a large scale in recent years. The reducing recharge from surface water and over-exploitation of ground- water led to the decline of groundwater levels and threatened the sustainability of water resources. This study con- structed a conceptual and numerical groundwater flow model and calibrated the model based on the observed wells A solute transport model was built using MT3DMS to calculate the groundwater age distribution in the Zhangye Basin. The simulated result shows that the youngest groundwater is distributed near the most upstream areas in the model domain, which is less than 1,000 a, older groundwater is distributed in deeper parts of the aquifer and near the discharge outlets, ranging from 6,000 a to over 20,000 a. Spatial variation of groundwater ages in the middle area indicates the recharge diversity between unconfined and confined aquifer. Groundwater age can serve as an indicator to evaluate groundwater＇s renewal capacity and sustainability. The formation of groundwater resources in the lower stream area would spend 10,000 a or even more than 20,000 a, so exploitation of groundwater in these areas should be restrained.

Impact of longwall mining on groundwater above the longwall panel in shallow coal seams

Since longwall mining causes subsidence through the overlying strata to the ground surface, the surface water and groundwater above the longwall panels may be affected and drained into the lower levels.Therefore, loss or interruption of streams and overburden aquifers is a common concern in coal industry.This paper analyzed the potential effects of longwall mining on subsurface water system in shallow coal seam. In order to monitor different water level fluctuations throughout the mining period, three water wells were drilled down to the proposed deformation zone above the longwall panel. A GGU-SS-FLOW3 D model was used to predict water table contours for the periods of pre- and post-mining conditions. The field data from the three water wells were utilized to calibrate the model. The field test and numerical model can help to better understand the dewatering of shallow aquifers and surface waters related to ground subsidence from longwall mining in shallow coal seam.

Integrated numerical model for vegetated surface and saturated subsurface flow interaction

The construction of an integrated numerical model is presented in this paper to deal with the interactions between vegetated surface and saturated subsurface flows. A numerical model is built by integrating the previously developed quasi-three-dimensional （Q3D） vegetated surface flow model with a two-dimensional （2D） saturated groundwater flow model. The vegetated surface flow model is constructed by coupling the explicit finite volume solution of 2D shallow water equations （SWEs） with the implicit finite difference solution of Navier-Stokes equations （NSEs） for vertical velocity distribution. The subsurface model is based on the explicit finite volume solution of 2D saturated groundwater flow equations （SGFEs）. The ground and vegetated surface water interaction is achieved by introducing source-sink terms into the continuity equations. Two solutions are tightly coupled in a single code. The integrated model is applied to four test cases, and the results are satisfactory.

Groundwater Management at West El-Minia Desert Area, Egypt Using Numerical Modeling

Water shortage is the main problem facing any development in Egypt especially in the desert lands. River Nile is considered the main source of water in Egypt but its water covers only the area of flood plain where its tributaries do not reach to the desert. The desert fringes, west of El-Minia governorate, Egypt, are areas of natural expansion for agricultural, industrial, and civil activities. This implies an increasing demand for groundwater. A numerical groundwater model is one of the main tools used for assessment of the resource potential and prediction of future impact under different circumstances and stresses. In this paper, a transient groundwater flow model in the desert district west of El-Minia, Egypt, was developed. The conceptual model was built by analyzing the hydrogeological data and previous work. Steady state model of year 1990 was used to investigate and calibrate the parameters such as hydraulic conductivities, recharge and conductance of the surface water streams. The storage coefficients are calibrated by the transient model based on the available data observed from 1990 to 2013, which provides insights to understand the behavior of groundwater system in Quaternary Aquifer and to predict spatial-temporal distributions of groundwater levels and groundwater flow in responding to extraction of water. The calibrated transient model will be used to predict the impacts of desert development schemes and water resources management schemes on groundwater in the study area.