Outwash Aquifer Research Articles

Using high-resolution electrical resistivity to estimate hydraulic conductivity and improve characterization of alluvial aquifers

Shallow alluvial aquifers are important local and regional water resources but obtaining sufficient hydrogeologic data to properly characterize their spatial extent and hydraulic conditions can often be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. In this study, we used over 40,000 measurements of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data and hydraulic conductivity (K) data from 33 pump tests across eight shallow alluvial and glacial outwash aquifer field sites in Iowa to: (1) assess the relation between hydraulic K tests and electrical resistivity (ER) in alluvial and glacial outwash systems; and (2) evaluate the application of the ER-K relationship as input data for local-scale groundwater flow modeling. Average field-measured K across the eight sites was 95 m/day and ranged from 29 to 246 m/day, whereas aquifer resistivity ranged from 27 to 896 (ohm-m). Both K and ER were greater at the glacial outwash aquifer sites compared to the alluvial aquifer sites and a linear relationship (R2 = 0.90) was observed between field-measured K and ER when incorporating all field sites. We evaluated how K derived from the ER-K relationship compared to K estimated from pump tests and calibrated K in a local-scale groundwater flow model. The K estimated by the ER-K relationship was comparable to the K estimated from the pump tests in terms of providing reasonable values for model development. Utilizing the ER-K relationship to estimate K would save significant time compared to conducting pump tests. Hence, estimating K from electrical resistivity can provide a non-intrusive, cost and time efficient way to evaluate and model alluvial aquifers.

Hydrologic function of a moderate-rich fen watershed in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of the Western Boreal Plain, northern Alberta

Peatlands are a dominant land feature in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of the Western Boreal Plain (WBP), comprising >50% of the total land area, many of which are moderate-rich fens. The carbon stocks of moderate-rich fens in the WBP are susceptible to degradation through anthropogenic- and climate-related factors, yet, few studies have aimed to understand their hydrologic function. This study, located in a meltwater channel belt characterized by relatively thin outwash sand and gravel (∼6 m) underlying the peat, provides the first hydrological assessment of a moderate-rich fen in the AOSR. The lithology, hydrological function and groundwater geochemistry all point to the dominance of a local flow system supplying groundwater to the fen areas, evidenced by a thick (∼16 m) and shallow (∼7 m below ground surface) aquitard underlying the outwash, restricting hydrological connectivity between the fen and underlying regional aquifers. Vertical hydraulic gradients between the peat and underlying outwash aquifer, and horizontal hydraulic gradients between the fen and upland varied in response to both short-term and seasonal precipitation trends. Groundwater discharge to the fen was enhanced during wet periods characterized by high rainfall. Conversely, flow reversals (groundwater recharge; fen to underlying aquifer and upland), and subsequently, enhanced fen water table drawdown persisted during extended dry periods. This local groundwater flow-system influences recharge/discharge patterns at Poplar Fen, with hydraulic head in the underlying outwash aquifer highly susceptible to fluctuations in the presence and absence of precipitation-driven recharge from adjacent uplands. Moderate-rich fens similar to that studied here will likely become more susceptible to drying in the future due to a changing climate, leading to enhanced water table drawdown, peat oxidation and subsequent decomposition, vulnerability to wildfire, and seral succession to a more ombrogenous peatland system.

Hydrogeochemical controls on brook trout spawning habitats in a coastal stream.

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawn in fall and overwintering egg development can benefit from stable, relatively warm temperatures in groundwater-seepage zones. However, eggs are also sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration, which may be reduced in discharging groundwater (i.e., seepage). We investigated a 2 km reach of the coastal Quashnet River in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, to relate preferred fish spawning habitats to geology, geomorphology, and discharging groundwater geochemistry. Thermal reconnaissance methods were used to locate zones of rapid groundwater discharge, which were predominantly found along the central channel of a wider stream valley section. Pore-water chemistry and temporal vertical groundwater flux were measured at a subset of these zones during field campaigns over several seasons. Seepage zones in open-valley sub-reaches generally showed suboxic conditions and higher dissolved solutes compared to the underlying glacial outwash aquifer. These discharge zones were cross-referenced with preferred brook trout redds and evaluated during 10 years of observation, all of which were associated with discrete alcove features in steep cutbanks, where stream meander bends intersect the glacial valley walls. Seepage in these repeat spawning zones was generally stronger and more variable than in open-valley sites, with higher dissolved oxygen and reduced solute concentrations. The combined evidence indicates that regional groundwater discharge along the broader valley bottom is predominantly suboxic due to the influence of near-stream organic deposits; trout show no obvious preference for these zones when spawning. However, the meander bends that cut into sandy deposits near the valley walls generate strong oxic seepage zones that are utilized routinely for redd construction and the overwintering of trout eggs. Stable water isotopic data support the conclusion that repeat spawning zones are located directly on preferential discharges of more localized groundwater. In similar coastal systems with extensive valley peat deposits, the specific use of groundwater-discharge points by brook trout may be limited to morphologies such as cutbanks, where groundwater flow paths do not encounter substantial buried organic material and remain oxygen-rich.

