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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 June 2024 | Viewed by 10036

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Dr. Alex Sendros

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Guest Editor

Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Applied Geology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: hydrogeology; water management; near-surface geophysics; groundwater resources; coastal aquifers; managed aquifer recharge

Prof. Dr. María del Carmen Cabrera Santana

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Guest Editor

Dpto de Física, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Geovol, Spain
Interests: groundwater resources; hydrogeochemistry and water quality; seawater intrusion; coastal aquifers; contamination of groundwater; vadose zone; hydrogeology of volcanic terrains; water–rock interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Albert Casas Ponsati

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Guest Editor

Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Applied Geology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: geophysical prospecting; water management; near-surface geophysics; geophysical prospecting; groundwater resources; hydrogeochemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The characterization of subsoil and its hydraulic properties are essential for groundwater and surface water management but are often difficult to evaluate from traditional borehole drilling, water well and piezometer pumping tests or soil sampling techniques. Traditional soil sampling methods and the use of devices to obtain hydraulic properties in the field, such as permeameters or humidity sensors, typically only provide data from the upper layers, and borehole drilling is a destructive and expensive technique, which requires accessible areas to place heavy machinery and only provides spotted information. The integration of geophysical data into direct hydrogeological measurements is a challenging issue that could be used to characterize, monitor, and investigate hydrological parameters and processes in the vadose zone and aquifers at a variety of resolutions and over many spatial scales in a minimally invasive manner.

This Special Issue of Water aims to gather the advances in and obstacles associated with using geophysical methods, with a special focus on case studies demonstrating its potential to improve our understanding of hydrogeological parameters in vadose and non-vadose zones used to modelized groundwater flow, study the transport of substances and, therefore, improve the aquifer knowledge and manage many important processes such as contamination or saltwater intrusion. Papers on novel data acquisition procedures and innovative hydrogeological mappings, hydrological parameter estimation and the monitoring of hydrological processes are welcome. A focus on the integration of geophysical and hydrogeological measurements and petrographic relationships will also be appreciated.

Dr. Alex Sendros
Prof. Dr. María del Carmen Cabrera Santana
Prof. Dr. Albert Casas Ponsati
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

hydrogeophysics
petrophysics
hydrogeology
water management
near-surface geophysics
groundwater resources
coastal aquifers
aquifer characterization
vadose zone
saturated zone
earth critic zone
water–rock interaction
groundwater contamination

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 6180 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing and Improving the Robustness of Bayesian Evidential Learning in One Dimension for Inverting Time-Domain Electromagnetic Data: Introducing a New Threshold Procedure

by Arsalan Ahmed, Lukas Aigner, Hadrien Michel, Wouter Deleersnyder, David Dudal, Adrian Flores Orozco and Thomas Hermans

Water 2024, 16(7), 1056; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071056 - 06 Apr 2024

Viewed by 574

Abstract

Understanding the subsurface is of prime importance for many geological and hydrogeological applications. Geophysical methods offer an economical alternative for investigating the subsurface compared to costly borehole investigations. However, geophysical results are commonly obtained through deterministic inversion of data whose solution is non-unique. Alternatively, stochastic inversions investigate the full uncertainty range of the obtained models, yet are computationally more expensive. In this research, we investigate the robustness of the recently introduced Bayesian evidential learning in one dimension (BEL1D) for the stochastic inversion of time-domain electromagnetic data (TDEM). First, we analyse the impact of the accuracy of the numerical forward solver on the posterior distribution, and derive a compromise between accuracy and computational time. We also introduce a threshold-rejection method based on the data misfit after the first iteration, circumventing the need for further BEL1D iterations. Moreover, we analyse the impact of the prior-model space on the results. We apply the new BEL1D with a threshold approach on field data collected in the Luy River catchment (Vietnam) to delineate saltwater intrusions. Our results show that the proper selection of time and space discretization is essential for limiting the computational cost while maintaining the accuracy of the posterior estimation. The selection of the prior distribution has a direct impact on fitting the observed data and is crucial for a realistic uncertainty quantification. The application of BEL1D for stochastic TDEM inversion is an efficient approach, as it allows us to estimate the uncertainty at a limited cost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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21 pages, 15841 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coastal Groundwater Bodies Modelling Using Geophysical Surveys: The Reconstruction of the Geometry of Alluvial Plains in the North-Eastern Sicily (Italy)

by Patrizia Capizzi, Raffaele Martorana, Alessandro Canzoneri, Alessandro Bonfardeci and Rocco Favara

Water 2024, 16(7), 1048; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071048 - 05 Apr 2024

