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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−) with time series data of hydraulic heads and specific electrical conductivity from groundwater monitoring wells and a karstic spring in Germany. A large spatial variability of groundwater NO3− concentrations (0.1–0.8 mM) was observed, which cannot be explained solely by agricultural land use. Natural-abundance N and O isotope measurements of NO3− (δ15N and δ18O) confirm that NO3− derives mainly from manure or fertilizer applications. Fractional N elimination by denitrification is indicated by relatively high δ15N- and δ18O-NO3− values, elevated NO2− concentrations (0.05–0.14 mM), and δ15N-NO2− values that were systematically lower than the corresponding values of δ15N-NO3−. Hydraulic and chemical response patterns of groundwater wells suggest that rain events result in the displacement of water from transient storage compartments such as the epikarst or the fissure network of the phreatic zone. Although O2 levels of the investigated groundwaters were close to saturation, local denitrification might be promoted in microoxic or anoxic niches formed in the ferrous iron-bearing carbonate rock formations. The results revealed that (temporarily) saturated fissure networks in the phreatic zone and the epikarst may play an important role in N turnover during the recharge of fractured aquifers.

The Classical Karst (sensu stricto) represents a complex hydro-geomorphological unit as well as one of the best-known karstic systems in the world. For this reason, it was selected as a model area both for applied research and for the conservation of its highly diverse subterranean fauna. With this paper, we aim to provide an overview of groundwater fauna in the phreatic zone of the Classical Karst aquifer, based on all published material along with new surveys, and search for patterns of species distribution within hydrogeological subunits, with a focus on the potential use of species as tracers of hydrological connections and groundwater flowpaths. The Classical Karst, with an area of approximately 750 km2, and adjacent to alluvial and flysch areas provides habitats for 83 stygobionts (accompanied by 16 stygophiles) and is one of the richest hotspots for groundwater fauna across the globe. The rate of endemism within the area is very high (around 50%). Multivariate statistical analyses revealed the faunal turnover between hydrogeological subunits, as well as the effect of water flow regime. Our approach, using species turnover and the species indicator value, allowed us to recognise groups of indicator species, which can be considered as descriptors of aquifer type and habitat structure, as well as water flow regime and groundwater flowpaths.

Aquifers with time variant catchment boundaries, regional flows, and inflows from surface streams and accumulations are common in karst areas. Due to the lack of reliable methods for determination of water balance in the phreatic zone of such aquifers, groundwater recharge estimation is a challenge task. This paper introduces a new method for estimation of groundwater recharge in karst – the so-called partial correlation method (PCM). The basic hypothesis is that the groundwater recharge rates can be determined from the time series of precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, and spring discharge, by using a partial cross-correlation function as objective function. Following this hypothesis, a simple conceptual model of water balance in the soil cover, epikarst and vadose zone is developed, and an objective function for estimation of the optimal value of parameter of this model is proposed. PCM is applied on the catchment of Žrnovnica Spring located in the Dinaric karst area of Croatia. The results of application are compared with the results of previous studies, as well as with the results obtained by five empirical models that have been used for estimation of groundwater recharge in the Mediterranean karst. The effective infiltration coefficients obtained by PCM for the Žrnovnica Spring are generally in accordance with the previously published ones.

We report preliminary results of a field study of the natural discharge styles of a Pleistocene karst aquifer in uplifted Cenozoic coral-algal reef and lagoonal limestone. Discharge in deeply enscalloped embayments appears to be characterized by closely distributed springs and seeps that occur along the entire length of the bays. Along the rocky, cliff-dominated coastlines, discharge appears to be dominated by flow from cavernous openings and solution-widened fractures at the waterline, with occasional submarine springs. Documentation of the discharge styles and relative contributions of observed discharge points to total discharge, along with separate data on aquifer lithology and hydrology, provide bases for inferences regarding the degree and style of karst development. Observations from this study are consistent with separate evidence for a mixed karst in which flow may be relatively diffuse in the current phreatic zone, even though flow in the vadose zone has been observed to be strongly conduit-controlled in some areas. The following conclusions appear defensible on the basis of observations to date: (1) Discharge on embayed beaches is more evenly distributed than along the cliff-dominated coast. (2) The aquifer can best be described as mixed karst, and significant local variation can be expected in aquifer characteristics.

The new railway line between Divača and Koper/Capodistria in south-western Slovenia is being built, a part of which crosses the southern outskirts of the Classical Karst plateaux. It will run through two tunnels, the northern tunnel T1 (6.7 km long) and the southern T2 (6 km long), which partially cross karst aquifer system. A multi-tracer test with injections of fluorescent dyes uranine and naphthionate, bypassing the karst vadose zone, was carried out to define the directions and dynamics of the underground water flow. The main goals were better understanding of the complex hydrogeological conditions in the area and assessment of possible environmental impacts on the nearby water sources. With tracing of uranine injected into a nearby cave stream, the direction of flow from the northern T1 tunnel mainly towards the Reka-Timavo aquifer system and further towards the Timava/Timavo springs was proved. The peak velocities, as determined from the peaks of the tracer breakthrough curves, range from 29 m/h to 36 m/h. Through the wider and well-connected conduits of the Reka-Timavo system, the peak velocities can reach up to 88 m/h. The recovery of uranine in an intermediate cave, i.e., Jama 1 v Kanjaducah, amounted to approximately 74 %. The northern section of the southern T2 tunnel is a part of a wider bifurcation zone between the Osapska Reka and the Boljunec/Bagnoli springs, where peak flow velocities between 10 and 13 m/h have been determined by tracing of naphthionate injected into a borehole located in the line of the planned tunnel. It has been estimated that about 25 % of the injected naphthionate flew out through the Osapska Reka spring and about 5 % through the Boljunec/ Bagnoli springs. Based on this research, proper monitoring of any potential negative impacts of the new railway line will be made possible. The study presents an approach to better planning of hazard control of traffic routes in complex and highly karstified rock settings.

Karst aquifers are hydraulic structures where dissolution conduits dictate complex spatial and temporal flow patterns. These aquifers are vertically divided into phreatic, epiphreatic and vadose zones. While the phreatic zone is permanently saturated, providing the major contribution to base flow, most of the flood event water is transferred through the epiphreatic zone. The spatial distribution of conduits within karst aquifers is largely unknown. The only technique giving accurate results is direct human exploration, although some limited information can be obtained from hydrograph analyses in springs and wells, through hydraulic tomography and by geophysical surveys.

This study focuses on the impact of surface reservoirs (fish ponds) on a multi aquifer coastal system, and the relation between the aquifer and the sea. The study was conducted in an Israeli Mediterranean coastal aquifer, which includes a sandy phreatic unit and two confined calcareous sandstone units. The geological description is based on 52 wells, from which 33 samples were collected for stable isotope analysis and 25 samples for organic and inorganic parameters. Hydraulic head and chemical measurements suggest that there is an hydraulic connection between the fish ponds above the aquifer and the phreatic unit, whereas the connection with the confined units is very limited. The phreatic unit is characterized by a low concentration of oxygen and high concentrations of ammonium and phosphate, while the confined units are characterized by higher oxygen and much lower ammonium and phosphate concentrations. Organic matter fluorescence was found to be a tool to distinguish the contribution of the pond waters, whereby a pond water signature (characterized by proteinaceous (tryptophan-like) and typical humic-matter fluorescence) was found in the phreatic aquifer. The phreatic unit is also isotopically enriched, similar to pond waters, with δ18O of −1‰ and δD of −4.6‰, indicating enhanced evaporation of the pond water before infiltration, whereas there is a depleted isotopic composition in the confined units (δ18O = −4.3‰, δD = −20.4‰), which are also OM-poor. The Phreeqc model was used for quantitative calculation of the effect of pond losses on the different units. The Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) in the upper unit increases downstream from the ponds toward the sea, probably due to organic matter degradation, suggesting contribution of DIN from shallow groundwater flow to the sea. 87Sr/86Sr and Mg/Ca in the brackish and saline groundwater of the lower confined units increase toward seawater value, suggesting that the salinization process in the region is connected to seawater intrusion and not to old brine from the underlying Cretaceous aquitard.