Sensitivity analyses of the theoretical equations used in point velocity probe (PVP) data interpretation

Point velocity probes (PVPs) are dedicated, relatively low-cost instruments for measuring groundwater speed and direction in non-cohesive, unconsolidated porous media aquifers. They have been used to evaluate groundwater velocity in groundwater treatment zones, glacial outwash aquifers, and within streambanks to assist with the assessment of groundwater-surfaced water exchanges. Empirical evidence of acceptable levels of uncertainty for these applications has come from both laboratory and field trials. This work extends previous assessments of the method by examining the inherent uncertainties arising from the equations used to interpret PVP datasets. PVPs operate by sensing tracer movement on the probe surface, producing apparent velocities from two detectors. Sensitivity equations were developed for the estimation of groundwater speed, v∞, and flow direction, α, as a function of the apparent velocities of water on the probe surface and the α angle itself. The resulting estimations of measurement uncertainty, which are inherent limitations of the method, apply to idealized, homogeneous porous media, which on the local scale of a PVP measurement may be approached. This work does not address experimental sources of error that may arise from the presence of cohesive sediments that prevent collapse around the probe, the effects of centimeter-scale aquifer heterogeneities, or other complications related to borehole integrity or operator error, which could greatly exceed the inherent sources of error. However, the findings reported here have been shown to be in agreement with the previous empirical work. On this basis, properly installed and functioning PVPs should be expected to produce estimates of groundwater speed with uncertainties less than ±15%, with the most accurate values of groundwater speed expected when horizontal flow is incident on the probe surface at about 50° from the active injection port. Directions can be measured with uncertainties less than 15° with the most accurate measurements occurring when the flow angles are relatively low – on the order of 20°. At still lower flow angles, quantitation may suffer due to experimental limitations related to tracer delivery. However, useful qualitative assessments of α may still be possible under these conditions.

Upscaling Point Velocity Measurements to Characterize a Glacial Outwash Aquifer.

Small-scale point velocity probe (PVP)-derived velocities were compared to conventional large-scale velocity estimates from Darcy calculations and tracer tests, and the possibility of upscaling PVP data to match the other velocity estimates was evaluated. Hydraulic conductivity was estimated from grain-size data derived from cores, and single-well response testing or slug tests of onsite wells. Horizontal hydraulic gradients were calculated using 3-point estimators from all of the wells within an extensive monitoring network, as well as by representing the water table as a single best fit plane through the entire network. Velocities determined from PVP testing were generally consistent in magnitude with those from depth specific data collected from multilevel monitoring locations in the tracer test, and similar in horizontal flow direction to the average hydraulic gradient. However, scaling up velocity estimates based on PVP measurements for comparison with site-wide Darcy-based velocities revealed issues that challenge the use of Darcy calculations as a generally applicable standard for comparison. The Darcy calculations were shown to underestimate the groundwater velocities determined both by the PVPs and large-scale tracer testing, in a depth-specific sense and as a site-wide average. Some of this discrepancy is attributable to the selective placement of the PVPs in the aquifer. Nevertheless, this result has important implications for the design of in situ treatment systems. It is concluded that Darcy estimations of velocity should be supplemented with independent assessments for these kinds of applications.

A Modeling Framework for the Design of Collector Wells

We present results of a design study performed for the Saylorville Wellfield in Iowa, which is owned and operated by the Des Moines Water Works. The purpose of this study was to estimate wellfield capacity and provide a preliminary design for two radial collector wells to be constructed in the outwash aquifer along the Des Moines River near Saylorville, Iowa. After a field investigation to characterize the aquifer, regional two-dimensional and local three-dimensional, steady-state groundwater flow modeling was performed to locate and design the wells. This modeling was the foundation for design recommendations based on the relative performance of 12 collector well designs with varying lateral numbers, elevations, screen lengths, and orientations. For each site, alternate designs were evaluated based on model estimates of the capacity, the percent of surface water captured, and the production per unit length of screen. Many of our results are consistent with current design practices based on experience and intuition, but our methods allow for a quantitative approach for comparing alternate designs. Although the results are site-specific, the framework for evaluating the hydraulic design of the Saylorville radial collector wells is broadly applicable and could be used at other riverbank filtration sites. In addition, many of the conclusions from this design study may apply at other sites where construction of radial collector wells is being considered.

