The Uitenhage artesian aquifer north-west of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, is one of the few artesian groundwater systems in Southern Africa. The Uitenhage - Coega, and Kruis River areas, are the most important portions of the Uitenhage Artesian System in terms of water abstraction and water use. This study concentrates on the Uitenhage - Coega area and in particular, on the Coega Ridge where the Table Mountain Sandstone (TNS) aquifer occurs at relatively shallow depths. The investigation is aimed at assessing the geological, hydrogeological and hydrochemical characteristics of the HIS and any other aquifers present, with the object of providing quantitative data for use in future decisions on the water resource management of the area. In order to achieve these objectives, field work, involving a hydrocensus, geological mapping, geophysical exploration, drilling, aquifer testing and hydrochemical sampling was carried out. Analysis of these data provided information on the extent of the aquifers, their hydrogeological characteristics and the chemical nature of the various groundwater types.

Master of Science / Department of Geology / Saugata Datta / Domestic and irrigation well water quality in south-central Kansas is threatened by multiple sources of contamination including CO₂-EOR activities, evaporite dissolution and oilfield brine release. This research identifies potential groundwater flow paths for contaminant migration in a concentrated area mixed with oil, injection, irrigation and domestic wells. Groundwater (GW) sampling took place before and after CO₂ injections into the Mississippian in to assess temporal changes in water quality in a ~2 mile radius around injection well KGS 2-32. Samples were analyzed for stable isotopes, rare earth elements (REE), major and trace ions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with a select few analyzed for dissolved CO₂ and hydrocarbons. Results of major ion chemistry reveal an evaporite control on geochemistry in wells screened within the paleoterrace as opposed to the incised valley. Bedrock channeling due to erosional scouring of the paleovalley is speculated to have led to secondary porosity thereby increasing GW flow. Similar stable isotopic and Br/Cl mass ratios between SW-3, Shepherd and Zehr indicate water is similarly sourced; lower total dissolved solids within incised valley could result from dilution from infiltration through overburden sediments. Br/Cl, SO₄/Cl, Na/Cl and (Ca+Mg)/Na ratios indicate Shepherd, Zehr and SW-3 are possibly impacted by a recent salt plume movement through this portion of the shallow aquifer. An increase in total dissolved solids and Mg/Ca ratios with temperatures less than 25°C over a 25 to 200 ft. depth interval into the Permian Shale of the uplands could have resulted from increasing calcitization and reduction in effective porosity. Dissolved REEs showed most domestic and surface waters contain similar signatures, indicating similarly sourced water. Additionally, there was no CO₂ leakage found within the sampling timeframe and a future leaked plume may be impeded by decreasing porosity from current secondary mineralization processes taking place in the Permian Shale.

In arid lands, a major contribution to water loss is by soil water evaporation. Desert sand dunes in arid regions are devoid of runoff and have high rates of infiltration. Rainwater is commonly stored within them because of the low permeability soils in the underlying desert pavement. In such cases, moisture is confined in the sand dune below a depth, termed as the “extinction depth”, where it is protected from evaporation during long dry periods. Moreover, desert sand dunes have sparse vegetation, which results in low transpiration losses from the stored water. The water accumulated below the extinction depth of the sand dunes can be utilized for various purposes such as in irrigation to support desert agriculture. In this study, field experiments were conducted in Western Saudi Arabia to monitor the soil moisture gradients and determine the diffusive extinction depth of dune sand. The dune sand was saturated with water and was exposed to natural conditions (evaporation and precipitation). The decline of the water level in the sand column was continuously recorded using transducers and sensors installed at different depths monitored the temporal variation of temperature and moisture content within the sand. The hydrological simulator HYDRUS-1D was used to construct the vertical profiles of soil water content and temperature and the results obtained from HYDRUS-1D were compared to the gradients monitored by the sensors.

Mountain Lake in Giles County, Virginia, has a documented history of severe natural lake-level changes involving groundwater seepage [Jansons, 2004] that extend over the past 4200 years [Cawley, 1999], and as of December 2010 the lake was about 2% full by volume. Situated in the Valley and Ridge physiographic province on the axis of a plunging anticline and straddling contacts between three upper Ordovician and lower Silurian formations, the lake is one of two natural lakes in Virginia. A daily water balance, geophysical surveying with dipole-dipole electrical resistivity, and chemical sampling have shed light on the nature of flow to and from the lake, including: 1) the steady nature of net groundwater outflow, 2) the seasonal response to precipitation of a forested first-order drainage system in fractured rock, 3) the influence of a fault not previously discussed in literature regarding the lake, and 4) the possibility of flow pathways through karst features. Results from a water balance indicate steady lake drainage and significant recharge when vegetation is dormant, particularly during rain-on-snow melt events. The resistivity profiles display a highly heterogeneous subsurface and reveal low-resistivity areas that suggest flow pathways to and from the lake. Well logs, satellite images, and outcrop observations appear to confirm the presence of a fault to the east of the lake. Chemical evidence suggests that karst features may be present in the upper Reedsville-Trenton formation underlying the lakebed. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-94). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Roy Stine; submitted to the Dept. of Geography. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 17, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-48).

