Analytical and numerical models to explain steady rates of spring flow

Flow from some springs in former glacial lakebeds of the Upper Midwest is extremely steady throughout the year and does not increase significantly after precipitation events or seasonal recharge. Analytical and simplified numerical models of spring systems were used to determine whether preferential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ground water 2004-09, Vol.42 (5), p.747-759
Main Authors: Swanson, S.K, Bahr, J.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquifers
Geological Phenomena
Geology
Groundwater
groundwater flow
hydrogeology
hydrologic models
Mathematical analysis
mathematical models
Models, Theoretical
Permeability
Precipitation
seasonal variation
Seasons
springs (water)
water flow
Water Movements
Water Supply
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Summary:Flow from some springs in former glacial lakebeds of the Upper Midwest is extremely steady throughout the year and does not increase significantly after precipitation events or seasonal recharge. Analytical and simplified numerical models of spring systems were used to determine whether preferential ground water flow through high-permeability features in shallow sandstone aquifers could produce typical values of spring discharge and the unusually steady rates of spring flow. The analytical model is based on a one-dimensional solution for periodic ground water flow. Solutions to this model suggest that it is unlikely that a periodic forcing due to seasonal variations in areal recharge would propagate to springs in a setting where high-permeability features exist. The analytical model shows that the effective length of the aquifer, or the length of flowpaths to a spring, and the total transmissivity of the aquifer have the greatest potential to impact the nature of spring flow in this setting. The numerical models show that high-permeability features can influence the magnitude of spring flow and the results demonstrate that the lengths of ground water flowpaths increase when high-permeability features are explicitly modeled, thus decreasing the likelihood for temporal variations in spring flow.
ISSN:0017-467X
1745-6584
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2004.tb02728.x