Anomalous behavior of soil mantle groundwater demonstrates the major effects of bedrock groundwater on surface hydrological processes

The formation of groundwater in the soil mantle has a dominant effect on rainwater discharge and shallow landslide occurrence in headwater catchments. Here, we report two completely different groundwater responses within a single well excavated into the soil mantle. One was an ephemeral-type respons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water resources research 2008-01, Vol.44 (1), p.W01407-n/a
Main Authors: Kosugi, K, Katsura, S, Mizuyama, T, Okunaka, S, Mizutani, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bedrock
Debris flow and landslides
geographic information systems
groundwater
Groundwater hydrology
Groundwater/surface water interaction
high water table
hydrologic models
Hydrology
landslide
landslides
physical properties
rain
Rocks
soil water
soil water recharge
storms
surface water
watersheds
wells
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Summary:The formation of groundwater in the soil mantle has a dominant effect on rainwater discharge and shallow landslide occurrence in headwater catchments. Here, we report two completely different groundwater responses within a single well excavated into the soil mantle. One was an ephemeral-type response that is well described by physical hydrology models based on a geographic information system (GIS). The other was a semi-perennial-type response, rarely reported in previous studies, which cannot be explained by the existing physical models. The semi-perennial groundwater caused considerably high antecedent groundwater tables between storms, leading to an increased peak in the groundwater level during later heavy storm events and a likely increase in the risk of shallow landslides. Moreover, peaks in the semi-perennial groundwater lagged considerably behind rainstorm events, which probably affected base flow discharge by forming a delayed peak. Geochemical and geothermal observations indicated that the source of the semi-perennial groundwater was deep bedrock groundwater, demonstrating the considerable effects of bedrock groundwater on surface hydrological processes.
ISSN:0043-1397
1944-7973
DOI:10.1029/2006WR005859