Caves reaching the (epi)phreatic zone may provide the only access to groundwater in the internal parts of karst aquifers. Modern instruments enable unattended high frequency measurements of groundwater parameters in such caves. A network of distributed observation points may give new information on temporal and spatial pattern of groundwater flow. Such network, recording water level, temperature and specific electrical conductivity was established in all major ponors and active water caves of the karst aquifer between Planinsko Polje and springs of the Ljubljanica River, Slovenia. Up to three and a half years long records were analysed in view of available and relevant geological, speleological, meteorological and hydrological information, and basic hydraulic principles of the epiphreatic flow. The result of the interpretation were models of possible conduit networks of the three main flow subsystems draining Planinsko Polje. For each subsystem a hydraulic model comprising the main features of the inferred conduit network and inputs was made. The models were adjusted until their response to the typical flood situations gave a good qualitative fit to the response of the observation network. The results provide new insights into the mechanism of flood propagation through the system and its relation to the known conduit geometry. The hydraulic role of known cave passages is assessed and new flow pathways are proposed. Back-flooding within the aquifer causes an increase of head in the polje, followed by the activation of higher located ponor zones and flow pathways related to them. Hydrographs recorded in two caves located northwest from Planinsko Polje revealed pos sible high transmissivity zone of the Idrija Fault Zone and the mechanism of estavelles located at the polje’s north-western border. The approach taken in this work offers new insights into the relation between the conduit network geometry and flood mechanism. It can be used elsewhere in conduit-dominated systems with multiple accesses to groundwater flow and well constrained recharge.Key words: karst aquifer, epiphreatic zone, groundwater monitoring, hydraulic models, Planinsko Polje, Ljubljanica River.Dinamika podzemne vode med Planinskim poljem in izviri Ljubljanice, Slovenija Jame v epifraticni coni obicajno predstavljajo edini dostop do podzemne vode znotraj kraskega vodonosnika. Sodobni merilniki omogocajo kakovostne zvezne meritve razlicnih parametrov tudi v taksnih jamah. Merilna mreža z vec lokacijami znotraj izbranega vodonosnika lahko ponudi nove podatke o casovni in prostorski dinamiki toka podzemne vode. Taksna merilna mreža, z meritvami visine, temperature in elektroprevodnosti vode, je bila vzpostavljena v vseh pomembnejsih ponorih in vodnih jamah na obmocju med Planinskim poljem in izviri Ljubljanice. Do tri in pol leta dolgi nizi podatkov so bili analizirani z vidika razpoložljivih geoloskih, speleoloskih, meteoroloskih in hidroloskih podatkov ter osnovnih hidravlicnih nacel o epifreaticnem toku vode. Rezultat interpretacij so poenostavljeni modeli z domnevno razporeditvijo podzemnih kanalov v treh glavnih podsistemih, ki odvajajo Planisko polje. Za vsak podsistem je bil napravljen hidravlicen model z dotokom in mrežo kanalov, ki najbolje ponazarja resnicno stanje. Tekom raziskave so se hidravlicni modeli nadgrajevali do taksne mere, da je simulacija vodnega toka zadovoljivo ponazarjala dogajanje, izmerjeno v resnicnem okolju. Rezultati so prinesli nove ugotovitve o sirjenju in dinamiki poplavljanja skozi sistem ter njihovo povezavo s poznano geometrijo proucevanega vodonosnika. Ocenjena je bila hidravlicna vloga poznanih jamskih rovov, na podlagi njih pa interpretirane nove smeri pretakanja vode. Ugotovljeno je bilo tudi zajezitveno poplavljanje znotraj vodonosnika, ki vpliva tudi na vodostaj na polju in nadalje na aktivacijo visje ležecih požiralnikov ter njim sledecih kanalov. V dveh jamah severozahodno od Planinskega polja so visinski hidrogrami nakazali na obstoj bolj prepustnega obmocja Idrijske prelomne cone ter delovanje estavel na severozahodnem obrobju polja. Postopek, ki je bil uporabljen v pricujocem delu, omogoca nova dognanja o razporeditvi podzemnih kanalov in s tem povezano dinamiko poplavljanja v kraskem vodonosniku. Predstavljeno metodo je mogoce uporabiti tudi v drugih kraskih sistemih z dobro razvitimi kanali, z vec dostopi do toka podzemne toka vode in dobro poznanem dotoku v sistem.Kljucne besede: kraski vodonosnik, epifreaticna cona, spremljanje podzemne vode, hidravlicni modeli, Planinsko polje, Ljubljanica.

Vadose zone hydraulic properties impact the performance of surface-spreading MAR systems by controlling the rate of flow of water from land surface to the water table. Single- or double-ring or basin (pilot) infiltration tests are typically performed to estimate infiltration rates. Vadose zone hydraulic properties obtained from infiltration tests at land surface may differ greatly from those at depth, especially where the vadose zone is very thick. Evaluation of vadose zone properties is complicated by the zone being two phase (air and water), as opposed to the single-phase system of the phreatic zone. Vadose zone testing programs needs to consider the spatial variability in properties and the volume and area of investigation of tests relative to aquifer heterogeneity. Where project budgets and time are limited, the use of safety factors in design can compensate for uncertainty.

Groundwater is the main need of society in everyday life. Groundwater is one of renewable resources but it doesn’t mean that it can be exploitated without limit. Several factors that affect the availability of groundwater derived from nature such as geological conditions, rainfall, and green areas should be considered. Water in the soil is stored in a porous layer and has a good permeability is called an aquifer. Cisarua area is located in West Bandung regency, West Java which is a hilly area that has a topography with a slope ranging from normal to steep. The land use in this area is still dominated with plantation and forest as green area. Groundwater aquifer characteristics in that area needs to be examined and analysed for the needs of the community and agricultural business. In this research, the writer used inversion modeling technique of geoelectric data to visualize the condition of subsurface. Resistivity inversion modelling of apparent resistivity data as a result of resistivity method with Wenner-Schlumberger configuration is then carried out with least-square method. The initial model is modified in an iterative manner such that the sum of square error of the difference between the model response and the observed data values is minimized. The result of resistivity modelling is used for analysis of aquifer characteristic such as lithology, depth and structure along with considering geological reference. As the result of modelling, the area of measurement is divided into three zones which are Zone of aeration, Zone of Saturation, and endapan formasi. Zone of aeration is located at depth 0-25 m with resistivity 20-100 Ohm.m and the predicted lithology is gravel or weathered soil. Zone of Saturation (akuifer) is located at depth 25-60 m with resistivity 4-30 Ohm.m and the predicted lithology is sandstone or clay. Endapan Formasi Cibereum is located at more than 60 m from ground with resistivity more than 100 Ohm.m and the predicted lithology is sandy tuff or dry breccia.

Summary Even though karstic aquifers are important freshwater resources and frequently occur in mountainous areas, recharge processes related to snowmelt have received little attention thus far. Given the context of climate change, where alterations to seasonal snow patterns are anticipated, and the often-strong coupling between recharge and discharge in karst aquifers, this research area is of great importance. Therefore, we investigated how snowmelt water transits through the vadose and phreatic zone of a karst aquifer. This was accomplished by evaluating the relationships between meteorological data, soil–water content, vadose zone flow in a cave 53 m below ground and aquifer discharge. Time series data indicate that the quantity and duration of meltwater input at the soil surface influences flow and storage within the soil and epikarst. Prolonged periods of snowmelt promote perched storage in surficial soils and encourage surficial, lateral flow to preferential flow paths. Thus, in karstic watersheds overlain by crystalline loess, a typical pedologic and lithologic pairing in central Europe and parts of North America, soils can serve as the dominant mechanism impeding infiltration and promoting shallow lateral flow. Further, hydrograph analysis of vadose zone flow and aquifer discharge, suggests that storage associated with shallow soils is the dominant source of discharge at time scales of up to several weeks after melt events, while phreatic storage becomes import during prolonged periods without input. Soils can moderate karst aquifer dynamics and play a more governing role on karst aquifer storage and discharge than previously credited. Overall, this signifies that a fundamental understanding of soil structure and distribution is critical when assessing recharge to karstic aquifers, particularly in cold regions.

