Combining Hydraulic Head Analysis with Airborne Electromagnetics to Detect and Map Impermeable Aquifer Boundaries

Combining Hydraulic Head Analysis with Airborne Electromagnetics to Detect and Map Impermeable Aquifer Boundaries

Impermeable aquifer boundaries affect the flow of groundwater, transport of contaminants, and the drawdown of water levels in response to pumping. Hydraulic methods can detect the presence of such boundaries, but these methods are not suited for mapping complex, 3D geological bodies. Airborne electr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2018-07, Vol.10 (8), p.975
Main Author: Korus, Jesse
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Aquifers
Boundaries
Contaminants
Drawdown
Duration
Electromagnetic radiation
Geological mapping
Geology
Geophysical methods
Geophysics
Glacial deposits
Groundwater
Groundwater pollution
Groundwater table
heterogeneity
hydraulic barrier
Hydraulics
hydrogeology
Production methods
Pumping
Surveys
Three dimensional bodies
Water levels
Water pollution
Water table
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Summary:Impermeable aquifer boundaries affect the flow of groundwater, transport of contaminants, and the drawdown of water levels in response to pumping. Hydraulic methods can detect the presence of such boundaries, but these methods are not suited for mapping complex, 3D geological bodies. Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods produce 3D geophysical images of the subsurface at depths relevant to most groundwater investigations. Interpreting a geophysical model requires supporting information, and hydraulic heads offer the most direct means of assessing the hydrostratigraphic function of interpreted geological units. This paper presents three examples of combined hydraulic and AEM analysis of impermeable boundaries in glacial deposits of eastern Nebraska, USA. Impermeable boundaries were detected in a long-term hydrograph from an observation well, a short-duration pumping test, and a water table map. AEM methods, including frequency-domain and time-domain AEM, successfully imaged the impermeable boundaries, providing additional details about the lateral extent of the geological bodies. Hydraulic head analysis can be used to verify the hydrostratigraphic interpretation of AEM, aid in the correlation of boundaries through areas of noisy AEM data, and inform the design of AEM surveys at local to regional scales.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441