Applications and implications of direct groundwater velocity measurement at the centimetre scale

Three projects involving point velocity probes (PVPs) illustrate the advantages of direct groundwater velocity measurements. In the first, a glacial till and outwash aquifer was characterized using conventional methods and multilevel PVPs for designing a bioremediation program. The PVPs revealed a highly conductive zone that dominated the transport of injected substances. These findings were later confirmed with a natural gradient tracer test. In the second, PVPs were used to map a groundwater velocity field around a dipole recirculation well. The PVPs showed higher than expected velocities near the well, assuming homogeneity in the aquifer, leading to improved representations of the aquifer heterogeneity in a 3D flow model, and an improved match between the modelled and experimental tracer breakthrough curves. In the third study, PVPs detected subtle changes in aquifer permeability downgradient of a biostimulation experiment. The changes were apparently reversible once the oxygen source was depleted, but in locations where the oxygen source lingered, velocities remained low. PVPs can be a useful addition to the hydrogeologist's toolbox, because they can be constructed inexpensively, they provide data in support of models, and they can provide information on flow in unprecedented detail.

Loss of volatile hydrocarbons from an LNAPL oil source

The light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) oil pool in an aquifer that resulted from a pipeline spill near Bemidji, Minnesota, was analyzed for volatile hydrocarbons (VHCs) to determine if the composition of the oil remains constant over time. Oil samples were obtained from wells at five locations in the oil pool in an anaerobic part of the glacial outwash aquifer. Samples covering a 21-year period were analyzed for 25 VHCs. Compared to the composition of oil from the pipeline source, VHCs identified in oil from wells sampled in 2008 were 13 to 64% depleted. The magnitude of loss for the VHCs analyzed was toluene ≫ o-xylene, benzene, C 6 and C 10–12 n-alkanes > C 7–C 9 n-alkanes > m-xylene, cyclohexane, and 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene > 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene and ethylbenzene. Other VHCs including p-xylene, 1,3,5- and 1,2,3-trimethylbenzenes, the tetramethylbenzenes, methyl- and ethyl-cyclohexane, and naphthalene were not depleted during the time of the study. Water–oil and air–water batch equilibration simulations indicate that volatilization and biodegradation is most important for the C 6–C 9 n-alkanes and cyclohexanes; dissolution and biodegradation is important for most of the other hydrocarbons. Depletion of the hydrocarbons in the oil pool is controlled by: the lack of oxygen and nutrients, differing rates of recharge, and the spatial distribution of oil in the aquifer. The mass loss of these VHCs in the 5 wells is between 1.6 and 7.4% in 29 years or an average annual loss of 0.06–0.26%/year. The present study shows that the composition of LNAPL changes over time and that these changes are spatially variable. This highlights the importance of characterizing the temporal and spatial variabilities of the source term in solute-transport models.

Influence of subhumid climate and water table depth on groundwater recharge in shallow outwash aquifers

Hypothetical one‐dimensional models of unsaturated flow were used to estimate the probability of groundwater recharge to shallow, glacial outwash aquifers. Simulations were supported by field data, previous three‐dimensional modeling, and cross‐sectional models of water table response to precipitation events for a research area in northern Alberta, Canada. Groundwater recharge rates were found to depend on the year‐to‐year climate variation, the depth to the water table, and were largely driven by annual snowmelt. Simulations indicate that in summer months, when transpiration and canopy interception were considered explicitly, groundwater recharge was negligible. For water table depths less than 6 m below ground surface, the occurrence of recharge depends on climatic conditions (water deficit or surplus) of the current and previous year, and can vary from 0 to 266 mm yr−1. For water table depths of 6 m or more, recharge will depend on climate conditions from the most recent decade, have less annual variability, and a mean annual rate of approximately 45 mm yr−1.