Summary Above a shallow unconfined aquifer, a considerable amount of water is stored in the vadose zone. Through water exchange with the underlying unconfined aquifer, the vadose zone affects the groundwater table dynamics and overall behavior of the aquifer. In this paper, we examine tide-induced groundwater table fluctuations in unconfined aquifers influenced by vadose zone of finite thickness. Under the condition of small aquifer thickness ( D ) compared with the groundwater wavelength ( L ) (i.e., μ 2 = D / L 2 ≪ 1 ) and small boundary oscillation amplitude ( a ) (i.e., e = a / D ≪ 1 ) (where μ 2 and e are two parameters), an approximate analytical solution was derived to quantify systematically the vadose zone effects, with a particular consideration of capping by the ground surface, i.e., the upper boundary of the vadose zone. Depending on the extent to which the capillary rise is truncated by the ground surface, the vadose zone enhances the groundwater table fluctuations in an unconfined aquifer. However, the mean groundwater table height and exchange between surface water and groundwater are reduced due to the presence of the vadose zone. These effects are intensified with increased capillary rise, but weakened as the vadose zone thickens. This study provides a criterion for assessing the importance of vadose zone in modulating the response of unconfined aquifers to low-frequency forcing oscillations such as tides.

The Ogallala-High Plains aquifer is an important resource for irrigated agriculture in a semi-arid region of the United States. Steep declines in groundwater levels are putting increasing strain on the viability of the aquifer for irrigation, necessitating improved estimates of recharge rates and sources to the aquifer. This study uses a combined approach to obtain high resolution geochemical and isotopic composition of the vadose zone and aquifer pore fluids to better understand recharge dynamics to the aquifer. Significant differences between the shallow, intermediate and deep vadose zone and shallow and deep aquifer indicate modern precipitation is not providing a significant source of recharge to the aquifer across a large area (diffuse recharge). Rather, recharge to the aquifer is a result of either focused recharge or long-term, delayed drainage from the portion of the vadose zone which was saturated before irrigation development.

Little is known about how trace metals accumulate and cycle in conduits within the phreatic zone. These water-filled conduits can receive floodwater that allows metals to accumulate, similar to air-filled caves, but are more susceptible to reducing conditions following floods because oxygen is limited to dissolved concentrations. If sufficient reactive organic carbon is transported into the aquifer, oxygen consumption will lower Eh and mobilize manganese and iron. To evaluate this accumulation and mobilization of metals, we analyzed the geochemical and isotopic composition of water, solid metal oxide, and limestone samples from two phreatic systems in north-central Florida where river water displaces aquifer water following storms. River water was a net source of trace metals to the aquifer; however, manganese depletion in the interior of the metal oxides relative to concentrations in intruding river water indicates not all metals are retained in the aquifer as redox conditions changed. The metal oxides are actively incorporating metals from floods, with anthropogenically sourced lead from surface water on the outer portion of the metal oxide.

International audience; The concept of superficial structure relates to surficial deformations that are determined neither by tectonic deformation nor by surface geomorphic processes sensu stricto. This work addresses two mechanisms leading to structural surface disturbances in the Lutetian strata of the Eocene plateaux of the eastern Paris Basin. Firstly, mechanical release which is associated with stress-relief during Quaternary valley downcutting. It results in lateral spreading of the middle Lutetian limestone, and subsequent sub-erosion of underlying sands may cause valley-side cambering. Secondly, ghost-rock karstification in the phreatic zone which is leading to surficial collapse of the upper Lutetian cover. Geological structure (thickness and porosity of the middle Lutetian limestone) and valley-side slopes stratigraphy (position of the upper Ypresian sand) control the spatial distribution of these processes. Ghost-rock karstification, conditioned by tectonic joints is confined to the west; to the east, cambering processes occur where upper Ypresian sand aquifer and alluvial aquifer are connected. During the Quaternary, periglacial conditions account for cambering processes and also for a second phase of karstification within an aquifer perched in the active layer, and from mechanical release joints. Resultant morphological features are then inherited and cambering is even a fossil process where upper Ypresian sand crops out above the valley floor. Consequently, large-scale landforms, derived from the superficial structure, are essentially inactive.

In this paper, numerical simulations of regional-scale groundwater flow of North Bengal Plain have been carried out with special emphasis on the arsenic (As)-rich alluvium filled gap between the Rajmahal hills on the west and the Garo hills on the east. The proposed concern of this modelling arose from development that has led to large water table declines in the urban area of English Bazar block, Malda district, West Bengal and possible transport of As in the near future from the adjacent As-polluted aquifer. Groundwater occurs under unconfined condition in a thick zone of saturation within the Quaternary alluvial sediments. Modelling indicates that current pumping has significantly changed the groundwater flowpaths from pre-development condition. At the present pumping rate, the pumping wells of the urban area may remain uncontaminated till the next 25 yrs, considering only pure advection of water but some water from the As-polluted zone may enter wells by 50 yrs. But geochemical and other processes such as adsorption, precipitation, redox reaction and microbial activity may significantly retard the predicted rate by advective transport. In the rural areas, majority of the water pumped from the aquifer is for irrigation, which is continuously re-applied on the surface. The near-vertical nature of the flowpaths indicates that, where As is present or released at shallow depths, it will continue to occur in pumping wells. Modelling also indicates that placing all the pumping wells at depths below 100 m may not provide As-free water permanently.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) will play an increasingly important role in solving water scarcity. The performance of MAR systems depends primarily upon local hydrogeology. Greatest opportunities for improvement in the implementation of MAR systems lie in the targeted application of conventional and advanced technologies to improve aquifer characterization. Surface geophysics (e.g., VES, TDEM, and seismic reflection and refraction) generally provide low resolution, but areal extensive data on subsurface hydrogeology. Times series of relative microgravity measurements have been used to map changes in both vadose and phreatic zone storage and to augment monitoring well systems. Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has the potential to provide quantitative data on water-filled porosity and pore size distribution and, in turn, an estimate of hydraulic conductivity. Standard borehole geophysical logging techniques can provide coarse-scale data on aquifer heterogeneity. Advanced borehole logging techniques, such as NMR, microresistivity imaging, and gamma ray spectroscopy, have been used in MAR projects in the USA and UAE to provide fine-scale petrophysical data (e.g., porosity, porosity-types, and pore-size distribution). Groundwater modeling is used in MAR investigations to evaluate system feasibility and to optimize system design and operation. Opportunities to improve groundwater modeling exist through the application of advanced reservoir simulation platforms that allow for the processing and integration of available lithological, geophysical, and aquifer testing data and their subsequent incorporation into groundwater flow models. Advanced groundwater modeling programs are available that allow for the simulation of complex aquifers such as dual-porosity systems and variable density.

In this study, depth of phreatic zone of Malayer plain, which is the third largest plain of the province, has been investigated. The drainage basin of Malayer water, covering an area of 2965 km 2 , is located 80 km south of Hamadan. For this study, performance records of 43 existing wells were monitored over a period of 17 years (1994-2011). Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. The aquifer level hydrograph and equipotential maps were drawn in AutoCAD environment. The results of this study are indicative of the estimation of a 20.20 meter total dip and a 415.96 million-cubic-meter reservoir volume shortage in the 17 year period, caused by uncontrolled exploitations. In the water year of 1998-1999 the dip amount has reached 3.72 meters which is equivalent to more than one sixth of the total dip. The largest dip between years 1999-2010 with 39 meters was in Aznav village and the smallest dip in the same period of time with 1.08 meters was in Farvaz village. From the elements of dropping the phreatic surface, precipitation decrease and waiving the maximum exploitation limits through under-exploitation wells could be mentioned.

The problem of groundwater flow in an unconfined aquifer, formulated as a free-surface problem, is solved numerically through a new approach by employing the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. The domain of interest is three dimensional or a two dimensional vertical cross-section of a phreatic zone of an aquifer, where the groundwater table is the upper boundary that is allowed to move. The ALE method allows capturing the location of the free-surface by transforming the moving domain to a fixed reference domain through arbitrary forced boundary conditions. The results of the verification runs of this new approach agree well with the known analytical solutions for aquifer characterization tests. Beside the comprehensive and accurate evaluation of the groundwater flow in the tested cases, the approach is also suitable for modeling complex situations. The implementation of our method for selected cases is illustrated by means of practically relevant examples. Steady state unconfined groundwater flow simulation.Tracking free-surface using arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method.Good agreement with classic analytical solutions.Flexible application for single borehole pumping and injection model set-ups.

