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Rooyen, J. D. van, Watson, A. W., & Miller, J. A. (2022). Using tritium and radiocarbon activities to constrain regional modern and fossil groundwater mixing in Southern Africa. Journal of Hydrology, 614, 128570.
Abstract: This study combines historical records of 14C and 3H in the atmosphere and soil with renewal rate and groundwater lumped parameter models to predict the abundance of 14C and 3H in groundwater over time. 624 groundwater samples from numerous studies, over four decades (1978–2019), in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique were collated to compare with predicted groundwater activities of 14C and 3H within the South African Development Community (SADC) region. Spatial datasets of carbonate bearing lithology, C3/C4 vegetation, summer/winter rainfall and coastal proximity were used to apply corrections to 14C and 3H data. Corrected values of 14C and 3H were compared with the theoretical abundance of these tracers, derived from the lumped parameter models, to estimate the general mean residence times and presence of groundwater mixing between modern recharge and older groundwaters. This study found that corrected values produced varying mean residence times derived from 14C ages (∼500–28500 years) and a wide range of potentially mixed waters within each aquifer system (0–100 % of tested wells) across the study area. The largest proportions of mixed groundwater, as well as the youngest mean residence times, were found in alluvial and primary fractured rock aquifers (e.g., western coast of South Africa and southern Mozambique). The smallest proportions of mixed groundwater were predicted in deep confined clay-rich aquifers as well as layered coal bearing carbonate sequences (e.g., Orapa, Malwewe and Serowe, Botswana). Insights into the proportions of mixed groundwater and mean residence times can help assess hydrological resilience on a regional scale. Such information is pertinent in promoting socio-economic development and increased water/food security in the SADC region. By understanding the resilience of groundwater resources, robust and informed strategies for water equality and GDP growth in the SADC region can be envisioned and implemented.
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Wang, B., Luo, Y., Liu, J. -hui, Li, X., Zheng, Z. -hong, Chen, Q. -qian, et al. (2022). Ion migration in in-situ leaching (ISL) of uranium: Field trial and reactive transport modelling. Journal of Hydrology, 615, 128634.
Abstract: Acid in-situ leaching (ISL) can be used as a mining technique for in situ uranium recover from underground. Acids and oxidants as lixiviants were continuously injected into a sandstone-type uranium deposit in Bayan-Uul (China). It was conducted to facilitate the dissolution of uranium minerals to generate uranyl ions, which could then be extracted for the recovery of uranium resources by the pumping cycle. A reactive transport model based on PHAST was developed to investigate the dynamic reactive migration process of uranium. The simulated results well reproduce the fluid dynamic evolution in the injecting and pumping units, as well as the dynamic release of uranium. The simulated leaching area indicates that the uranium ore leaching area was much larger than the acidification area. In addition, the pollution plume of uranium and acid water was larger than that of the leaching area, which can be used as a reference for uranium mining schemes. Furthermore, the parameter sensitivity analysis indicates the volume fraction of uranium ore and the reaction rate were the main factors affecting uranium leaching efficiency. Without considering the blockage of pores by precipitation, the Fe2+ in the reinjection fluid had a significant negative influence on uranium leaching.
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Xu, W. D., Burns, M. J., Cherqui, F., Duchesne, S., Pelletier, G., & Fletcher, T. D. (2022). Real-time controlled rainwater harvesting systems can improve the performance of stormwater networks. Journal of Hydrology, 614, 128503.
Abstract: Real-Time Control (RTC) technology is increasingly applied in Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) systems to optimise their performance related to water supply and flood mitigation. However, most studies to date have focussed on testing the benefits at an individual site scale, leaving the potential benefits for downstream stormwater networks largely untested. In this study, we developed a methodology to predict how at-source RTC RWH systems influence the behaviour of a stormwater network. Simulation was enabled by coupling the drainage model in SWMM with an RTC RWH model coded using the R software. We modelled two different RTC strategies across a range of system settings (e.g. storage size for RWH and proportion of storage to which RTC is applied) under two different climate scenarios—current and future climates. The simulations showed that RTC reduced flooding volume and peak flow of the stormwater network, leading to a potential mitigation of urban flooding risks, while also providing a decentralised supplementary water supply. Implementing RTC in more of RWH storages yielded greater benefits than simply increasing storage capacity, in both current and future climates. More importantly, the RTC systems are capable of more precisely managing the resultant flow regime in reducing the erosion and restoring the pre-development conditions in sensitive receiving waters. Our study suggests that RTC RWH storages distributed throughout a catchment can substantially improve the performance of existing drainage systems, potentially avoiding or deferring expensive network upgrades. Investments in real-time control technology would appear to be more promising than investments in detention volume alone.