Persistent Elevated Nitrate in a Riparian Zone Aquifer

Streamside vegetated buffer strips (riparian zones) are often assumed to be zones of ground water nitrate (NO3(-)) attenuation. At a site in southwestern Ontario (Zorra site), detailed monitoring revealed that elevated NO3(-) -N (4-93 mg L(-1)) persisted throughout a 100-m-wide riparian floodplain. Typical of riparian zones, the site has a soil zone of recent river alluvium that is organic carbon (OC) rich (36 +/- 16 g kg(-1)). This material is underlain by an older glacial outwash aquifer with a much lower OC content (2.3 +/- 2.5 g kg(-1). Examination of NO3(-), Cl(-), SO4(2-), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations; N/Cl ratios; and NO3(-) isotopic composition (delta15N and delta18O) provides evidence of four distinct NO3(-) source zones within the riparian environment. Denitrification occurs but is incomplete and is restricted to a narrow interval located within ~0.5 m of the alluvium-aquifer contact and to one zone (poultry manure compost zone) where elevated DOC persists from the source. In older ground water close to the river discharge point, denitrification remains insufficient to substantially deplete NO3(-). Overall, denitrification related specifically to the riparian environment is limited at this site. The persistence of NO3(-) in the aquifer at this site is a consequence of its Pleistocene age and resulting low OC content, in contrast to recent fluvial sediments in modern agricultural terrain, which, even if permeable, usually have zones enriched in labile OC. Thus, sediment age and origin are additional factors that should be considered when assessing the potential for riparian zone denitrification.

Thermal plume transport from sand and gravel pits – Potential thermal impacts on cool water streams

Summary We investigated the potential thermal impacts from below-water-table aggregate extraction on a cool-water stream supporting Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and cool-water macroinvertebrates. We monitored thermal plumes emanating from an aggregate pit through an unconfined, glacial-outwash aquifer. Our objectives were to complete a detailed assessment to quantify the persistence of thermal plumes in the subsurface, and establish a framework for guiding these investigations as the growing demand for aggregate increases pressures to pursue extraction in ecologically sensitive areas. During a 10-year period, we measured ground and surface water temperatures in an outwash aquifer and cool-water stream, including two periods of intensive monitoring (22 months and 2.5 years) focusing on plume movement from one aggregate pit. We quantified the aquifer hydraulic conductivity K at the laboratory and field scale, and characterized the effective thermal conductivity λ at an unprecedented level of detail. The mean K’s from the multi-scale tests span two-orders of magnitude, 1.8 × 10−4 to 1.7 × 10−2 m s−1, and are related to the test support volume. The saturated λ has a mean of 2.42 W m−1 K−1, ranges from 2.14 to 2.69 W m−1 K−1, and is correlated to stratigraphic units (gravel, sand, and till). The annual temperature amplitude in the pit is 10 °C above up gradient ground water, and our results show that alternating warm and cool plumes persist in the aquifer for 11 months and migrate up to 250 m down gradient. The observed plume velocity (1.2 m d−1) lags the ground water velocity (2.8 m d−1) due to thermal retardation. Furthermore, hydraulic conductivity is shown to vary with the scale of the test and ground water velocities estimated from pumping tests may overestimate thermal plume velocities. While we focused on plume migration, our results demonstrate that assessing impacts on the aquatic community requires an integrated, multi-disciplinary study. This work can guide such assessments.

Pilot-Scale Demonstration of Surfactant-Enhanced PCE Solubilization at the Bachman Road Site. 1. Site Characterization and Test Design

A pilot-scale demonstration of surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) was conducted to recover dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) tetrachloroethene (PCE) from a sandy glacial outwash aquifer underlying a former dry cleaning facility at the Bachman Road site in Oscoda, MI. Part one of this two-part paper describes site characterization efforts and a comprehensive approach to SEAR test design, effectively integrating laboratory and modeling studies. Aquifer coring and drive point sampling suggested the presence of PCE-DNAPL in a zone beneath an occupied building. A narrow PCE plume emanating from the vicinity of this building discharges into Lake Huron. The shallow unconfined aquifer, characterized by relatively homogeneous fine-medium sand deposits, an underlying clay layer, and the absence of significant PCE transformation products, was judged suitable for the demonstration of SEAR. Tween 80 was selected for application based upon its favorable solubilization performance in batch and two-dimensional sand tank treatability studies, biodegradation potential, and regulatory acceptance. Three-dimensional flow and transport models were employed to develop a robust design for surfactant delivery and recovery. Physical and fiscal constraints led to an unusual hydraulic design, in which surfactant was flushed across the regional groundwater gradient, facilitating the delivery of concentrations of Tween 80 exceeding 1% (wt) throughout the treatment zone. The potential influence of small-scale heterogeneity on PCE-DNAPL distribution and SEAR performance was assessed through numerical simulations incorporating geostatistical permeability fields based upon available core data. For the examined conditions simulated PCE recoveries ranged from 94to 99%. The effluent treatment system design consisted of low-profile air strippers coupled with carbon adsorption to trap off-gas PCE and discharge of treated aqueous effluent to a local wastewater treatment plant. The systematic and comprehensive design methodology described herein may serve as a template for application at other DNAPL sites.