A VDEAL (V is the lithology of the vadose zone, D is the groundwater depth, E is the degree of groundwater exploitation, A is the aquifer characteristics and L is the land use pattern.) model, which is suitable for a vulnerability evaluation of the groundwater in arid inland areas, and that is based on the GOD (G is the groundwater status, O is overburden feature and D is groundwater depth) method and DRASTIC (D is the depth of water-table, R is the net recharge, A is the aquifer media, S is the soil media, T is the topography, I is the impact of the vadose and C is the conductivity of the aquifer.) model is proposed in this paper. Five indicators were selected by reference to the DRAV (D is the depth of water-table, R is the net recharge, A is the aquifer media and V is the impact of the vadose.) and VLDA (V is the lithology of the vadose zone , L is the land use pattern, D is the groundwater depth and A is the aquifer characteristics and.) models, namely, the lithology of the vadose zone (V), the groundwater depth (D), the degree of groundwater exploitation (E), the aquifer characteristics (A) and the land use pattern (L). According to monitoring data from 2003 and 2011, the variations of phreatic water quality in the plain area of the Junggar Basin were divided into three types: the water quality may have deteriorated, be unchanged or improved. Four groups of indicator weights were configured to calculate the vulnerability index using the VDEAL model. The changes of phreatic water quality were then compared against the vulnerability index. The normalized weights of V, D, E, A, and L were respectively 0.15, 0.25, 0.10, 0.10, and 0.40, this is according to the principle that the sampling sites of deteriorated water quality are generally distributed in a high-vulnerability region, and the sites of unchanged and improved water quality are distributed in middle vulnerability, low vulnerability and invulnerable regions. The evaluation results of phreatic water vulnerability in the plain area of the Junggar Basin based on the VDEAL model are as follows. The regions with vulnerability indexes of 2.0–4.0, 4.0–6.0, 6.0–8.0, and &gt, 8.0, respectively account for 2.2%, 61.0%, 35.9%, and 0.9% of the region. The regions with a higher vulnerability are mainly distributed in the farmlands and the sand and gravel regions with a phreatic water depth of &lt, 3 m. Moreover, the regions with a lower vulnerability are generally located in the non-irrigation regions with a sandy loam or silty fine sand and a phreatic water depth of &gt, 6 m. The phreatic water in these regions is deficient with regard to the infiltration of irrigation water and the recharge from precipitation.

Formation of extensive phreatic caves in eogenetic karst aquifers is widely believed to require mixing of fresh and saltwater. Extensive phreatic caves also occur, however, in eogenetic karst aquifers where fresh and saltwater do not mix, for example in the upper Floridan aquifer. These caves are thought to have formed in their modern settings by dissolution from sinking streams or by convergence of groundwater flow paths on springs. Alternatively, these caves have been hypothesized to have formed at lower water tables during sea level low-stands. These hypotheses have not previously been tested against one another. Analyzing morphological data and water chemistry from caves in the Suwannee River Basin in north-central Florida and water chemistry from wells in the central Florida carbonate platform indicates that phreatic caves within the Suwannee River Basin most likely formed at lower water tables during lower sea levels. Consideration of the hydrological and geochemical constraints posed by the upper Floridan aquifer leads to the conclusion that cave formation was most likely driven by dissolution of vadose CO2 gas into the groundwater. Sea level rise and a wetter climate during the mid-Holocene lifted the water table above the elevation of the caves and placed the caves tens of meters below the modern water table. When rising water tables reached the land surface, surface streams formed. Incision of surface streams breached the pre-existing caves to form modern springs, which provide access to the phreatic caves. Phreatic caves in the Suwannee River Basin are thus relict and have no causal relationship with modern surficial drainage systems. Neither mixing dissolution nor sinking streams are necessary to form laterally extensive phreatic caves in eogenetic karst aquifers. Dissolution at water tables, potentially driven by vadose CO2 gas, offers an underappreciated mechanism to form cavernous porosity in eogenetic carbonate rocks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

O,δ 2 H). The input signal (rainwater) was compared with the isotopic content of a 35-meter groundwater vertical prof ile, over a 1-year period. Within the studied aquifer, recharge and flow are diffuse in a well-connected fissure network. At the test site, the comparison between input and groundwater isotopic signals illustrates that no efficient mixing takes place in the whole unsaturated zone, between the fresh infiltration water and the stored water. When analysing the stable isotope composition of groundwater, significant variations were observed above the threshold elevation of 1062 m asl, while a nearly constant composition was observed below the same threshold. Thus, temporal variations in stable isotope composition of rainwater are completely attenuated just in the deeper phreatic zone. On the whole, taking into consideration also the results of previous studies in the same area, the investigations showed that physical characteristics of the carbonate bedrock, as well as aquifer heterogeneity, are factors of utmost importance in influencing the complete mixing of water. These findings suggest a more complex scenario at catchment scale.

The fauna in the hyporheic zones of rivers has been relatively well studied but that from the phreatic zone remains comparatively unknown and there are few investigations into deeper intergranular aquifers (over 30 m in depth) due to technical difficulties. Two shallow boreholes of 29 m depth and two deep boreholes of 100 m depth, both near Ljubljana (Slovenia), were sampled more than 30 times between 14 January 2008 and 3 March 2009. On each occasion 14.4 to 18.0 m3 of water were abstracted using a high-capacity pump, then filtered by means of a plankton net with a mesh size of 60 µm. Organisms larger than 2 mm were damaged by the pump rotors, but their identification was still possible, while smaller representatives of the Copepoda (Crustacea) passed the rotors without damage. A near-by artesian borehole was sampled on 6 occasions. Water chemistry, physical properties and faunal composition analyses were carried out for each borehole. A total of 32 taxa, 24 of which were stygobites, were identified. Copepoda alone were represented by 16 species, 15 of which were stygobites. The shallow boreholes differ from the deep boreholes in their higher temperatures and higher concentrations of K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO42- ions. The copepod communities in samples from the shallow boreholes differ sharply from those from the deep boreholes. There were also clear differences between shallow boreholes in two aquifers located a few kilometres apart, in physical and chemical characteristics as well as in fauna composition. Taxa with different ecological affinities, collected from groundwater, are indicators of hydraulic connections between different parts of an aquifer as well as of communication between surface and subsurface water bodies. The present study suggests that subterranean fauna, as well as epigean fauna, can provide effective support for classical dye/salt tracing experiments.

We consider the case of pumping a semiconfined aquifer overlain by a phreatic aquifer hydraulically connected to an infinitely long and straight stream. The hydraulics of the system are described by a linearized model in which it is assumed that flow in the aquifers is essentially horizontal, and that drawdown in the phreatic aquifer is small enough to allow the water table to be sufficiently well described by the Theis equation. Fourier-Laplace transforms of drawdown are obtained and numerically inverted. Comparisons are made with another well-known analytic model of Hunt, who considered a single aquifer/aquitard system. It is observed that while both models may have excellent agreement during the initial phase of pumping, the longer-term consequences of sustained pumping are quite distinct.