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Sedghi, M. M., & Zhan, H. (2022). On the discharge variation of a qanat in an alluvial fan aquifer. Journal of Hydrology, 610, 127922.
Abstract: Qanat is a passive (unpumped) horizontal well (or a slant well with a very mild inclined angle) that is capable of extracting water from aquifers by gravity. Many qanats are constructed along the radius of the alluvial fan wedge-shaped aquifers. Analytical modeling of such a qanat-aquifer system provides great benefit for quickly screening different designs of qanats and accessing the performance of qanat discharge in the field. The previous analytical modeling of discharge of qanats, however, did not consider the wedge-shaped aquifers. Thus, the goal of this research is to obtain semi-analytical solutions of discharge variations of qanats in alluvial fan aquifers with nearby pumping wells, subjected to areal recharges due to rainfall. The uniform head boundary is considered inside the qanat (because of its enormous permeability in respect to the background aquifer). The influences of the aquifer lateral boundaries on discharge of qanat and its sensitivity to hydraulic and geometric parameters are explored. The influences of the lateral boundaries on the discharge of qanat due to areal recharge and nearby pumping wells discharge are also explored. The results of this study can be utilized for multiple purposes: 1) to predict the discharge of qanat in an alluvial fan aquifer and explore the influences of the areal recharge and nearby pumping well discharge; 2) to estimate the hydraulic parameters of the alluvial fan aquifer depleted by a qanat; 3) to determine the location of the nearby pumping well to minimize its influences on the discharge of a qanat; 4) to calculate the water budgets of aquifers depleted by qanats and pumping wells and replenished by areal recharge among other applications. This paper is an extension to the work presented by Sedghi and Zhan (2020) (which concerns an infinite unconfined aquifer) for an unconfined alluvial fan aquifer setting.
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Musy, S., Meyzonnat, G., Barbecot, F., Hunkeler, D., Sültenfuss, J., Solomon, D. K., et al. (2021). In-situ sampling for krypton-85 groundwater dating. Journal of Hydrology X, 11, 100075.
Abstract: Krypton-85 and other radioactive noble gases are widely used for groundwater dating purposes. 85Kr analysis require large volumes of water to reach the analytical requirements. Conventionally, this water is pumped to the surface to be degassed with a gas extraction system. The large pumping rate may disturb the natural flow field and requires substantial field logistics. Hence, we propose a new in-situ degassing method, in which membrane contactors are used to degas the groundwater directly in the well and gas is collected at the surface. This way, field work is facilitated, groundwater system disturbance is minimized, and the gas sample is collected at a specific depth. We demonstrate the tightness of the system regarding atmospheric air contamination for a collection times of 24 h, which is sufficient for both low-level counting and laser-based counting methods for 85Kr. The minimal borehole diameter is 7.5 cm for the prototype presented in this research but can easily be reduced to smaller diameters. In a case study, we compare the results obtained with the new passive method with those from a conventional packer setup sampling. Additionally, 3H/3He samples were collected for both sampling regimes and the dating results were compared with those from 85Kr. A good agreement between tracer ages is demonstrated and the age stratigraphy is consistent with the expected age distribution for a porous unconfined aquifer. In addition, our study emphasizes the differences between the age information sampled with various methods. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the new in situ quasi-passive method provides a more representative age stratigraphy with depth in most cases.
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Gil-Márquez, J. M., Sültenfuß, J., Andreo, B., & Mudarra, M. (2020). Groundwater dating tools (3H, 3He, 4He, CFC-12, SF6) coupled with hydrochemistry to evaluate the hydrogeological functioning of complex evaporite-karst settings. Journal of Hydrology, 580, 124263.
