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Evaluation of Geological Model for Sustainable Utilization and Management of Groundwater Resources

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 2042

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: groundwater resources; hydrogeology; geophysics; environmnetal earth sciences; geological model uncertainity; engineering geology
School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Sciences and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
Interests: groundwater resources assessment; environmental monitoring; geophysics; hydrogeology; geotechnical engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Accurate evaluation of subsurface geological models is essential for sustainable utilization and management of groundwater resources. Such models are mainly characterized by estimation of groundwater resources, delineation of fresh and saline aquifer, modeling of groundwater flow path, differentiation between water and clay content, and identification of fractures and faults, etc. However, limited data, natural heterogeneity, and data interpretation have been recognized as the primary sources of uncertainties in such models. With decades of developments in measurement technologies and advanced models, much effort has been devoted to reducing uncertainty, mainly focusing on bridging the gaps between available data and accurate geological models. Geology knowledge plays an essential role in characterizing and quantifying uncertainty in various geological models across scales. Ignorance of geological model uncertainty often leads to groundwater and environmental problems, all of which can lead to substantial societal risk. Therefore, it is crucial to characterize and quantify the geological model uncertainty and systematically examine its effect on groundwater resources and environmental issues.

The Special Issue welcomes high-quality submissions that provide the community with the most recent advancements from various fields on all aspects of geological model evaluation for groundwater resources assessments, including, but not limited to:

  1. Estimation of groundwater resources;
  2. Delineation of fresh and saline aquifer resources;
  3. Groundwater flow modeling;
  4. Evaluation of water-bearing strata and clay layers;
  5. Identification of fractures and faults associated with the groundwater occurrence.

Dr. Muhammad Hasan
Dr. Majid Khan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater estimation
  • fresh/saline aquifer
  • groundwater flow modeling
  • sustainable groundwater management
  • geological model
  • water-bearing strata
  • fractures/faults

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 4870 KiB  
Article
Estimating Groundwater Flow Velocity in Shallow Volcanic Aquifers of the Ethiopian Highlands Using a Geospatial Technique
by Hassen Shube, Seifu Kebede, Tilahun Azagegn, Dessie Nedaw, Muhammed Haji and Shankar Karuppannan
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14490; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914490 - 05 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1554
Abstract
The shallow volcanic aquifer is the major rural water supply source in the Ethiopian highlands. A significant number of hand pump wells in these aquifers experience a rapid decline in yield and poor performance within a short period of time after construction. Hence, [...] Read more.
The shallow volcanic aquifer is the major rural water supply source in the Ethiopian highlands. A significant number of hand pump wells in these aquifers experience a rapid decline in yield and poor performance within a short period of time after construction. Hence, reliable estimation of groundwater flow velocity is important to understand groundwater flow dynamics, aquifer responses to stresses and to optimize the sustainable management of groundwater resources. Here, we propose the geospatial technique using four essential input raster maps (groundwater elevation head, transmissivity, effective porosity and saturated thickness) to investigate groundwater flow velocity magnitude and direction in the shallow volcanic aquifers of the Ethiopian highlands. The results indicated that the high groundwater flow velocity in the Mecha site, ranging up to 47 m/day, was observed in the fractured scoraceous basalts. The Ejere site showed groundwater flow velocity not exceeding 7 m/day in the fractured basaltic aquifer and alluvial deposits. In the Sodo site, the groundwater flow velocity was observed to exceed 22 m/day in the fractured basaltic and rhyolitic aquifers affected by geological structures. The Abeshege site has a higher groundwater flow velocity of up to 195 m/day in the highly weathered and fractured basaltic aquifer. In all study sites, aquifers with less fractured basalt, trachyte, rhyolite, welded pyroclastic, and lacustrine deposits exhibited lower groundwater flow velocity values. The groundwater flow velocity directions in all study sites are similar to the groundwater elevation head, which signifies the local and regional groundwater flow directions. This work can be helpful in shallow groundwater resource development and management for rural water supply. Full article
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