A robust classification scheme for partitioning groundwater chemistry into homogeneous groups was an important tool for the characterization of Eocene limestone aquifer. The aquifer locally is composed of chalky limestone with thin clay intercalated (Samalut Fm.), the fissures, the joints, and the fractures are represented the conduits of the aquifer system. The flow patterns are conditioned by karstification processes which develop a conduit network and preserve low permeability microfractured blocks. The aquifer is mainly recharged by surrounding aquifers and agricultural wastewaters. The groundwater flows in the eastern part (due the Bahr Yossef and River Nile), which is a discharge area rather than a recharge. Twenty-eight groundwater samples was collected from the Eocene limestone aquifer and analyzed for isotopes, major, and trace elements. δD and δ18O concentrations ranged widely due to geology, infiltration of different surface waters, evaporation, and hydrogeology. The concentration of δD and δ18O isotopes is depleted in the northern zone of the northern part and western zone of the central and southern part of the study area. They are enriched due the eastern area of the central and southern part of the study area. δD vs. δ18O delineate the Pleistocene aquifer and has a strong influence than other waters on aquifer hydrogeochemistry. It is confirmed by the AquaChem outputs of the mixing proportions of different water types included in the aquifer system. Cl-δD and Cl-δ18O relationships indicate the role of evaporation especially due the eastern area of the central and southern part of the study area. This research tests the performance of the many available graphical and statistical methodologies used to classify water samples. R-mode clustering, correlation analysis, and principal component analysis were investigated. All the methods were discussed and compared as to their ability to cluster, ease of use, and ease of interpretation. Nearly most low-salinity waters are in equilibrium to supersaturate with respect to both carbonate minerals, while it is shifted to undersaturate with salinity. The inverse modeling findings clarify that the calcite, gypsum, and anhydrite dissolution increased due the northeastern area, middle zone, and southern corner of the northern, central, and southern part of the study area, respectively. The latter areas also were characterized by the lowest precipitation of the dolomite. Such areas are distinguished by much more enhancement for aquifer permeability and therefore transmissivity. The latter areas can be use as injection zone by fresh water. It can be a triple function; firstly, it recharges the saline Eocene limestone aquifer through the enhancement hydraulic conductivity and dilutes it. Secondly, it enhances much more the aquifer permeability and therefore the transmissivity. The Eocene limestone aquifer can be improved in quality and quantity by using such a model and exploits it as an alternative water resource with Quaternary aquifer and Nile water. Thirdly, it irrigates more areas to increase the income/capita. The dedolomitization represents the main hydrogeochemical process in the aquifer system. The geomedia (limestone, clay, marl, shale, and sand deposits) are in contact with water, therefore, the rock/water interaction, mixing, and ion exchange were estimated by the geochemical evolution of the groundwater systems.

Little is known about the hypogean fauna of Algeria, with studies mostly dating to the beginning of the twentieth century (Gurney 1908; Racovitza 1912; Monod 1924; Pesce and Tetè 1978); moreover, the knowledge varies markedly among regions. In this study, we examined the composition and distribution of the invertebrate communities in the phreatic zone of the Tafna aquifer (N-W Algeria). Twelve wells close to the Tafna wadi, ranging between 120 and 1100 m a.s.l., were studied from May 2005 to March 2006. Many specimens belonging to 37 taxa were collected, the most frequent taxa being Typhlocirolana sp., a stygobitic Gammaridae species, Cyclopidae and Ostracoda. Other crustacean species were relatively scarce, with discontinuous distribution, being present only in a few wells. The taxonomic richness and abundance of stygobitic crustacean communities were relatively constant over time. The spatial distribution of stygobionts was mainly related to the exchanges with surface water.

Summary From analysis of the hydrodynamic and hydrochemical responses of karst springs, it is possible to know the behaviour of the aquifers they drain. This manuscript aims to contribute to the characterization of infiltration process, and to determine the relative importance of the saturated zone and of the unsaturated zone in the hydrogeological functioning of carbonate aquifers, using natural hydrochemical tracers. Thus, chemical components together with temperature and electrical conductivity (both punctual and continuous records) have been monitored in three springs which drain Alta Cadena carbonate aquifer, Southern Spain. An evaluation of the percentage of the electrical conductivity frequency peaks determined for each of the three springs is linked to the chemical parameters that comprise the conductivity signal. One of these springs responds rapidly to precipitation (conduit flow system), due to the existence of a high degree of karstification in the unsaturated zone and in the saturated zone, both of which play a similar role in the functioning of the spring. Another spring responds to precipitation with small increases in water flow, somewhat lagged, because the aquifer has a low degree of karstification, even in the unsaturated zone, which seems to influence its functioning more strongly than does the saturated zone. The third spring drains a sector of the aquifer with a moderately developed degree of karstification, one that is intermediate between the other two, in which both the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone participate in the functioning of the spring, but with the latter zone having a stronger influence. These three springs show different hydrogeological functioning although they are in similar geological and climatic contexts, which show the heterogeneity of karst media and the importance of an adequate investigation for groundwater management and protection in karst areas.

The vadose zone is the main region controlling water movement from the land surface to the aquifer and has a very complex structure. The use of non-invasive or minimally invasive geophysical methods especially electrical resistivity imaging is a cost-effective approach adapted for long-term monitoring of the vadose zone. The main aim of this work is to know the fractures in the vadose zone, of granitic terrene, through which the recharge or preferred path recharge to the aquifer takes place and thus to relate moisture and electrical resistivity. Time lapse electrical resistivity tomography (TLERT) experiment was carried out in the vadose zone of granitic terrene at the Indian Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad along two profiles to a depth of 18 m and 13 m each. The profiles are 300 m apart. Piezometric, rainfall and soil moisture data were recorded to correlate with changes in the rainfall recharge. These TLERT difference images showed that the conductivity distribution was consistent with the recharge occurring along the minor fractures. We mapped the fractures in hard rock or granites to see the effect of the recharge on resistivity variation and estimation of moisture content. These fractures act as the preferred pathways for the recharge to take place. A good correlation between the soil moisture and resistivity is established in the vadose zone of granitic aquifer. Since the vadose zone exhibits extremely high variability, both in space and time, the surface geophysical investigations such as TLERT have been a simple and useful method to characterize the vadose zone, which would not have been possible with the point measurements alone. The analyses of the pseudosection with time indicate clearly that the assumption of the piston flow of the moisture front is not valid in hard rocks. The outcome of this study may provide some indirect parameters to the well known Richard's equation in studying the unsaturated zone.

Most conceptual models of epigenic conduit development assume that conduits sourcing karst springs form as water that is undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals flows from recharge to discharge points. This process is not possible in springs fed by distributed recharge that is transmitted through aquifer matrix porosity, such as unconfined aquifers in eogenetic carbonate rocks. Diffusely recharged water has a long residence time within the aquifer, and thus would have equilibrated with the aquifer rocks prior to discharge to the conduits. The upper Floridan aquifer has high matrix permeability (∼10 −13 m 2 ), and many springs lack discrete inputs of undersaturated allogenic water in their recharge areas. Consequently, another explanation for their development is necessary. During flooding of the Suwannee River in north-central Florida, water highly undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals commonly recharges the upper Floridan aquifer through spring vents, and solution scallops oriented away from the vents suggest most dissolution along conduit walls occurs during these flow reversals. During a single flow reversal at the Peacock Spring cave system, flood water was capable of dissolving up to 3.4 mm of the conduit wall rock. Dissolution occurs as flow reversals follow preexisting features that include joints and paleo–water-table caves. Lack of speleothems in conduits in the upper Floridan aquifer has been used as evidence that the caves formed in the phreatic zone; however, flooding would dissolve any speleothems that may have formed during previous subaerial exposure. Conduit enlargement during flow reversals suggests that dissolution can progress in the normal upstream directions, and this process may be an important driver of dissolution in any karst aquifer with outflows to surface water that are subject to flooding. Flow reversals would also introduce dissolved organic carbon and oxygen into the groundwater and provide important energy sources for cave ecosystems as well as altering redox chemistry of the aquifer water.

Water table dynamics, dissolved oxygen (DO) content, electrical resistivity (ER) in monitoring wells and air pressure in the vadose zone are monitored in air sparging (AS) accompanied by soil vapor extraction (SVE) at a hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater site in Oman, where a diesel spillover affected a heterogeneous unconfined aquifer. The formation of a groundwater mound at the early stage of air injection and potential lateral migration of contaminants from the mound apex called for an additional hydrodynamic barrier constructed as a pair of pump-and-treat (P&T) wells whose recirculation zone encompassed the AS and SVE wells. In all monitored piezometers the phreatic surface showed a rapid and distinct peak, which is attributed to the time of air breakthrough from the injection point to the vadose zone and a relatively mild recession limb interpreted as a decay of the mound. Tracer tests showed a layer of a relatively low hydraulic conductivity at an intermediate depth of the screened interval of the wells. Increased levels of DO and borehole air pressure that have been observed (as far as 50 m away) are likely mitigated by SVE and P&T. Radius of influence can be indirectly inferred from ER and DO changes in the AS operation zone. Salt tracer tests have shown that groundwater velocity within the AS zone decreases with the increase of air injection rate.

