ABSTRACT
Groundwater flow advects heat, and thus, the deviation of subsurface temperatures from an expected conduction-dominated regime can be analysed to estimate vertical water fluxes. A number of analytical approaches have been proposed for using heat as a groundwater tracer, and these have typically assumed a homogeneous medium. However, heterogeneous thermal properties are ubiquitous in subsurface environments, both at the scale of geologic strata and at finer scales in streambeds. Herein, we apply the analytical solution of Shan and Bodvarsson (2004), developed for estimating vertical water fluxes in layered systems, in 2 new environments distinct from previous vadose zone applications. The utility of the solution for studying groundwater-surface water exchange is demonstrated using temperature data collected from an upwelling streambed with sediment layers, and a simple sensitivity analysis using these data indicates the solution is relatively robust. Also, a deeper temperature profile recorded in a borehole in South Australia is analysed to estimate deeper water fluxes. The analytical solution is able to match observed thermal gradients, including the change in slope at sediment interfaces. Results indicate that not accounting for layering can yield errors in the magnitude and even direction of the inferred Darcy fluxes. A simple automated spreadsheet tool (Flux-LM) is presented to allow users to input temperature and layer data and solve the inverse problem to estimate groundwater flux rates from shallow (e.g., <1 m) or deep (e.g., up to 100 m) profiles. The solution is not transient, and thus, it should be cautiously applied where diel signals propagate or in deeper zones where multi-decadal surface signals have disturbed subsurface thermal regimes.
ABSTRACT
Obtaining reliable estimates of vertical groundwater flows remains a challenge but is of critical importance to the management of groundwater resources. When large scale land clearing or groundwater extraction occurs, methods based on water table fluctuations or water chemistry are unreliable. As an alternative, a number of methods based on temperature-depth (T-z) profiles are available to provide vertical groundwater flow estimates from which recharge rates may be calculated. However, methods that invoke steady state assumptions have been shown to be inappropriate for sites that have experienced land surface warming. Analytical solutions that account for surface warming are available, but they typically include unrealistic or restrictive assumptions (e.g. no flow initial conditions or linear surface warming). Here, we use a new analytical solution and associated computer program (FAST) that provides flexible initial and boundary conditions to estimate fluxes using T-z profiles from the Willunga Super Science Site, a complex, but densely instrumented groundwater catchment in South Australia. T-z profiles from seven wells (ranging from high elevation to near sea level) were utilised, in addition to mean annual air temperatures at nearby weather stations to estimate boundary conditions, and thermal properties were estimated from down borehole geophysics. Temperature based flux estimates were 5 to 23mmy-1, which are similar to those estimated using chloride mass balance. This study illustrates that T-z profiles can be studied to estimate recharge in environments where more commonly applied methods fail.