Viewed by 712

Abstract

The integration of various geophysical methodologies is considered a fundamental tool for accurately reconstructing the extent and shape of a groundwater body and for estimating the physical parameters that characterize it. This is often essential for the management of water resources in areas affected by geological and environmental hazards. This work aims to reconstruct the pattern and extent of two groundwater bodies, located in the coastal sectors of the North-Eastern Sicily, through the integrated analysis and interpretation of several geoelectrical, seismic and geological data. These are the Sant’Agata-Capo D’Orlando (SCGWB) and the Barcelona-Milazzo (BMGWB) Groundwater Bodies, located at the two ends of the northern sector of the Peloritani geological complex. These two studied coastal plains represent densely populated and industrialized areas, in which the quantity and quality of the groundwater bodies are under constant threat. At first, the resistivity models of the two groundwater bodies were realized through the inversion of a dataset of Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES), constrained by stratigraphic well logs data and other geophysical data. The 3D resistivity models obtained by spatially interpolating 1D inverse VES models have allowed for an initial recognition of the distribution of groundwater, as well as a rough geological framework of the subsoil. Subsequently, these models were implemented by integrating results from active and passive seismic data to determine the seismic P and S wave velocities of the main lithotypes. Simultaneous acquisition and interpretation of seismic and electrical tomographies along identical profiles allowed to determine the specific values of seismic velocity, electrical resistivity and chargeability of the alluvial sediments, and to use these values to constrain the HVSR inversion. All this allowed us to recognize the areal extension and thickness of the various lithotypes in the two investigated areas and, finally, to define the depth and the morphology of the base of the groundwater bodies and the thickness of the filling deposits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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15 pages, 6901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Monitoring of Pig Slurry Ponds Using Geochemical and Geoelectrical Techniques

by Ximena Capa-Camacho, Pedro Martínez-Pagán, José A. Acosta, Marcos A. Martínez-Segura, Marco Vásconez-Maza and Ángel Faz

Water 2024, 16(7), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071016 - 31 Mar 2024

Viewed by 738

Abstract

The efficient management of slurry, which is a by-product rich in nutrients derived from feces, urine, cleaning water, and animal waste that stands out for its high concentration of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, is of vital importance, highlighting the importance of slurry management in storage ponds, which. The Murcia–Spain region has an important number of pig farms. Hence, infrastructures dedicated to managing by-products are necessary to prevent environmental pollution and eutrophication of groundwater. The aim of a recent study was to evaluate the relationship between electrical values and geochemical parameters of pig slurry stored in a pond using ERT and geochemical analysis. In addition, the study was designed to monitor the pond to determine the geochemical characteristics of the slurry and to assess the risk of lateral contamination. The study results indicate a noticeable decrease in electrical resistivity values at 0.4 and 1.6 m depth in surveys 1 and 2. The reduction ranges from 50 to 100 percent. This paper presents a new method for monitoring slurry ponds using electrical resistivity tomography. This non-invasive method provides detailed information on the distribution and characteristics of the fluids, as well as a clear picture of the electrical resistivity of the subsurface. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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20 pages, 6068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Real-Time Prediction Approach to Deep Soil Moisture Combining GNSS-R Data and a Water Movement Model in Unsaturated Soil

by Xiaotian Luo, Cong Yin, Yueqiang Sun, Weihua Bai, Wei Li and Hongqing Song

Water 2024, 16(7), 979; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16070979 - 28 Mar 2024

Viewed by 532

Abstract

Deep soil moisture data have wide applications in fields such as engineering construction and agricultural production. Therefore, achieving the real-time monitoring of deep soil moisture is of significant importance. Current soil monitoring methods face challenges in conducting the large-scale, real-time monitoring of deep soil moisture. This paper innovatively proposes a real-time prediction approach to deep soil moisture combining GNSS-R data and a water movement model in unsaturated soil. This approach, built upon surface soil moisture data retrieved from GNSS-R signal inversion, integrates soil–water characteristics and soil moisture values at a depth of 1 m. By employing a deep soil moisture content prediction model, it provides predictions of soil moisture at depths from 0 to 1 m, thus realizing the large-scale, real-time dynamic monitoring of deep soil moisture. The proposed approach was validated in a study area in Goodwell, Texas County, Oklahoma, USA. Predicted values of soil moisture at a randomly selected location in the study area at depths of 0.1 m, 0.2 m, 0.5 m, and 1 m were compared with ground truth values for the period from 25 October to 19 November 2023. The results indicated that the relative error (

δ

) was controlled within the range of ±14%. The mean square error (MSE) ranged from 2.90 ×