Summary When water from the surface of a limestone plain seeps down through the fractured rock to the water table of an unconfined aquifer with low hydraulic gradient containing water saturated with respect to calcite, mixing of these waters causes renewed aggressivity. A model is presented, which describes the evolution of karstification by dissolutional widening of the fractures downgradient from the local input of surface water. The model couples flow in the fractures with dissolution rates. Dissolution rates are given by F = k (1 − c (x)/ceq)4, where c (x) is the calcium concentration at distance x from the entrance of the fracture, ceq is the equilibrium calcium concentration of the H2O–CaCO3–CO2 solution in the fracture, and k is a rate constant. The model describes two domains of waters saturated with respect to calcite at different partial pressure of CO2. At the borders of these domains the waters mix and create dissolutional widening of the fractures by mixing corrosion. A channel evolves along the border in the downgradient direction by about 100 m in 100 ky. Below this channel a zone of fractures with aperture widths up to 1 cm has originated. The change of the hydraulic conductivity in the mixing zone shifts the border of the domains, allowing the channel to grow in the downgradient direction. Below it the zone of widened fractures is invaded by saturated phreatic water and dissolution stops. This process continues at the downgradient part of the conduit. In summary, we find cave conduits evolving close to the water table, leaving significant cavernous structures below them. A variety of modelling scenarios with different choices of parameters show that this evolution is typical and changes only in details but not in its basic behaviour.

Summary When water from the surface, e.g. from a lake flows through porous carbonate rocks down along some region with high hydraulic conductivity and encounters the water table of a phreatic aquifer both waters mix by diffusion along their boundary. In a carbonate aquifer, where both surface and phreatic waters are saturated with respect to calcite, mixing corrosion causes renewed dissolution of the carbonate rock in the diffusional mixing zone extending from the boundary separating the phreatic water from the surface water encountering it. A numerical model is presented from which the initial change of porosity in such a diffusional mixing zone is obtained. The initial change of porosity dΦ/dt/0 is proportional to | ∇ → m ( x , y ) | 2 and d2Δceq(m)/dm2. m(x, y) is the spatial distribution of the mixing ratio, m = Vsur/(Vsur + Vphr), and the Vs assign the corresponding volumes of surface and phreatic water. d2Δceq/dm2 is the second derivative of Δceq, the renewed dissolution capacity of the mixed solution. It has been calculated for three geochemical scenarios with differing CO2 concentrations of surface and phreatic water by use of PHREEQC-2. The spatial distribution m(x, y) is obtained by using MODFLOW and MT3DMS in a modeling domain with constant hydraulic conductivity for various flow velocities of the phreatic aquifer. From the results the time scale of cave evolution is estimated. Passages of dimensions of about one meter in width and several 10 cm in height, extending in length along the border line, where surface and phreatic water meet, can be created in time scales of 10 000 years. These caves are horizontal with blind ending passages and resemble closely to the isolated caves observed in Central West Florida. For more realistic modeling we have used a geostatistical local distribution of hydraulic conductivities in the modeling domain. For a correlation length of 1% of the length of modeling domain the spatial distribution extends deeper into the flow direction. When the correlation length is increased by a factor of 10 flow focusing distorts the diffusional mixing zone and enhances the creation of porosity.

According to the characteristics of groundwater in arid area, this paper proposes DRAV model for groundwater vulnerability assessment, where D is groundwater depth, R is the net recharge of aquifer, A is the aquifer characteristics, and V is the lithology of vadose zone. As a case study, the paper assesses the vulnerability of pore phreatic water in Tarim Basin of Xinjiang, China by using the DRAV model. The results indicate that the areas of phreatic water with vulnerability index ranges of 2–4, 4–6, 6–8 and >8 accounting for 10.1, 80.4, 9.2 and 0.2% of the total plain area of the Tarim Basin respectively, and the areas with the latter two vulnerability ranges (6–8 and >8) are mainly located in the irrigation districts with thin soil layer (20–30 cm thick surface soil of vadose zone, mainly with underlying sandy gravel) and with silty and fine sand layer. Such vadose zone generally lacks sandy loam and clayey soil and has larger recharge by infiltration of irrigation water.

In the Saida area, Algeria, a regional aquifer has formed in Jurassic carbonate rocks. Recharged by direct infiltration and swallow holes on horsts, it discharges into the Saida graben. Geochemical and isotope contents show deep groundwater flow at temperatures of around 100 °C at depth and CO 2 of deep origin, developing a hydrothermal karst interconnected with the shallow, classical karst. This particular type of karst aquifer, mixing hydrothermal karst conduits in the phreatic zone and classical karst features in the infiltration zone occurs preferably in active tectonic regions. Such a situation is favourable to productive well boring, consequently to groundwater withdrawal and deterioration of water quality. Still badly known in general, this type of complex aquifer should be studied in depth for an efficient and proper exploitation and protection of the groundwater resource.

The research area was the Fuhrberger Feld aquifer (FFA) in northern Germany. It is situated about 30km northeast of the city of Hannover and covers about 300km2. Six multilevel sampling wells along a representative strip under predominantly arable land along a groundwater flow-line were sampled from the groundwater table down to a depth of 10m below the soil surface. We measured N2O, CO2, NO3−, SO42−, DOC, pH, redox potentials and O2 concentrations. N2O accumulated at four out of six wells close to the groundwater table. About 20% of N2O that occurred between the groundwater table and 7–8m below it resided in the top 0.4m. An exchange zone for N2O at the interface between the saturated and the unsaturated zone extended 0.55 ± 0.22m below the groundwater table and acted as a source and sink for N2O. N2O below the exchange zone cannot be transferred from the groundwater to the atmosphere. The upward fluxes from the exchange zone into the unsaturated zone at the six wells ranged between 0.0009 and 0.3kg N2O ha− 1 year− 1. The yearly downward fluxes into the exchange zones had about the same order of magnitude as the upward fluxes. The upward and downward fluxes of N2O at the (fluctuating) water table did cancel out each other, but this does not yet imply, that the N2O fluxes at the soil surface also cancel out each other. N2O–N:NO3–N ratios were highly variable ranging from 0.0002 to 0.0417. A multiple regression for the monthly N2O amounts in the exchange zone could explain 66% of the yearly variation. The significant variables were NO3−, CO2, pH, and O2. Therefore, a combination of the land use (NO3−), the geochemical boundary conditions (pH) and the type of denitrification reaction (O2 and CO2 indicate the importance of a heterotrophic denitrification process) governed the N2O dynamics in the surface groundwater of the FFA and its transfer into the unsaturated zone.

The estimation of the temporal distribution of recharge in karst aquifers is a challenge due to large heterogeneities in geometric and hydraulic parameters of the vadose and phreatic zone. This article provides a time-continuous approach for the estimation of inflow into the conduit system of a karst aquifer which consists of the sum of direct recharge and flow from the fissured matrix blocks into the conduit system. The approach employs the first time derivative of the spring hydrograph and the recession coefficient of the conduit system for the determination of this function. The first time derivative of the hydrograph describes the rate of change in spring discharge. It reflects the ratio of inflow to and outflow from the conduit system. The recession coefficient depends on the hydraulic diffusivity, which controls the velocity of the signal transmission through the system. As shown in parameter studies with a simplified serial two-reservoir model, direct recharge into the conduit system clearly dominates the early hydrograph response during recharge events even if the fraction of direct recharge represents just a few percent of total recharge. This behaviour is caused by a large contrast in recession coefficients between conduit system and fissured matrix blocks. The direct recharge component can therefore be separated from the estimated total inflow into the conduit system. Estimation of inflow into the conduit system of the Gallusquelle spring (Swabian Alb, Germany) after a storm event yields similar results as those obtained from parameter studies. The separation of the direct recharge component is in agreement with information from an independent isotope study. The methodology has been further applied to a recharge event initiated by snowmelt. As a result of daily variations of the air temperature, a clearly diurnal cycle of inflow into the conduit system is estimated that is not easily recognizable from the spring hydrograph. The applicability of the proposed methodology requires knowledge about the magnitude of the recession coefficient of the conduit system. The characteristics of the conduit system become also apparent in the rapid transport of tracers. The recession coefficient of the conduit system can, for example, directly be estimated from the reciprocal of the mean tracer travel time. However, for this type of analysis, only tracer experiments, covering the extent of the catchment should be taken into account. For the Gallusquelle catchment the recession coefficient obtained from the tracer experiment corresponds to that obtained from hydrograph recession analysis. The estimated inflow into the conduit system and interpretation of temporal distribution of recharge is therefore based on a plausible and physically based parameter.

