A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-021-02351-x

Groundwater availability, management and protection are great challenges for the sustainability of groundwater resources in the scattered rural areas of the Atlantic regions of Europe where groundwater is the only option for water supply. This report presents a hydrogeological study of the coastal granitic area of Oia in northwestern Spain, which has unique geomorphological and hydrogeological features

In the numerical simulation of groundwater flow, uncertainties often affect the precision of the simulation results. Stochastic and statistical approaches such as the Monte Carlo method, the Neumann expansion method and the Taylor series expansion, are commonly employed to estimate uncertainty in the final output. Based on the first-order interval perturbation method, a combination of the interval

Fluvio-deltaic aquifers are the primary source of drinking water for the people of Bangladesh. Such aquifers, which comprise the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta, are hydrogeologically heterogeneous. Because of widespread groundwater quality issues in Bangladesh, it is crucial to know the hydrostratigraphic architecture and hydrochemistry, as some aquifer units are contaminated, whereas others are safe

Hydrogeological responses to earthquakes such as changes in groundwater level, temperature, and chemistry, have been observed for several decades. This study examines behavior associated with ML 5.8 and ML 5.1 earthquakes that occurred on 12 September 2016 near Gyeongju, a city located on the southeast coast of the Korean peninsula. The ML 5.8 event stands as the largest recorded earthquake in South

In Finland, community water supply has increasingly relied on natural groundwater and artificially recharged groundwater as the raw water source. Several managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects have been co-created with involved parties and have proceeded well, while some cases have raised considerable resistance among the stakeholders. It seems that success or failure in MAR cooperation is related

In the High Plains (HP) region of northeastern New Mexico (NE NM), USA, underlying bedrock aquifers are utilized where the High Plains Aquifer is thin, absent, or unsaturated. These usage patterns, aquifer depletion, and increasing regional aridity imply that NE NM is a possible analogy for more easterly portions of the central HP. To examine the relationship between recharge, residence time, and hydrogeologic

Artesian springs support important wetland ecosystems comprising highly specialised, endemic animal and plant species. Understanding the hydrogeological processes that sustain springs is critical to their management and characterisation of the connected groundwater system. This paper focuses on the springs of the Eulo and Bourke supergroups in the south-central part of the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland

The sustainable management of groundwater resources is essential to municipalities worldwide due to increasing water demand. Planning for the optimized use of groundwater resources requires reliable estimation of hydraulic parameters such as hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (Ss). However, estimation of hydraulic parameters can be difficult with dedicated pumping tests while municipal

Dye tracing is an efficient method for spring watershed delineation, but is also used in surface waters to assess pollution migration over several kilometers. The aim of this study is to develop a simple and parsimonious approach that accounts for a linear relationship between dispersivity and scale that could be used for the simulation of large-scale transport processes in aquifers. The analysis of

Seawater intrusion occurs in almost all coastal aquifers that are subject to human pressure. Its effects could be reduced by avoiding pumping in those wells better hydraulically connected to the sea. This paper presents a methodology to assess hydraulic connection to the sea of a well from its response to sea-level fluctuations. Head fluctuations in a well result from the superposition of hydraulic

Groundwater from the Quaternary Mississippi River Valley Alluvial (MRVA) aquifer in southeasternArkansas (SE AR), USA, has higher salinity compared to other MRVA groundwater. Previous studieshave argued for infiltration of evaporated soil water as a primary source for the elevated salinity, althoughseepage from local rivers and deep groundwater sources also have been considered. Geochemical andisotope

A coupled simulation-optimization model (SOM) is developed in this work that links the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) with a genetic algorithm. The SOM simulates rainfall-runoff processes in urban watersheds and optimizes the implementation of drywells (DWs), bio-retention cells (BCs), and permeable pavement (PP) for stormwater control and aquifer recharge

Groundwater extracted from the Barthelasse Island aquifer, surrounded by the river Rhône (southeastern France), contributes to the drinking water supplies of 180,000 inhabitants. Owing to its location close to the river and the presence of two backwaters (oxbow lakes), the pumped groundwater is highly vulnerable to river pollution. A pumping test was conducted over 24 h to analyse and quantify the