Abstract: The hydrogeological functioning of four different areas in a complex evaporite-karst unit of predominantly aquitard behavior in S Spain was investigated. Environmental dating tracers (3H, 3He, 4He, CFC-12, SF6) and hydrochemical data were determined from spring samples to identify and characterize groundwater flow components of different residence times in the media. Results show a general geochemical evolution pattern, from higher (recharge areas) to lower positions (discharge areas), in which mineralization rises as well as the value of the rCl−/SO42−, evidencing longer water-rock interaction. Ne values show degassing of most of the samples, favored by the high salinity of groundwater and the development of karstification so that the concentration of all the considered gases were corrected according to the difference between the theoretical and the measured Ne. The presence of modern groundwater in every sample was proved by the detection of 3H and CFC-12. At the opposite, the higher amount of radiogenic 4He in most samples also indicates that they have an old component. The 3H/3He dating method does not give reliable ages as a consequence of degassing and the large uncertainty of the 3He/4He ratios of the sources for the radiogenic Helium. The large SF6 concentrations suggest terrigenic production related to halite and dolomite. Binary Mixing and Free Shape Models were created based on 3H and CFC-12 data to interpret the age distribution of the samples. Two parameters (GA50 and >70%) were proposed as an indicator of that distribution, as they provide further information than the mean age. Particularly, GA50 is derived from the median groundwater age and is presented as a new way of interpreting mixed groundwater age data. A greater fraction of old groundwater (3H and CFC-12 free) was identified in discharge areas, while the proportion and estimated infiltration date of the younger fractions in recharge areas were higher and more recent, respectively. The application of different approaches has been useful to corroborate previous theoretical conceptual model proposed for the study area and to test the applicability of the used environmental tracer in dating brine groundwater and karst springs.
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Tamagnone, P., Comino, E., & Rosso, M. (2020). Rainwater harvesting techniques as an adaptation strategy for flood mitigation. Journal of Hydrology, 586, 124880.
Abstract: The development of adaptation and mitigation strategies to tackle anthropic and climate changes impacts is becoming a priority in drought-prone areas. This study examines the capabilities of indigenous rainwater harvesting techniques (RWHT) to be used as a viable solution for flood mitigation. The study analyses the hydraulic performance of the most used micro-catchment RWHT in sub-Saharan regions, in terms of flow peak reduction (FPR) and volume reduction (VR) at the field and basin scale. Parametrized hyetographs were built to replicate the extreme precipitations that strike Sahelian countries during rainy seasons. 2D hydrodynamic simulations showed that half-moons placed with a staggered configuration (S-HM) have the best performances in reducing runoff. At the field scale, S-HM showed a remarkable FPR of 77% and a VR of 70% in case of extreme rainfall. Instead at the basin scale, in which only 5% of the surface was treated, 13% and 8% respectively for FPR and VR were obtained. In addition, the reduction of the runoff coefficient (Rc) between the different configuration was analyzed. The study critically evaluates hydraulic performances of the different techniques and shows how pitting practices cannot guarantee high performance in case of extreme precipitations. These results will enrich the knowledge of the hydraulic behavior of RWHT; aspect marginally investigated in the scientific literature. Moreover, this study presents the first scientific application of HEC-RAS as a rainfall-runoff model. Despite some limitations, this model has the effective feature of using very high-resolution topography as input for hydraulic simulations. The results presented in this study should encourage stakeholders to upscale the use of RWHT in order to lessen the flood hazard and land degradation that oppresses arid and semi-arid areas.
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Naghedifar, S. M., Ziaei, A. N., Naghedifar, S. A., & Ansari, H. (2020). A new model for simulation of collection and conveyance sections of Qanat. Journal of Hydrology, 590, 125218.
Abstract: In this paper, a new numerical model has been developed for simulation of Qanat-aquifer system. This model employs quasi-3D mixed-form of Richards’ equation and 1D fully-hydrodynamic form of Saint-Venant equations to simulate subsurface and overland flow, respectively. In order to handle non-orthogonal grids, subsurface flow module benefits from coordinate transformation technique. Using the above-mentioned governing equations, the presented model is able to simulate water flow inside both collection and conveyance sections of the gallery as well as dynamics of groundwater and vadose zone from impermeable bed rock to the soil-air interface. Since measured data corresponding to the hydraulics of Qanats is scarce, the overland and subsurface modules have been validated with analytical, numerical and experimental benchmarks in the literature. Subsequently, the model was employed to simulate ten different hypothetical aquifer-Qanat systems with different properties including the depth of groundwater aquifer, roughness of the gallery and saturated hydraulic conductivity of the gallery-aquifer boundary and the influence of each the parameters was monitored on the outflow rate at the appearance point of each Qanat. Furthermore, the advance of water inside two initially dry galleries were simulated at different time levels up to steady state. Eventually, the streamlines have been shown at the steady state for two Qanat-aquifer systems. Although, the presented study sheds light on some aspects of Qanat-aquifer hydraulics, the validation of the presented model with in-lab or on-field data remains ongoing for the future researches.