<p>Excess nutrients are currently impacting the ecosystem, fisheries, and recreational use of Lake Simcoe. The objective of this study was to determine the importance of groundwater as a pathway for nutrient input during base flow periods to a landfill impacted urban stream in Barrie, Ontario, which flows directly into the lake. A characterization of a 28 m reach was created using sediment and water level data, and a groundwater flux map of the stream was creating using heat tracer methods. This data was combined with the shallow groundwater nutrient concentration distribution measured with multi-level piezometers and diffusion samplers to calculate nutrient discharge. Such fine-scale measurements of nutrient discharge using groundwater-based data like these have not previously been reported. The water flux results were then extrapolated to a larger 460 reach (Site B) of Dyment’s Creek, and combined with groundwater contaminant data from that reach to derive a crude estimate of nutrient discharge at a larger scale. Groundwater soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and ammonium concentrations were much higher than stream concentrations. Estimates of total SRP discharge ranged from 3.6 to 8.1 g/d at Site A and 38 to 108 g/d at Site B, and ammonium discharge ranged from 66 to 218 g/d at Site A and 757 to 2043 g/d at Site B. This study showed that groundwater is an important pathway for nutrients to enter Dyment’s Creek, and this pathway that must be considered when addressing nutrient input to Lake Simcoe.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.

Στην παρούσα Μεταπτυχιακή Διατριβή Ειδίκευσης παρουσιάζονται τα αποτελέσματα της υδρογεωλογικής και υδροχημικής έρευνας της Νήσου Λήμνου. Η Ν. Λήμνος βρίσκεται σε μια θέση του Ελληνικού χώρου όπου από γεωτεκτονικής άποψης δεν ανήκει σε καμία γεωτεκτονική ζώνη. Τη γεωλογική δομή της Λήμνου δομούν μαγματικά πετρώματα, πλουτωνικά και ηφαιστειακά, Μειοκαινικής ηλικίας, καθώς κατά την εποχή του Μειόκαινου η Λήμνος ήταν πεδίο έντονης ηφαιστειακής δραστηριότητας. Το τέλος του Μειόκαινου χαρακτηρίζεται από την απόθεση κροκαλοπαγών, μαργών και ασβεστούχων ψαμμιτών. Μορφολογικά η περιοχή μελέτης δεν εμφανίζει έντονες εξάρσεις και μόνο το 8.1 % της έκτασης της Λήμνου θεωρείται λοφώδες. Το Δυτικό τμήμα του νησιού είναι το πιο λοφώδες, με το υψηλότερο σημείο να βρίσκεται στα 434μ (Όρος Βίγλα). Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διατριβής έγινε δειγματοληψία σε 74 σημεία εμφάνισης νερού, πηγές, πηγάδια και γεωτρήσεις και πραγματοποιήθηκαν χημικές αναλύσεις για τον προσδιορισμό κύριων στοιχείων και ιχνοστοιχείων. Κύριο χαρακτηριστικό των πηγών του νησιού είναι ο υπόθερμος χαρακτήρας με θερμοκρασίες να φτάνουν μέχρι 23ο C. Εξαίρεση αποτελεί η ιαματική πηγή Θέρμα, της οποίας η θερμοκρασια φτάνει στους 38,6ο C. Κύριο χαρακτηριστικό όλων των δειγμάτων νερού είναι η έντονη παρουσία νατρίου και χλωρίου, αποτέλεσμα της διείσδυσης θαλασσινού νερού στα παράκτια υδροφόρα συστήματα σε πολλές περιοχές του νησιού. Οι υψηλές συγκετρώσεις του νατρίου πιθανά οφείλονται και στη διάλυση των ορυκτών αλβίτη και σμεκτίτη, τα οποία αποτελούν συστατικά των πετρωμάτων της Λήμνου. Έντονη είναι κατά τόπους και η παρουσία του καλίου και των θειικών, αποτέλεσμα της αλληλεπίδρασης νερού – πετρώματος και συγκεκριμένα της διάλυσης του ορυκτού αλουνίτη, που έχει βρεθεί σε πετρώματα του νησιού. Κατά τόπους όμως τα στοιχεία αυτά πιθανά να προέρχονται από τη χρήση λιπασμάτων στις διάφορες καλλιέργειες του νησιού. Η χωρική κατανομή των ιχνοστοιχείων έδειξε ότι στο ανατολικό τμήμα της Ν. Λήμνου υπάρχει έντονη παρουσία αρσενικού, γεωγενούς κυρίως προέλευσης. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας εργασίας ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δόθηκε στην υδρογεωχημική μελέτη της περιοχής Κότσινα, όπου σύμφωνα με τις ιστορικές γραφές αποτελούσε την περιοχή εξόρυξης του υλικού της «Λήμνιας Γης». Ορυκτολογικές και γεωχημκές αναλύσεις έδειξαν ότι το υλικό που πιθανά αποτέλεσε τη «Λήμνια Γη» και είχε θεραπευτικές ιδότητες είναι πλούσιο σε Ca- μοντμοριλλονίτη και περιέχει Al καθώς και άλλα ιχνοστοιχεία. / --