Tunneling is often unpopular with local residents and environmentalists, and can cause aquifer damage. Tunnel sealing is sometimes used to avoid groundwater leakage into the tunnel, thereby mitigating the damage. Due to the high cost of sealing operations, a detailed hydrogeological investigation should be conducted as part of the tunneling project to determine the impact of sealing, and groundwater

The ungauged Sugan Lake Basin represents a candidate area for development of a water transfer scheme to satisfy the water requirement of Dunhuang city in northwestern China. In this work, multisource data, including river runoff, groundwater levels and remote-sensing data, and field investigation records, were collected and analyzed. A three-dimensional groundwater flow model was constructed using

Productive regions in the Crystalline Basement Aquifer System (CBAS) in Paraná state, Brazil, were identified qualitatively and quantitatively through spatial correlation of wells and geological conditions such as lineaments, hydrography, aeromagnetometry and lithology. Different methods applied in Precambrian metamorphic and igneous aquifers around the world and some Brazilian states were integrated

Water inrush in coal mines is commonly linked to fault zones. Excavation of the coal seam can lead to new fractures in the associated fault zone. Many water inrush disasters have a time lag, which is closely related to the fault zone’s permeability. In the present study, three kinds of fault analog samples (artificially reproduced samples analogous to the fault material) are prepared according to microscopic

Conventional hydrogeological practice is to formulate a conceptual model, which is often the basis of a numerical model. The numerical model is then used to test groundwater management strategies. A workflow is proposed, employing the numerically enhanced conceptual model (NECoM) of the Mean Sea Level Aquifer (MSLA) on the island of Malta. The Malta MSLA is overexploited and under threat of salinization

The impact of high-intensity coal mining on water resources has drastically affected the local environment in the Yushenfu mining area, Northwest China. Many studies have ascertained that coal mining has caused reduction of the phreatic water level and vegetation death, which has deteriorated the fragile arid and semiarid ecosystems. However, at Jinjitan coal mine, it has been observed that the phreatic

Regional-scale estimates of groundwater recharge are inherently uncertain, but this uncertainty is rarely quantified. Quantifying this uncertainty provides an understanding of the limitations of the estimates, and being able to reduce the uncertainty makes the recharge estimates more useful for water resources management. This paper describes the development of a method to constrain the uncertainty

There is a pressing need to improve public administration of groundwater abstraction and use, given the global need to achieve sustainable resource exploitation and to reduce ‘water theft’ by means of illegal waterwells. The article distinguishes between the dynamics of illegal or irregular abstraction for urban water-supply and for irrigated agriculture. Based on the extensive international experience

Estimation of aquifer recharge is key to effective groundwater management and protection. In mountain hard-rock aquifers, the average annual discharge of a spring generally reflects the vertical aquifer recharge over the spring catchment. However, the determination of average annual spring discharge requires expensive and challenging field monitoring. A power-law correlation was previously reported

A cost-effective “parsimonious” approach to delineating groundwater potential zones is proposed, based on catastrophe theory (CT) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in a geographic information system (GIS). Eleven indicators that influence groundwater storage (slope, drainage density, surface-water body (proximity), soil permeability, aquitard thickness, aquifer thickness, hydraulic conductivity

Modern rates of water discharge often exceed groundwater recharge in arid catchments. This apparent mass imbalance within a catchment may be reconciled through either groundwater flow between topographic drainages and/or the draining of stored groundwater recharged during pluvial periods. This study investigates discrepancies in the modern hydrologic budget of catchments along the west flank of the

Three-dimensional geological and groundwater flow models of a submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) site at Hanko (Finland), in the northern Baltic Sea, have been developed to provide a geological framework and a tool for the estimation of SGD rates into the coastal sea. The dataset used consists of gravimetric, ground-penetrating radar and shallow seismic surveys, drill logs, groundwater level monitoring

Light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) are commonly used in industrial processes, and they are well known for their potential to contaminate groundwater and their toxic effects on ecosystems. The adequate delineation of contaminant plume distribution is critical for the effective remediation of contaminated sites and aquifers. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys on LNAPL contaminated

The arid and semi-arid regions within China host 75% of the country’s cultivated lands. These regions heavily rely on groundwater for drinking, irrigation, industry and energy production. Understanding recharge and discharge processes is critical to managing sustainable use and development of groundwater resources. Recently, groundwater recharge and discharge have been altered by climate change (air