10^{- 5}

to 1.88 ×

10^{- 4}

, and the coefficient of determination (

R^{2}

) ranged from 82.45% to 89.88%, indicating an overall high level of fitting between the predicted values and ground truth data. This validates the feasibility of the proposed approach, which has the potential to play a crucial role in agricultural production, geological disaster management, engineering construction, and heritage site preservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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14 pages, 5088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geometry, Extent, and Chemistry of Fermentative Hot Spots in Municipal Waste Souk Sebt Landfill, Ouled Nemma, Beni Mellal, Morocco

by Yousra El Mouine, Amal El Hamdi, Abderrahim Bousouis, Youssouf El Jarjini, Meryem Touzani, Vincent Valles, Laurent Barbiero and Moad Morarech

Water 2024, 16(6), 795; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060795 - 07 Mar 2024

Viewed by 854

Abstract

The presence of fermentative hotspots in municipal waste dumps has been reported for several decades, but no study has focused on their size and shape. The uncontrolled landfill of Soub Sekt, covering an area of about 8 hectares in the Tadla plain in Morocco, is the source of a permanent pollution plume in the groundwater, detected by self-potential (SP) measurements. The study aims to detect and characterize these hotspots as well as the leachates that form within them. These hotspots are typically circular and smaller than 3 m in size, and they are concentrated within recent waste deposits. Intense electron transfer activities, particularly during redox reactions leading to metal solubilization, result in very low SP values (down to −60 mV), facilitating their detection. Several successive field campaigns suggest that they are active for 2–3 weeks. Due to the low permeability of the soils, highly mineralized leachates (average Electrical Conductivity 45 mS cm⁻¹) rich in organic ions accumulate on the soil surface at the base of the waste windrows. There, they evolve by concentration due to evaporation and oxidation due to slow diffusion of atmospheric O₂. Despite the small size of the hotspots generating the leachates, the accumulation of leachates in ponds and the low soil permeability limits the percolation rate, resulting in moderate but permanent groundwater pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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22 pages, 23613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Approach for Saturation Modeling Using Hydraulic Flow Units: Examples from the Upper Messinian Reservoir

by Nader H. El-Gendy, Walid M. Mabrouk, Mohamed A. Waziry, Thomas J. Dodd, Fathy A. Abdalla, Dimitrios E. Alexakis and Moataz Khairy Barakat

Water 2023, 15(24), 4204; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15244204 - 05 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1101

Abstract

The Upper Messinian reservoirs located in the Salma Field of the Nile Delta area contain variable facies. The key reservoir interval of the Abu Madi Formation was deposited in fluvial to deltaic environments. These fine-grained facies form significant reservoir heterogeneity within the reservoir intervals. The main challenges in this study are reservoir characterizing and predicting the change in reservoir water saturation (SW) with time, while reservoir production life based on the change in reservoir capillary pressure (Pc). This work applies petrophysical analysis to enable the definition and calculation of the hydrocarbon reserves within the key reservoir units. Mapping of SW away from the wellbores within geo-models represents a significant challenge. The rock types and flow unit analysis indicate that the reservoir is dominated by four hydraulic flow units. HFU#1 represents the highest flow zone indicator (FZI) value. Core analysis has been completed to better understand the relationship between SW and the reservoir capillary pressure above the fluid contact and free water level (FWL), which is used to perform saturation height function (SHF) analysis. The calculated SW values that are obtained from logs are affected by formation water resistivity (Rw) and log true resistivity (RT), which are influenced by the volume of clay content and mud salinity. This study introduces an integrated approach, including evaluation of core measurements, well log analysis covering cored and non-cored intervals, neural analysis techniques (K-mode algorithm), and permeability prediction in non-cored intervals. The empirical formula was predicted for direct calculation of dynamic SW profiles and predicted within the reservoir above the FWL based on the change in reservoir pressure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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20 pages, 15122 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Breaches in a Regional Confining Unit Using Electrical Resistivity Methods in Southwestern Tennessee, USA

by Md Rizwanul Hasan, Daniel Larsen, Scott Schoefernacker and Brian Waldron

Water 2023, 15(23), 4090; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15234090 - 25 Nov 2023