The epikarst (also known as the subcutaneous zone) comprises highly weathered carbonate bedrock immediately beneath the surface or beneath the soil (when present) or exposed at the surface. Porosity and permeability are higher near the surface than at depth, consequently after recharge percolating rainwater is detained near the base of the epikarst, the detention ponding producing an epikarstic aquifer. Such an aquifer is found only where the uppermost part of the vadose zone is very weathered compared to the bedrock at depth. Sometimes this contrast in porosity and permeability does not occur either because the epikarst has been scraped off by glacial scour or because high porosity exists throughout the bedrock. In some conditions porosity may even diminish near the surface because of case-hardening. The epikarst is best developed in pure, crystalline limestones or marble where it is typically about 10 m thick. It then contains a suspended aquifer that is under-drained and sustains the distal tributaries of cave streams and small perennial flows emerging on hillsides (epikarstic springs). Slow leakage paths from the epikarst maintain seepage to many stalactites throughout the year. A distinction should be recognized between the location (and form) of the epikarst and the function of the epikarst, because the near surface zone in carbonate rocks does not always contain a suspended aquifer.

Summary The Turi Basin contains an unconfined phreatic aquifer within the Toconce Formation volcano-sedimentary sequence that passes eastwards under the Quaternary volcanic chain and outcrops in the Altiplano. The phreatic aquifer is floored by impermeable welded Miocene ignimbrites. Precipitation captured by the volcanic edifices infiltrates through high permeability soils to recharge the phreatic aquifer. The hydrochemistry of the groundwater in the phreatic aquifer shows little evidence of mixing with geothermal water and therefore approximates to a closed system. Tritium values demonstrate that recharge is occurring under current climatic conditions and takes around 40 years to pass 10+ km from recharge areas on the slopes of the volcanoes and the Altiplano to the center of the basin. The chloride mass balance technique has been used to quantify precipitation recharge at 15,500 m3 d−1. This is significantly less than the flow through the phreatic aquifer (58,000–86,000 m3 d−1) calculated from its physical properties and the difference is interpreted to be due to subsurface inflow through the Toconce Formation from the Altiplano. The results of this study have wider application throughout the Andean hydrological environment of northern Chile.

Summary Solute concentration variations during flood events were investigated in a karst aquifer of the Swiss Jura. Observations were made at the spring, and at the three main subterraneous tributaries feeding the spring. A simple transient flow and transport numerical model was able to reproduce chemographs and hydrographs observed at the spring, as a result of a mixing of the concentration and discharge of the respective tributaries. Sensitivity analysis carried out with the model showed that it is possible to produce chemical variations at the spring even if all tributaries have constant (but different for each of them) solute concentrations. This process is called tributary mixing. The good match between observed and modelled curves indicate that, in the phreatic zone, tributary mixing is probably an important process that shapes spring chemographs. Chemical reactions and other mixing components (e.g. from low permeability volumes) have a limited influence. Dissolution-related (calcium, bicarbonate, specific conductance) and pollution-related parameters (nitrate, chloride, potassium) displayed slightly different behaviours: during moderate flood events, the former showed limited variations compared to the latter. During large flood events, both presented chemographs with significant changes. No significant event water participates in moderate flood events and tributary mixing will be the major process shaping chemographs. Variations are greater for parameters with higher spatial variability (e.g. pollution-related). Whereas for large flood events, the contribution of event water becomes significant and influences the chemographs of all the parameters. As a result, spring water vulnerability to an accidental pollution is low during moderate flood events and under base flow conditions. It strongly increases during large flood events, because event water contributes to the spring discharge.

From a water management perspective, the bulk quantity of water moved and where it has been sourced from are more important than simply estimating drawdown effects due to pumping. This note considers the problem of estimating the total quantity of water discharged between each aquifer in a multilayer aquifer model of Dudley Ward and Falle. Direct formulas are obtained in terms of the storativities and leakage coefficients. Assuming a typical disparity of scale between storativities of the phreatic aquifer and confined aquifers, type curves show that over time the vast majority of extracted water is sourced from the overlying phreatic aquifer.

CO2 injected into rock formations for deep geological storage must not leak to surface, since this would be economically and environmentally unfavourable, and could present a human health hazard. In Italy natural CO2 degassing to the surface via seeps is widespread, providing an insight into the various styles of subsurface 'plumbing' as well as surface expression of CO2 fluids. Here we investigate surface controls on the distribution of CO2 seep characteristics (type, flux and temperature) using a large geographical and historical data set. When the locations of documented seeps are compared to a synthetic statistically random data set, we find that the nature of the CO2 seeps is most strongly governed by the flow properties of the outcropping rocks, and local topography. Where low-permeability rocks outcrop, numerous dry seeps occur and have a range of fluxes. Aqueous fluid flow will be limited in these low-permeability rocks, and so relative permeability effects may enable preferential CO2 flow. CO2 vents typically occur along faults in rocks that are located above the water table or are low permeability. Diffuse seeps develop where CO2 (laterally supplied by these faults) emerges from the vadose zone and where CO2 degassing from groundwater follows a different flow path due to flow differences for water and CO2 gas. Bubbling water seeps (characterized by water bubbling with CO2) arise where CO2 supply enters the phreatic zone or an aquifer. CO2-rich springs often emerge where valleys erode into CO2 aquifers, and these are typically high flux seeps. Seep type is known to influence human health risk at CO2 seeps in Italy, as well as the topography surrounding the seep which affects the rate of gas dispersion by wind. Identifying the physical controls on potential seep locations and seep type above engineered CO2 storage operations is therefore crucial to targeted site monitoring strategy and risk assessment. The surface geology and topography above a CO2 store must therefore be characterized in order to design the most effective monitoring strategy.

Groundwaters from the phreatic aquifer within and surrounding of the Cerro Prieto geothermal field were analyzed geochemically and isotopically in order to establish a hydrodynamic model of the study zone, which is located in the Mexicali Valley between 655,000–685,000 m E–W and 3,605,000–3,576,000 m N–S relative to UTM coordinates. Based on their chemical composition three types of water were recognized: chloride, sulfate and bicarbonate. However four groups of water were identified on a statistical multi-variable method of cluster analysis (A–D). The average temperature is 25 °C; with a few exceptions in the south where temperature can be as high as 47 °C. Stable isotope ratios for some waters plot close to the world meteoric line, corresponding to the original unaltered waters of the zone. The hydrogeochemistry varies in relation to three principal processes: evaporation, infiltration of water used in agriculture and rock interaction by reaction with evaporitic deposits. Major quartz, calcite and plagioclase and minor smectite, kaolinite, halite, sylvite and gypsum were identified by X-ray diffraction in lacustrine sediments of the central part of the zone. Chemical modeling indicates saturation with respect to calcite and undersaturation with respect to gypsum. By incorporating chemical and isotope data into geological and isopotential well information, a hydrodynamic model has been postulated. In this hydrodynamic model the water (A) enters the study zone from the east and it is originally of the old Colorado River water. The water samples on which the model is based were draw from agricultural wells that intersected two aquifers, a shallow and a deep one, representing the recharge to the zone. The salinity of the deep aquifer water (B) is lower than that of the shallow aquifer water (C) and so is the stable isotope ratio. The difference is though to be due to dissolution of evaporates, evaporation and possible infiltration of spent agriculture water. Both waters then pass through lacustrine sediments and gain in salinity and become isotopically heavier mainly by evaporation in a stagnate flow. They eventually emerge as a saline water (D) in the central part of the study zone. This saline water is the one that mixes with thermal fluid discharges from the geothermal reservoir in the south.

The karst system of SW Trifilia is composed of a thick sequence of carbonate sediments, which have experienced two types of dolomitization and dedolomitization processes and comprise an extended aquifer. The application of fertilizers in the region have not only caused the degradation of the groundwater quality but also induced hydrochemical changes exerting major control on dolomitization processes. Factor analysis indicates high correlation coefficient between NH 4 + , NO 3 − , Ca2+ and Mg2+, which can be attributed to cation-exchange processes involving clay minerals. The application of a conservative mixing model showed that the calculated groundwater types indicate a cation-exchange process between NH 4 + , derived from fertilizers, and between Ca2+ and Mg2+. Mg2+ released from smectite interlayers, exchanged for NH 4 + in the groundwater and favor a dolomitization process through the partial replacement of Ca2+ in the lattice of calcite (dedolomite) contained in precursor dolomites. This recent stage dolomitization occurred near the water level and within the phreatic zone only and had not influenced the whole karst massif; it also resulted in low Mg/Ca values found in the zone characterized by intensive application of nitrogen-based fertilizers and the absence of overlying impermeable strata.