Thermal tracer has been widely used as a substitute for salt tracers when investigating the subsurface, since NaCl may cause environmental pollution and cannot be used in aquifers already contaminated with salts. Traditional methods for monitoring thermal conditions, like distributed temperature sensing systems, have their strengths in high accuracy; however, such methods are limited by providing discontinuous

The rapid decline of groundwater levels (GWL) due to pervasive groundwater abstraction in the densely populated (~1 billion) Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (IGBM) transboundary river basins of South Asia, necessitates a robust framework of prediction and understanding. While few localized studies exist, three-dimensional regional-scale characterization of GWL prediction is yet to be implemented. Here

A method of evaluating the risk of floor water inrush using principal component logistic regression analysis (PCLRA) and an improved analytic hierarchy process (IAHP) is presented. The approach was validated by a case study at the Yangcheng coal mine in Shandong Province, China. First, the risk assessment index of floor water inrush was determined based on geological and hydrogeological conditions

The behaviour of transient groundwater mounds in response to infiltration from surface basins has been studied for decades, but some common settings still lack analytical solutions. It has been shown that applying mathematical integration to the line-sink solution developed by Hantush in the 1960s for pumping an unconfined aquifer, considering recharge over the surface of a defined area, is identical

Over the past decades, fractured and karst groundwater systems have been studied intensively due to their high vulnerability to nitrate (NO3−) contamination, yet nitrogen (N) turnover processes within the recharge area are still poorly understood. This study investigated the role of the karstified recharge area in NO3− transfer and turnover by combining isotopic analysis of NO3− and nitrite (NO2−)

Groundwater in the Yinchuan Plain (China) is a critical domestic resource that is also used for agricultural irrigation and to maintain ecological environments, among other purposes. Recent research has shown that ineffective planning of water resources, along with large-scale groundwater pumping (mining) has led to ecological problems. To further analyze the characteristics of the regional groundwater

Greater 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

Fast and cost-effective techniques for hydrogeological modeling are of broad interest for water resources exploitation, especially in remote settings, where hydrogeological measurements are difficult to perform. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)-based techniques are potentially useful for these aims, but their application is still limited. In this study, a field-based approach and UAV-based approach are

The volcanic terrain at the western margin of the Main Ethiopian Rift in the Debre Sina area is known for its slope stability problems. This report describes research on the effects of the hydrogeological and hydrochemical dynamics on landslide triggering by using converging evidence from geological, geomorphological, geophysical, hydrogeochemical and isotopic investigations. The chemical characterization

The Manasi riparian zone in northwestern China has become a survival habitat for numerous native plant species and requires urgent protection owning to rapid expansion of farmland. The critical factor affecting the growth of desert riparian vegetation in arid regions is recognized to be groundwater, but in this region the threshold of water-table depth for riparian species has been rarely studied.

A methodology to quantify the stratigraphic uncertainty of the aquifer bottom is used in assessing the impact of sheet piles on the water table in the vicinity of a motorway. The method includes uncertainties on model parameters and depth of sheet piles. While parameter uncertainty dominates when simulating the existing groundwater conditions, the stratigraphic uncertainty dominates when predicting

As institutions are key pillars of groundwater resource management (GRM) it is important to determine the institutional constraints to GRM. This study used qualitative research methods to identify such constraints in western Iran. The participants were 37 key informants involved in GRM in Khorramabad county, including experts, representatives of relevant authorities, and members of local institutions

Earthquakes can trigger various hydrological responses such as changes in groundwater level, tidal response, and aquifer permeability, but the relationship between these changes remains unclear. In this study, the changes in groundwater level and tidal response induced by the 2,008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China, are analyzed for epicenter distances of tens of kilometers to more than 1,000 km. The

Rapid urbanization has exerted considerable pressure on groundwater resources in Jaipur, India. Peri-urban areas are particularly affected as the public supply infrastructure often does not reach this fast-growing fringe, which often lacks a planning strategy, leading to an informal water supply based on groundwater. At the same time, the hills and historic reservoirs located in these areas are important

One of the aspects of reservoirs formed in highly karstified terrains is the wide range of unknowns. These unknowns impact the risks and problems that follow through from the initial design phase and field research, to dam construction, reservoir formation, filling and operation. Unfortunately, despite complex research and usually extensive remedial work, a large number of reservoirs constructed in

