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Field evidence of hydraulic connections between a bedrock aquifer and an overlying granular aquifer in the Canadian Shield (Grenville Province) is presented. This issue is rarely considered and investigated despite its important hydraulic and chemical consequences and its widespread occurrence worldwide. The methodology employed is based on complementary field tests conducted at specific experimental sites instrumented both in the rock and in the overlying deposits. One of the bedrock sites revealed a natural hydraulic connection with the overlying granular aquifer caused by the weathered surface of the uppermost bedrock. Another site revealed an artificial hydraulic connection between the bedrock and the granular aquifer created by an improperly sealed casing. A regional study showed that hydraulic connections yield an erroneous interpretation of the true hydraulic properties of the tested aquifer. The detection of hydraulic connections is therefore essential to properly define well-capture areas and contamination conditions. It is recommended to practitioners that pumping tests be performed as well as hydrochemical comparisons of each existing aquifer unit. Falling-head permeability tests are also helpful in verifying the quality of the seal at the bedrock–casing contact. More effective procedural controls and better well-construction practices are necessary to reduce the risks of cross-contamination induced by defective seals.

Numerical hydrogeological models should ideally be based on the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity (K), a property rarely defined on the basis of sufficient data due to the lack of efficient characterization methods. Electromagnetic borehole flowmeter measurements during pumping in uncased wells can effectively provide a continuous vertical distribution of K in consolidated rocks. However, relatively few studies have used the flowmeter in screened wells penetrating unconsolidated aquifers, and tests conducted in gravel-packed wells have shown that flowmeter data may yield misleading results. This paper describes the practical application of flowmeter profiles in direct-push wells to measure K and delineate hydrofacies in heterogeneous unconsolidated aquifers having low-to-moderate K (10(-6) to 10(-4) m/s). The effect of direct-push well installation on K measurements in unconsolidated deposits is first assessed based on the previous work indicating that such installations minimize disturbance to the aquifer fabric. The installation and development of long-screen wells are then used in a case study validating K profiles from flowmeter tests at high-resolution intervals (15 cm) with K profiles derived from multilevel slug tests between packers at identical intervals. For 119 intervals tested in five different wells, the difference in log K values obtained from the two methods is consistently below 10%. Finally, a graphical approach to the interpretation of flowmeter profiles is proposed to delineate intervals corresponding to distinct hydrofacies, thus providing a method whereby both the scale and magnitude of K contrasts in heterogeneous unconsolidated aquifers may be represented.

A hydrogeological study was conducted in Potsdam sandstones on the international border between Canada (Quebec) and the USA (New York). Two sandstone formations, arkose and conglomerate (base) and well-cemented quartz arenite (upper), underlie the study area and form the major regional aquifer unit. Glacial till, littoral sand and gravel, and marine silt and clay discontinuously overlie the aquifer. In both sandstone formations, sub-horizontal bedding planes are ubiquitous and display significant hydraulic conductivities that are orders of magnitude more permeable than the intact rock matrix. Aquifer tests demonstrate that the two formations have similar bulk hydrologic properties, with average hydraulic conductivities ranging from 2×10 −5 to 4×10 −5 m/s. However, due to their different lithologic and structural characteristics, these two sandstones impose rather different controls on groundwater flow patterns in the study area. Flow is sustained through two types of fracture networks: sub-horizontal, laterally extensive fractures in the basal sandstone, where hydraulic connec- tivity is very good horizontally but very poor vertically and each of the water-bearing bedding planes can be considered as a separate planar two-dimensional aquifer unit; and the more fractured and vertically jointed system found in the upper sandstone that promotes a more dispersed, three-dimensional movement of groundwater. Resume Une etude hydrogeologique a ete entreprise dans

Hydraulic tests and geophysical logging performed in the Palisades sill and the underlying sedimentary rocks in the NE part of the Newark Rift Basin, New York, USA, confirm that the particular transmissive zones are localized within the dolerite-sedimentary rock contact zone and within a narrow interval below this contact zone that is characterized by the occurrence of small layers of chilled dolerite. Transmissivity values determined from fluid injection, aquifer testing, and flowmeter measurements generally fall in the range of 8.1E-08 to 9.95E-06 m2/s and correspond to various scales of investigation. The analysis of acoustic and optical BHTV images reveals two primary fracture sets within the dolerite and the sedimentary rocks—subhorizontal fractures, intersected by subvertical ones. Despite being highly fractured either with subhorizontal, subvertical or both fracture populations, the dolerite above and the sedimentary rocks below the contact zone and the zone with the layers of chilled dolerite are significantly less conductive. The distribution of the particular conductive intervals is not a function of the two dominant fracture populations or their density but rather of the intrusion path of the sill. The intrusion caused thermal fracturing and cracking of both formations, resulting in higher permeability along the contact zone.