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Sedghi, M. M., & Zhan, H. (2020). Semi-analytical solutions of discharge variation of a qanat in an unconfined aquifer subjected to general areal recharge and nearby pumping well discharge. Journal of Hydrology, 584, 124691.
Abstract: Qanat is a type of drain that extract water from aquifers by gravity. Significant amount of fresh water used in Middle East and other parts of the world are supplied by qanats. Despite their importance, discharge variation of these type of wells received almost no attention. The aim of this research is to obtain a Laplace domain solution of discharge variation of a qanat installed in an anisotropic unconfined aquifer subjected to arbitrary areal recharge and nearby pumping well(s) discharge. A new semi-analytical solution of drawdown is obtained first to implement the effects of arbitrary areal recharge and nearby pumping well(s) using the principle of superposition. Then, the discharge variation solution of the qanat is obtained from the drawdown solution. To establish a constant-head boundary condition at the qanat periphery, the qanat is discretized into several segments. The results of this study are presented in dimensionless discharge-dimensionless time curves. The effects of hydraulic as well as geometric parameters on the discharge variation of the qanat due to arbitrary areal recharge, falling of water table from its initial position and discharge of nearby wells are explored. We also investigate the influences of distance and screen depth and location of the nearby well on the discharge variation of the qanat. The results of this study can be utilized for multiple purposes: 1) to predict discharge of qanat in response to rainfall and nearby pumping well(s); 2) to estimate the aquifer parameters using hydrograph of the qanat; 3) to determine optimal location and pumping pattern of the nearby wells to minimize their influences on the discharge of the qanat; 4) to calculate water budget of aquifers drained by a qanat. The equation presented in this work can also be used to estimate discharge of a horizontal drain installed in cropland subjected to arbitrary irrigation pattern.
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Rosen, M. R., Burow, K. R., & Fram, M. S. (2019). Anthropogenic and geologic causes of anomalously high uranium concentrations in groundwater used for drinking water supply in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, CA. Journal of Hydrology, 577, 124009.
Abstract: Concentrations of uranium (U) \textgreater30 µg/L in groundwater are relatively uncommon in drinking water in the United States but can be of concern in those areas where complex interactions of aquifer materials and anthropogenic alterations of the natural flow regime mobilize U. High concentrations (\textgreater30 µg/L) of U in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA, have been detected in 24 percent of 257 domestic, irrigation, and public-supply wells sampled across an approximately 110,000 km2 area. In this study we evaluated mechanisms for mobilization of U in the San Joaquin Valley proposed in previous studies, confirming mobilization by HCO3 and refuting mobilization by NO3 and we refined our understanding of the geologic sources of U to the scale of individual alluvial fans. The location of high concentrations depends on the interactions of geological U sources from fluvial fans that originate in the Sierra Nevada to the east and seepage of irrigation water that contains high concentrations of HCO3 that leaches U from the sediments. In addition, interactions with PO4 from fertilized irrigated fields may sequester U in the aquifer. Principal component analysis of the data demonstrates that HCO3 and ions associated with high total dissolved solids in the aquifer and the percentage of agriculture near the well sampled are associated with high U concentrations. Nitrate concentrations do not appear to control release of U to the aquifer. Age dating of the groundwater and generally increasing U concentrations of the past 25 years in resampled wells where irrigation is prevalent suggests that high U concentrations are associated with younger water, indicating that irrigation of fields over the past 100 years has significantly contributed to increasing concentrations and mobilizing U. In some places, the groundwater is supersaturated with uranyl-containing minerals, as would be expected in roll front deposits. In general, the interaction of natural geological sources high in U, the anthropogenically driven addition of HCO3 and possibly phosphate fertilizer, control the location and concentration of U in each individual fluvial fan, but the addition of nitrate in fertilizer does not appear control the location of high U. These geochemical interactions are complex but can be used to determine controls on anomalously high U in alluvial aquifers.
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