Catchment-scale recharge and water balance estimates are commonly made for the purposes of water resource management. Few catchments have had these estimates ground-truthed. One confounding aspect is that runoff and soil-water inputs commonly occur throughout the year; however, in climates with strong dry seasons, base flow can be directly sampled. In an experimental catchment in the Mt. Lofty Ranges

Trinidad and Tobago is a developing two-island nation in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. Tobago is the smaller island and has small highly heterogeneous aquifers composed of igneous and metamorphic crystalline rock with strong structural controls on the spatial distribution of permeability. Hydrogeologic analyses of the water budget and groundwater production suggest that portions of the island

The fractured volcanic aquifer of the Abaya Chamo basin in the southern Ethiopian Rift represents an important source for water supply. This study investigates the geochemical evolution of groundwater and the groundwater flow system in this volcanic aquifer system using hydrochemistry and environmental tracers. Water types of groundwater were found to transform from Ca-Mg-HCO3 (western part of Lake

A quantitative classification of carbonate aquifers based on hydrodynamic behaviour is introduced. This type of classification is necessary to understand the physical functioning of carbonate hydrogeological systems and to provide a realistic interpretation of field data. Carbonate aquifers are generally considered as karst systems; however, geomorphology and aquifer geology alone are insufficient

An approach, combining several geochemical methods, was used to determine the groundwater properties and components of a hypogene karst system, where sampling is restricted only to the spring sites, and with a limited number of available sampling locations. Radiogenic isotopes (3H, 14C) were used to constrain the groundwater mean residence time and separate different groundwater components. Noble gases

Groundwater vulnerability mapping is one of the tools most often applied to analyse the sensitivity of karst aquifers to pollution. These maps aim to support stakeholders in decision-making and to promote land-use management compatible with water protection; however, the validation of these maps is still a challenge in many cases, triggering high uncertainty. For karst media, due to the strong heterogeneity

Closed-form analytical solutions for assessing the consequences of climate change on fresh groundwater oceanic island lenses have been developed by hydrogeologists during the last decade. Based on existing equations, this study focuses on the case of strip oceanic islands when three combined effects of climate change are observed to affect the freshwater lens volume and its groundwater resource renewal:

A series of laboratory experiments on water flow through rough fractures was performed using self-designed experimental devices to investigate the effect of fracture roughness on the flow behavior. Nine models of single rough fractures—with three joint roughness coefficients (JRCs) of 0–2, 8–10 and 18–20, and three apertures for each JRC—were prepared using three-dimensional printing technology. In

Tracer methods have been widely used in many fields of environmental and natural sciences, and also in human health sciences. In particular, tracers are used in the study of karst hydrogeology, typically focusing on phenomena such as sinkholes, sinking rivers and large karst springs. It is known that tracers have been used since antiquity. The aim of tracer tests has been to investigate underground

The terrestrial subsurface acts as a buffer in regulating land-surface water and energy processes. In integrated modeling with land-surface models, the regulating capacity of the subsurface is largely determined by the bottom boundary condition placement (BBCP). However, the sensitivity of land-surface processes to BBCP in Earth system modeling and integrated hydrologic modeling under conditions of

Understanding the influence of river-water infiltration on groundwater is essential for effective management of groundwater resources adjacent to a losing river. This study evaluates the influence of river-water infiltration in the alluvial fan of the Nalenggele River basin, northwest China, using (1) spectral analysis to analyze river discharges and groundwater levels, and (2) environmental tracers

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02296-7

Karst aquifers are highly susceptible to pollution transport, particularly turbidity, because these aquifers do not filter water to any significant degree. This may occasionally induce sanitary issues for the population and, therefore, it is operationally important to predict the mobility of water with high turbidity. In this study, deep specific architectures, recurrent and feed-forward, inspired

The distribution and flow of groundwater in karstified rocks can be extremely complex and not readily predictable, a far from friendly environment for constructing dams and reservoirs. There have been many expensive failures such as unacceptable leakage rates at and around dams, and/or reservoirs that could not be filled to the design levels. This is never the fault of site geology but always of human

South-central Kentucky (USA) has one of the world’s most intensively studied karst landscape/aquifer systems, including the carbonates that hold the Mammoth Cave System. Slightly higher in the Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) stratigraphic section, the Haney Limestone forms a locally important but much less well-studied karst aquifer. This research provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date