The link between stress and hydrologic properties was examined at two sites that are distinguished by different rock types and different stress states. This investigation is based upon the analysis and interpretation of geophysical logs obtained in water wells at the two locations. At the northeast site (Newark Basin), the hydrologic characteristics of sedimentary rocks are dependent upon the relationship to the current regional stress field of two primary types of orthogonal features that serve as preferential pathways for fluid flow. Subhorizontal bedding-plane partings are highly transmissive near the surface and delineate transversely isotropic fluid flow at shallow depths. With increasing depth, the subhorizontal planes become less dominant and steeply dipping fractures become more influential hydrologically. These high-angle features define anisotropic flow pathways that are preferentially oriented along strike. At the southwest site (west Texas), extrusive rocks are subjected to topographically modified tectonic and gravitational stresses that vary spatially within a valley setting. The attendant changes in stress invariants cause fracture connectivity within the rock mass to systematically increase with depth along the valley flanks, but to remain relatively low in the central valley. The degree of fracture connectivity predicted within this valley configuration is consistent with variations in transmissivity determined at several well locations. In each of these cases, the idealized understanding of the hydrologic system is enhanced by considering the effects of regional and local stresses that act upon the fractured-rock aquifer.

The Brunswick Group and the underlying Lockatong Formation are composed of lithified Mesozoic sediments that constitute part of the Newark Basin in southeastern Pennsylvania. These fractured rocks form an important regional aquifer that consists of gradational sequences of shale, siltstone, and sandstone, with fluid transport occurring primarily in fractures. An extensive suite of geophysical logs was obtained in seven wells located at the borough of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, in order to better characterize the areal hydrogeologic system and provide guidelines for the refinement of numerical ground water models. Six of the seven wells are approximately 120 m deep and the seventh extends to a depth of 335 m. Temperature, fluid conductivity, and flowmeter logs are used to locate zones of fluid exchange and to quantify transmissivities. Electrical resistivity and natural gamma logs together yield detailed stratigraphic information, and digital acoustic televiewer data provide magnetically oriented images of the borehole wall from which almost 900 fractures are identified. Analyses of the geophysical data indicate that the aquifer penetrated by the deep well can be separated into two distinct structural domains, which may, in turn, reflect different mechanical responses to basin extension by different sedimentary units: 1. In the shallow zone (above 125 m), the dominant fracture population consists of gently dipping bedding plane partings that strike N46°E and dip to the northwest at about 11 degrees. Fluid flow is concentrated in the upper 80 m along these subhorizontal fractures, with transmissivities rapidly diminishing in magnitude with depth. 2. The zone below 125 m marks the appearance of numerous high-angle fractures that are orthogonal to the bedding planes, striking parallel but dipping steeply southeast at 77 degrees. This secondary set of fractures is associated with a fairly thick (approximately 60 m) high-resistivity, low-transmissivity sandstone unit that is abruptly terminated by a thin shale bed at a depth of 190 m. This lower contact effectively delineates the aquifer's vertical extent at this location because no detectable evidence of ground water movement is found below it. Thus, fluid flow is controlled by fractures, but fracture type and orientation are related to lithology. Finally, a transient thermal-conduction model is successfully applied to simulate observed temperature logs, thereby confirming the effects of ground-surface warming that occurred in the area as a result of urbanization at the turn of the century. The systematic warming of the upper 120 m has increased the transmissivity of this aquifer by almost 10%, simply due to changes in fluid viscosity and density.

The acoustic televiewer is a geophysical logging instrument that is deployed in a water-filled borehole and operated while trolling. It generates a digital, magnetically oriented image of the borehole wall that is developed from the amplitudes and transit times of acoustic waves emitted from the tool and reflected at the water–wall interface. The transit-time data are also converted to radial distances, from which cross-sectional views of the borehole shape can be constructed. Because the televiewer is equipped with both a three-component magnetometer and a two-component inclinometer, the borehole’s trajectory in space is continuously recorded as well. This instrument is routinely used in mining and hydrogeologic applications, but in this investigation it was deployed in two boreholes drilled into Upper Fremont Glacier, Wyoming, U.S.A. The acoustic images recorded in this glacial setting are not as clear as those typically obtained in rocks, due to a lower reflection coefficient for water and ice than for water and rock. Results indicate that the depth and orientation of features intersecting the boreholes can be determined, but that interpreting their physical nature is problematic and requires corroborating information from inspection of cores. Nevertheless, these data can provide some insight into englacial structural characteristics. Additional information derived from the cross-sectional geometry of the borehole, as well as from its trajectory, may also be useful in studies concerned with stress patterns and deformation processes.