Progression of methanogenic degradation of crude oil in the subsurface

Our results show that subsurface crude-oil degradation rates at a long-term research site were strongly influenced by small-scale variations in hydrologic conditions. The site is a shallow glacial outwash aquifer located near Bemidji in northern Minnesota that became contaminated when oil spilled from a broken pipeline in August 1979. In the study area, separate-phase oil forms a subsurface oil body extending from land surface to about 1 m (3.3 ft) below the 6–8-m (20–26 ft)-deep water table. Oil saturation in the sediments ranges from 10–20% in the vadose zone to 30–70% near the water table. At depths below 2 m (6.6 ft), degradation of the separate-phase crude oil occurs under methanogenic conditions. The sequence of methanogenic alkane degradation depletes the longer chain n-alkanes before the shorter chain n-alkanes, which is opposite to the better known aerobic sequence. The rates of degradation vary significantly with location in the subsurface. Oil-coated soils within 1.5 m (5 ft) of land surface have experienced little degradation where soil water saturation is less than 20%. Oil located 2–8 m (6.6–26 ft) below land surface in areas of higher recharge has been substantially degraded. The best explanation for the association between recharge and enhanced degradation seems to be increased downward transport of microbial growth nutrients to the oil body. This is supported by observations of greater microbial numbers at higher elevations in the oil body and significant decreases with depth in nutrient concentrations, especially phosphorus. Our results suggest that environmental effects may cause widely diverging degradation rates in the same spill, calling into question dating methods based on degradation state.

Using solver to determine vertical groundwater velocities by temperature variations, Purdue University, Indiana, USA

Vertical groundwater velocities can be estimated based on directions of groundwater thermal gradients. Temperature-depth profiles were obtained from 12 monitoring wells at 3 different times of the year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) in West Lafayette, Indiana (USA) mainly on the Purdue University campus. Microsoft Excel Solver was used to match plots of groundwater temperature distribution in the wells with published type curves in order to find a dimensionless parameter β, from which vertical groundwater velocities were obtained. The vertical groundwater velocities found in the monitoring wells ranged from 0.92 to 4.53 cm/yr. Clay-rich aquitards presented greater vertical groundwater velocities than outwash aquifers. The highest groundwater velocities occurred in the Spring while the lowest were during the Winter. This method was found to be especially useful in glacially-derived materials with varying hydraulic conductivities for estimating vertical groundwater velocities in-situ.

Reductive dissolution of Mn oxides in river-recharged aquifers: a laboratory column study

River-recharged aquifers are developed for drinking water supplies in many parts of the world. Often, however, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) present in the infiltrating river water causes biogeochemical reactions to occur in the adjacent aquifer that create elevated Mn and Fe. Mn concentrations in groundwater from some of the production wells installed in the aquifer at Fredericton, New Brunswick exceed the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline of 9.1×10 −4 mmol/l by up to 5.5×10 −2 mmol/l. It has previously been hypothesized that the influx of DOC from the Saint John River is causing bacterially mediated reductive dissolution of Mn oxides in the aquifer system, leading to elevated aqueous Mn concentrations. Previous work was limited to the collection of water samples from production wells and several observation wells installed in the glacial outwash aquifer. The objective of this study was to investigate the biogeochemical controls on Mn concentrations using sand-filled columns. One column was inoculated with bacteria while a second column was treated with ethanol in order to decrease the microbial population initially present in the system. Both columns received the same influent solution that contained acetate as a source of DOC. The results of the experiments suggested that the two main controls on Mn concentrations in the columns were microbially mediated reductive dissolution of Mn oxides and cation exchange. The conceptual model that was developed based on the experimental data was supported by the results obtained using a one-dimensional reactive-transport model. The reductive dissolution of Mn oxides in the aquifer sands could be adequately simulated using dual-Monod kinetics. Similar trends are observed in the experimental data and field data collected from Production Well 5, located in the Fredericton Aquifer. From the experiments, it is evident that cation-exchange reactions may be an important geochemical control on Mn concentrations during the initial stages of pumping; however, the reductive dissolution of Mn oxides may represent a long-term source of Mn in the drinking water supply.