This paper presents an alternative method for determining the values of parameters of a groundwater recharge model. The phreatic zone of a karst aquifer is considered as the linear and time-invariant filter that transforms the input signal of groundwater recharge rates into the output signal of spring discharges. Similarities between transfer functions of total rainfall rates and transfer functions of groundwater recharge rates are the basis for developing the parametric periodogram depending on parameters of a groundwater recharge model. The values of parameters are estimated by minimizing the differences between the parametric periodogram and a periodogram of spring discharges. The approximate Whittle log likelihood function is the criterion for determining the optimal values of the parameters. By using this frequency domain approach, groundwater-balance calculations are avoided so the method can be applied on unexplored karst aquifers when groundwater-balance cannot be achieved without extensive geologic and hydrogeologic investigations. The results of the applications on two springs located in the Dinaric karst area in Croatia are discussed.

The Snake River Plain aquifer owes its existence and abundance to a unique sequence of tectonic, volcanic, and sedimentologic processes associated with the migration of the North American tectonic plate southwestward across the Yellowstone hotspot, or mantle plume. The basalt lava flows that host the aquifer and comprise the overlying vadose zone are very porous and permeable due to emplacement processes and fracturing during cooling. Rubble zones between lava flows and cooling fractures allow very rapid flow of water in the saturated zone, rapid infiltration of water and contaminants, and deep penetration of air into the vadose zone. Alluvial, eolian, and lacustrine sediments interbedded within the basalt sequence are generally fine-grained, commonly serving as aquitards below the water table, and affecting infiltration and contaminant transport in the vadose zone. The subsiding eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) and the high elevations of the surrounding recharge areas comprise a large drainage basin that receives enormous amounts of precipitation and feeds high-quality groundwater into the aquifer. Northeast–southwest directed extension of the ESRP produces significant anisotropy to the hydraulic conductivity of the rocks. High heat flow and upwelling of geothermal fluids from the crust beneath the aquifer affect geothermal gradients, aquifer temperatures, and solute chemistry.

Ground-water chemistry and water levels at three levels in a well nest were monitored biweekly for two and a half years in a shallow unconfined floodplain aquifer in order to study the dynamics of such shallow aquifers. The aquifer, in northeastern Kansas, consists of high porosity, low hydraulic conductivity fine-grained sediments dominated by silt and bounded by fractured limestone and shale bedrock. Results show that the aquifer underwent chemical stratification followed by homogenization three times during the study period. The length of time between maximum stratification and complete homogenization was 3–5 months. The chemical parameters most useful for demonstrating the mixing trends were dissolved nitrate and sulfate. Higher nitrate concentrations were typical of unsaturated zone water and were sourced from fertilizer applied to the cultivated fields on the floodplain. Variations in sulfate concentrations are attributed to dissolution of rare gypsum in limestone bedrock and variable evapoconcentration in the unsaturated zone. The mixing of three chemically different waters (entrained, unsaturated-zone water; water entering the base of the floodplain aquifer; and water in residence before each mixing event) was simulated. The resident water component for each mixing event was a fixed composition based on measured water chemistry in the intermediate part of the aquifer. The entrained water composition was calculated using a measured composition of the shallow part of the aquifer and measurements of soil-water content in the unsaturated zone. The incoming basal water composition and the fractions of each mixing component were fitted to match the measured chemistry at the three levels in the aquifer. A conceptual model for this site explains: (1) rapid water-level rises, (2) water-chemistry changes at all levels in the aquifer coincident with the water-level rises, (3) low measured hydraulic conductivity of the valley fill and apparent lack of preferential flow pathways, (4) minuscule amounts of unsaturated-zone recharge, and (5) dissolved oxygen peaks in the saturated zone lagging water-level peaks. We postulate that rainfall enters fractures in bedrock adjacent to the floodplain. This recharge water moves rapidly through the fractured bedrock into the base of the floodplain aquifer. The recharge event through the bedrock causes a rapid rise in water level in the floodplain aquifer, and the chemistry of the deepest water in the floodplain aquifer changes at that time. The rising water also entrains slow-moving, nitrate-rich, unsaturated-zone water, altering the chemistry of water in the shallow part of the aquifer. Vertical chemical stratification in the aquifer is thus created by the change in water chemistry in the upper and lower parts of the saturated zone. As the water level begins to decline, the aquifer undergoes mixing that eventually results in homogeneous water chemistry. The rise in water level from the recharge event also displaces gas from the unsaturated zone that is then replaced as the water level declines following the recharge event. This new, oxygen-rich vadose-zone air equilibrates rapidly with saturated-zone water, resulting in a dissolved oxygen pulse in the ground water that peaks one-half to 2 months after the water-level peak. This oxygen pulse subsequently declines over a period of 2–6 months.

A two-dimensional cross-section of a karst aquifer, in which chemical dissolution enlarges fractures with time, is studied. The karst aquifer is recharged by precipitation and drains towards a resurgence. The initial aquifer has low conductivities both in the rock matrix and the fracture network, and the initial water table is high. As the enlargement of fractures by dissolution increases the fracture conductivity, the water table drops, until it reaches a steady-state along the level of the resurgence. Several parameterisations are discussed for flow in the unsaturated zone above the water table. It is shown that different approaches result in similar cave passage patterns, with a large water-table cave draining the recharge towards the resurgence. However, flow patterns in the unsaturated zone can be very different for the different parameterisations.

A karstic flow system in the upper Lost River drainage basin in south central Indiana, USA, was investigated using SO4 concentration and δ34SSO4 as tracers. The flow system was characterized as vadose flow and phreatic diffuse flow. Vadose-flow samples were collected from 7 epikarstic outlets after storm events. Phreatic diffuse flow samples were collected from the Orangeville Rise, the major emergence point for the drainage basin, during the base flow periods. Discharge from the Orangeville Rise was constant during the base flow periods but showed large variations in flow rate (0.3–11.7 m3/s), SO4 concentration (11–220 mg/l), and δ34SSO4 (+5.2 to +15.0‰) after storm events, due to the mixing of rain, vadose flow, and phreatic diffuse flow in the conduits that feed the Orangeville Rise. Sulphate concentrations and δ34SSO4 were unique in vadose flow (SSO4: 13–24 mg/l; δ34SSO4: +1.9 to +3.8‰) and phreatic diffuse flow (SO4: 220 mg/l; δ34SSO4: +15.0‰). Mean SO4 concentration of rainwater in the study area was measured as 1.8 mg/l. Using a 3-component mixing model for water in the karstic conduits, the mixing ratios of rain (16.5%), vadose flow (58.5%), and phreatic diffuse flow (25.0%) components were calculated in the Orangeville Rise discharge. These mixing ratios attained using SO4 concentration as a tracer indicated the important role of the vadose zone as a water storage area in karst aquifers.

An increase in salinity and change from oxic to anoxic conditions are observed in the Upper subaquifer of the Judea Group in the Kefar Uriyya pumping field at the western foothills of the Judea Mountains, Israel. Hydrogeological data indicate that the change, which occurs over a distance of only a few kilometers, coincides with a transition from confined to phreatic conditions in the aquifer. The deterioration in the water quality is explained as a result of seepage of more saline, organic-rich water from above, into the phreatic "roofed" part of the aquifer. The latter is derived from the bituminous chalky rocks of the Mount Scopus Group, which confine the aquifer in its southeastern part. In this confined part, water in perched horizons within the Mount Scopus Group cannot leak down and flow westward while leaching organic matter and accumulating salts. However, upon reaching the transition area from confined to phreatic conditions, seepage to the Judea Upper subaquifer is possible, thereby allowing it to be defined as a leaky aquifer. The incoming organic matter consumes the dissolved oxygen and allows bacterial sulfate reduction. The latter accounts for the H2S in the aquifer, as indicated by sulfur isotopic analyses of coexisting sulfate and sulfide. Thus, from an aquifer management point of view, in order to maintain the high quality of the water in the confined southeastern part of the Kefar Uriyya field, care should be taken not to draw the confined-roofed transition area further east by over pumping.