Spring Flow (spring + flow)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A Model of Cells as Practical Approach to Simulate Spring Flow in the Itxina Karstic Aquifer, Basque Country, Spain

GROUND WATER, Issue 3 2001
J. Gárfias Soliz
The aim of this study is to apply a parsimonious hydrologic model to the Itxina karstic aquifer that can predict changes in discharge resulting from variable inputs (recharge). The Itxina Aquifer was divided into four cells corresponding to different recharge areas. Each cell was treated as a tank to characterize the conditions within the cell. In the model, when the reservoir boundaries coincide with the position of the siphons, the signal simulated is sensitive to input pulses of the recharge. This supports the hypothesis that the siphons are the controlling mechanism in the flow system of the aquifer. The good agreement between predicted and measured discharges demonstrates the ability of the model to simulate the flow in the Itxina Aquifer. These results demonstrated that the hydraulic conductivity increases downstream within the aquifer. The hydraulic conductivities obtained by calibration varied between 4.2 × 10,3 m/s upstream of the aquifer, 6.0 × 10,2 m/s in the central region, and 9.5 × 10,1 m/s in the lower region of the aquifer. These values seem reasonable because the underground features in the principal caves show that the density of caves increases downstream in the Itxina Aquifer. The simple representation of the system produced results comparable to traditional ground water models with fewer data requirements and calibration parameters. [source]


Early Holocene Paleoindian deposits at Nall Playa, Oklahoma Panhandle, U.S.A.

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2003
Jason M. LaBelle
Fieldwork conducted at the Nall North locale and the adjacent playa documents buried Paleoindian deposits and a stratigraphic sequence dating back to the late Pleistocene. Cultural debris recovered from the surface of Nall North includes bone, tools, and lithic flake debris. Two buried paleosols at the locale date to the early Holocene and hold high potential for Paleoindian materials. The Baker paleosol, a stabilized surface above the shoreline of the adjacent playa lake, dated between ca. 6870 and 7740 yr B.P., contains a rich cultural component of tools, flakes, and bone, and represents a potential surface for Angostura and Allen/Frederick artifacts. Located below the Baker soil is the Nall soil (dated to ca. 9650 yr B.P.) that probably represents a marsh facies of the playa fill. The Nall soil represents a potential surface for Plainview/Goshen-age artifacts, although excavations thus far have recovered no cultural debris. In the playa adjacent to the Nall North locality, a sequence dating between ca. 12,960 and 5310 yr B.P. documents localized spring flow into the playa during the late Pleistocene, followed by several thousand years of playa muds during the early Holocene, and the eventual drying of the playa in the middle Holocene. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Controls on Ground Water Chemistry in the Central Couloir Sud Rifain, Morocco

GROUND WATER, Issue 2 2010
Lahcen Benaabidate
Irrigation, urbanization, and drought pose challenges for the sustainable use of ground water in the central Couloir sud rifain, a major agricultural region in north-central Morocco, which includes the cities of Fès and Meknès. The central Couloir is underlain by unconfined and confined carbonate aquifers that have suffered declines in hydraulic head and reductions in spring flow in recent decades. Previous studies have surveyed ground water flow and water quality in wells and springs but have not comprehensively addressed the chemistry of the regional aquifer system. Using graphical techniques and saturation index calculations, we infer that major ion chemistry is controlled (1) in the surficial aquifer by cation exchange, calcite dissolution, mixing with deep ground water, and possibly calcite precipitation and (2) in the confined aquifer and warm springs by calcite dissolution, dolomite dissolution, mixing with water that has dissolved gypsum and halite, and calcite precipitation. Analyses of 2H and 18O indicate that shallow ground water is affected by evaporation during recharge (either of infiltrating precipitation or return flow), whereas deep ground water is sustained by meteoric recharge with little evaporation. Mechanisms of recharge and hydrochemical evolution are broadly consistent with those delineated for similar regional aquifer systems elsewhere in Morocco and in southern Spain. [source]


Ice regime of the lower Peace River and ice-jam flooding of the Peace-Athabasca Delta