Influence of textural and wettability variations on predictions of DNAPL persistence and plume development in saturated porous media

Numerical simulations examine the migration, entrapment, and mass recovery behavior of DNAPLs in aquifer systems with coupled textural and wettability variations. Permeability fields of varying degrees of heterogeneity (i.e., differing σ ln( k) 2) were generated with sequential Gaussian simulation, using geostatistical parameters derived from core grain size measurements in a sandy glacial outwash aquifer. Organic-wet mass fraction, a representative metric for wettability, was correlated to porous media permeability. A multiphase flow simulator incorporating wettability-dependent constitutive relationships for capillary behavior is used to generate residual saturation distributions for tetrachloroethene (PCE) spill events in these synthetic aquifers. Simulated saturation distributions then serve as initial conditions for compositional simulations of PCE dissolution, to examine the effect of coupled wettability and permeability variations on DNAPL mass recovery. Simulations reveal considerable differences in predicted depth of organic liquid penetration, extent of vertical spreading, and magnitude of maximum entrapped saturation for the various modeled scenarios. These differences are directly linked to observable variations in effluent concentration and mass recovery predictions in the aqueous phase flushing simulations. Results suggest that mass recovery behavior may be highly realization dependent and not closely correlated with geostatistical parameters.

Transport and fate of nitrate in a glacial outwash aquifer in relation to ground water age, land use practices, and redox processes.

A combination of ground water modeling, chemical and dissolved gas analyses, and chlorofluorocarbon age dating of water was used to determine the relation between changes in agricultural practices, and NO3- concentrations in ground water of a glacial outwash aquifer in west-central Minnesota. The results revealed a redox zonation throughout the saturated zone with oxygen reduction occurring near the water table, NO3- reduction immediately below it, and then a large zone of ferric iron reduction, with a small area of sulfate (SO4(2-)) reduction and methanogenesis (CH4) near the end of the transsect. Analytical and NETPATH modeling results supported the hypothesis that organic carbon served as the electron donor for the redox reactions. Denitrification rates were quite small, 0.005 to 0.047 mmol NO3- yr(-1), and were limited by the small amounts of organic carbon, 0.01 to 1.45%. In spite of the organic carbon limitation, denitrification was virtually complete because residence time is sufficient to allow even slow processes to reach completion. Ground water sample ages showed that maximum residence times were on the order of 50 to 70 yr. Reconstructed NO3- concentrations, estimated from measured NO3- and dissolved N gas showed that NO3- concentrations have been increasing in the aquifer since the 1940s, and have been above the 714 micromol L(-1) maximum contaminant level at most sites since the mid- to late-1960s. This increase in NO3- has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in agricultural use of fertilizer, identified as the major source of NO3- to the aquifer.

Transport and Fate of Nitrate in a Glacial Outwash Aquifer in Relation to Ground Water Age, Land Use Practices, and Redox Processes

Transport and Fate of Nitrate in a Glacial Outwash Aquifer in Relation to Ground Water Age, Land Use Practices, and Redox Processes

Application of the Kozeny-Carman Equation to Permeability Determination for a Glacial Outwash Aquifer, Using Grain-size Analysis

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeKeywords: Glacial Aquifers Grain-SIZE Distribution Kozeny-CARMAN Equation Permeability Porosity Specific Surface Area

Estimation of Nitrate Contamination of an Agro‐Ecosystem Outwash Aquifer Using a Nitrogen Mass‐Balance Budget

AbstractA mass‐balance budget of N cycling was developed for an intensive agricultural area in west‐central Minnesota to better understand NO−3 contamination of ground water in the Otter Tail outwash aquifer. Fertilizer, biological fixation, atmospheric deposition, and animal feed were the N sources, and crop harvests, animal product exports, volatilization from fertilizer and manure, and denitrification were the N sinks in the model. Excess N, calculated as the difference between the sources and sinks, was assumed to leach to ground water as NO−3. The budget was developed using ground water data collected throughout the 212‐km2 study area. Denitrification was estimated by adjusting its value so the predicted and measured concentrations of NO3 in ground water agreed. Although biological fixation was the largest single N source, most was removed when crops were harvested, indicating that inorganic fertilizer was the primary source of N reaching the water table. It was estimated that denitrification removed almost half of the excess NO−3 that leached below the root zone. Even after accounting for denitrification losses, however, it was concluded that the ground water system was receiving approximately three times as much N as would be expected under background conditions.