The Passaic Formation consists of gradational sequences of mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone, and is a principal aquifer in central New Jersey. Ground-water flow is primarily controlled by fractures interspersed throughout these sedimentary rocks and characterizing these fractures in terms of type, orientation, spatial distribution, frequency, and transmissivity is fundamental towards understanding local fluid-transport processes. To obtain this information, a comprehensive suite of geophysical logs was collected in 10 wells roughly 46 m in depth and located within a .05 km2 area in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. A seemingly complex, heterogeneous network of fractures identified with an acoustic televiewer was statistically reduced to two principal subsets corresponding to two distinct fracture types: (1) bedding-plane partings and (2) high-angle fractures. Bedding-plane partings are the most numerous and have an average strike of N84°W and dip of 20° N. The high-angle fractures are oriented subparallel to these features, with an average strike of N79° E and dip of 71° S, making the two fracture types roughly orthogonal. Their intersections form linear features that also retain this approximately east-west strike. Inspection of fluid temperature and conductance logs in conjunction with flow meter measurements obtained during pumping allows the transmissive fractures to be distinguished from the general fracture population. These results show that, within the resolution capabilities of the logging tools, approximately 51 (or 18 percent) of the 280 total fractures are water producing. The bedding-plane partings exhibit transmissivities that average roughly 5 m2/day and that generally diminish in magnitude and frequency with depth. The high-angle fractures have average transmissivities that are about half those of the bedding-plane partings and show no apparent dependence upon depth. The geophysical logging results allow us to infer a distinct hydrogeologic structure within this aquifer that is defined by fracture type and orientation. Fluid flow near the surface is controlled primarily by the highly transmissive, subhorizontal bedding-plane partings. As depth increases, the high-angle fractures apparently become more dominant hydrologically.

[1] As part of a regional groundwater investigation, geophysical logs were obtained in two municipal water wells located near the west Texas city of Alpine. These boreholes are 252 and 285 m deep and penetrate extrusive rocks of Tertiary age. The deeper well was drilled in the central valley and the other along the northern flank of an east-west trending valley-ridge setting. Analysis and interpretation of the logs reveal that the two wells are subjected to significantly different stress environments because of topographic effects and exhibit significantly different hydrogeologic properties. Water production is associated with two specific types of features common to both wells: (1) the upper and lower contacts of a dense trachyte unit located in the shallow part of the wells and (2) deeper zones of highly fractured rocks within the interior of a basalt formation. The transmissivity of the trachyte boundaries is twice as large in the central valley well as it is in the ridge flank well, whereas the transmissivity of the deeper basalts is an order of magnitude greater in the flank well than it is in the central well. This discrepancy is examined from the perspective of rock failure, fracture opening, and flow enhancement by computing values for a Drucker-Prager stability factor that is based on the magnitudes of the normal and deviatoric stress invariants as a function of depth. Thus the field measurements and subsequent stress analysis offer evidence of a coupled tectonic-hydrologic interaction at this site.

Returns from drilling in unconsolidated cobble and sand aquifers commonly do not identify lithologic changes that may be meaningful for hydrogeologic investigations. Vertical resolution of saturated, Quaternary, coarse braided-stream deposits is significantly improved by interpreting natural gamma (G), epithermal neutron (N), and electromagnetically induced resistivity (IR) logs obtained from wells at the Capital Station site in Boise, Idaho. Interpretation of these geophysical logs is simplified because these sediments are derived largely from high-gamma–producing source rocks (granitics of the Boise River drainage), contain few clays, and have undergone little diagenesis. Analysis of G, N, and IR data from these deposits with principal components analysis provides an objective means to determine if units can be recognized within the braided-stream deposits. In particular, performing principal components analysis on G, N, and IR data from eight wells at Capital Station (1) allows the variable system dimensionality to be reduced from three to two by selecting the two eigenvectors with the greatest variance as axes for principal component scatterplots, (2) generates principal components with interpretable physical meanings, (3) distinguishes sand from cobble-dominated units, and (4) provides a means to distinguish between cobble-dominated units.