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 19 2006
Spyros Beltaos
Abstract The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta is one of the world's largest inland freshwater deltas, home to large populations of waterfowl, muskrat, beaver, and free-ranging wood bison. Beginning in the mid-1970s, a paucity of ice-jam flooding in the lower Peace River has resulted in prolonged dry periods and considerable reduction in the area covered by lakes and ponds that provide a habitat for aquatic life in the PAD region. Using archived hydrometric data and in situ observations, the ice regime of the lower Peace is described and quantified, setting the stage for identification of the conditions that lead to ice-jam flooding and replenishment of Delta habitat. The first such condition is the occurrence of a mechanical, as opposed to a thermal, breakup event; second, the river flow should be at least 4000 m3/s; and third, an ice jam should form within the last 50 km of the Peace River. The type of breakup event depends on the freeze-up stage and spring flow. The former has increased as a result of flow regulation, and the latter has decreased owing to changing climatic patterns. Both trends tend to inhibit the occurrence of mechanical breakups and contribute to less frequent ice-jam flooding. Potential mitigation strategies are discussed. Copyright © 2006 Crown in the right of Canada. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The Role of Climate and Human Influences in the Dry-Up of the Jinci Springs, China,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 5 2009
Yonghong Hao
Abstract:, One of the largest karst springs in North China, the Jinci Springs, dried up and has remained dry since 1994. We develop a correlation analysis with time-lag and a regression analysis with time-lag to study the relation between spring flow and precipitation. This allows us to obtain a better understanding of karst hydrological processes by differentiating the contribution of variation in precipitation from anthropogenic impacts on the dry-up of Jinci Springs. We divided the karstic hydrological processes into two phases: pre-1961 and post-1961. In the first phase (i.e., 1954-1960) the groundwater recharge was affected by precipitation alone, and in the second phase (i.e., 1961-1994) the groundwater recharge was influenced by both precipitation and human activities. Using precipitation and groundwater recharge data in the first phase, we set up a groundwater recharge model with time-lags. By running the time-lags model, we acquired the groundwater recharge likely to occur under the sole effect of precipitation in the second phase. Using a water-balance calculation, we conclude that the groundwater recharge exhibited statistical stationarity, and the Jinci Springs dry-up was the result of anthropogenic activities. At least three specific types of anthropogenic activities contributed to the drying-up of Jinci Springs: (1) groundwater pumping accounts for 51%, (2) the dewatering from coal mining accounts for 33%, (3) and dam-building 14%. The drying-up of Jinci Springs meant that the groundwater drained from the aquifer's fractures, and subsequently changed the structure of the karst aquifer. Although groundwater exploitation has been reduced, the flow at Jinci Springs has not reoccurred. [source]


Temporal variations of physical and hydrochemical properties of springs in the Mid-Levels area, Hong Kong: results of a 1-year comprehensive monitoring programme

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 8 2008
Chi-Man Leung
Abstract Springs and seeps occur in the spaces around Po Hing Fong Street in the Mid-Levels area, Hong Kong. Most of the springs occur through the drainage weepholes on retaining walls at the street. This paper first examines the geology and history of the springs. The paper then reports the findings from a 1-year comprehensive spring monitoring programme. The temporal variations of flow rate, physiochemical parameters and hydrochemistry of the springs are discussed. The average temperatures of the springs were close to the mean air temperature, although there was a systematic lag time of 40 to 50 days between the peak air temperature and highest water temperatures. Spring waters from two rows of weepholes in the retaining wall showed significantly different physical and hydrochemical responses to the changes in rainfall and temperature, though their vertical distance is only about 1 m. The results suggest that water from the upper row of weepholes may represent a recharge source that is shallow or close to the spring outlets, whereas that from the lower row of weepholes may represent a recharge source that is much deeper or further up the hill. Although the spring flows increased rapidly after rainstorms, analysis of the total dissolved solids showed a delayed response to rainstorm events. The concentration of individual ions in the spring water varied in a unique way in response to rainstorm events. It is clear that the presence of underground man-made drainage systems and the leakage from water mains in the study area may add complexity to the solute responses and transport mechanisms. Further studies are required to constrain the impacts of these man-made structures on the hydrogeology of the springs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]