Viewed by 957

Abstract

Electrical resistivity and borehole data are applied to delineate lithostratigraphic boundaries and image the geometry of confining-unit breaches in Eocene coastal-plain deposits to evaluate inter-aquifer exchange pathways. Eight dipole–dipole array surveys were carried out, and apparent resistivity was inverted to examine the lateral continuity of lithologic units in different water-saturation and geomorphic settings. In addition, sensitivity analysis of inverted resistivity profiles to electrode spacing was performed. Resistivity profiles from Shelby Farms (SF) highlight the effect of varied electrode spacing (2.5, 5, and 10 m), showing an apparent ~0.63 to 0.75 depth shift in resistivity-layer boundaries when spacing is halved, with the 10 m spacing closely matching borehole stratigraphy. Grays Creek and Presidents Island profiles show clay-rich Eocene Cook Mountain Formation (CMF), with resistivity ranging from 10 to 70 Ω-m, overlying the Eocene Memphis Sand—a prolific water-supply aquifer. Resistivity profiles of SF and Audubon Park reveal sandy Cockfield Formation (CFF) paleochannels inset within and through the CMF, providing hydrogeologic connection between aquifers, and clarifying the sedimentary origin of confining-unit breaches in the region. The results underscore the efficacy of the electrical resistivity method in identifying sand-rich paleochannel discontinuities in a low-resistivity regional confining unit, which may be a common origin of breaches in coastal-plain confining units. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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16 pages, 5919 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coupled Geophysical and Hydrogeochemical Characterization of a Coastal Aquifer as Tool for a More Efficient Management (Torredembarra, Spain)

by Alex Sendrós, Ingrid J. Cubides, Mahjoub Himi, Raúl Lovera, Aritz Urruela, Josefina C. Tapias, Lluís Rivero, Ruben Garcia-Artigas and Albert Casas

Water 2023, 15(19), 3333; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193333 - 22 Sep 2023

Viewed by 797

Abstract

The aquifers of the Spanish Mediterranean coast are generally subjected to intense exploitation to meet the growing water supply demands. The result of the exploitation is salinization due to the marine saltwater intrusion, causing a deterioration in the quality of the water pumped, limiting its use for community needs, and not always being well delimited. To prevent deterioration, a groundwater control network usually allows precise knowledge of the areas affected by saltwater intrusion but not the extent of the saline plumes. Moreover, the characterization of aquifer systems requires a model that defines the geometry of aquifer formations. For this objective, we integrated hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical, and electrical resistivity subsoil data to establish a hydrogeological model of the coastal aquifer of Torredembarra (Tarragona, NE Spain). In this research, we have carried out a regional and local-scale study of the aquifer system to define the areas prone to being affected by saline intrusion (electrical resistivity values below 10 Ω·m). The obtained results could be used as a support tool for the assessment of the most favorable areas for groundwater withdrawal, as well as enabling the control and protection of the most susceptible areas to be affected by saltwater intrusion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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21 pages, 5436 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geophysical Constraints to Reconstructing the Geometry of a Shallow Groundwater Body in Caronia (Sicily)

by Alessandro Canzoneri, Patrizia Capizzi, Raffaele Martorana, Ludovico Albano, Alessandro Bonfardeci, Nunzio Costa and Rocco Favara

Water 2023, 15(18), 3206; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15183206 - 08 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1493

Abstract

The characterization of a groundwater body involves the construction of a conceptual model that constitutes the base knowledge for monitoring programs, hydrogeological risk assessment, and correct management of water resources. In particular, a detailed geological and geophysical approach was applied to define the alluvial Caronia Groundwater Body (CGWB) and to reconstruct a hydrogeological flow model. The analysis of the CGWB, located in north-eastern Sicily, was initially approached through a reanalysis of previous stratigraphic (boreholes) and geophysical (vertical electrical soundings and seismic refraction profiles) data, subsequently integrated by new seismic acquisitions, such as Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and horizontal-to-vertical seismic ratio (HVSR). The analysis and reinterpretation of geoelectrical data allowed the construction of a preliminary 3D resistivity model. This initial modeling was subsequently integrated by a geophysical data campaign in order to define the depth of the bottom of the shallow CGWB and the thickness of alluvial deposits. Finally, a preliminary mathematical model flow was generated in order to reconstruct the dynamics of underground water. The results show that integration of multidisciplinary data represent an indispensable tool for the characterization of complex physical systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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27 pages, 10704 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrogeophysical Investigation in Parts of the Eastern Dahomey Basin, Southwestern Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Groundwater Resources Development and Management

by Kehinde D. Oyeyemi, Ahzegbobor P. Aizebeokhai, Abayomi A. Olaojo, Emmanuel E. Okon, Divine V. Kalu and Mohamed Metwaly

Water 2023, 15(16), 2862; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162862 - 08 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1137

Abstract

Geoelectrical resistivity measurements were conducted in five locations within the eastern portion of the Dahomey basin for the purpose of subsurface evaluation and detecting saturated zones. The locations are Covenant University (L1), Bells University (L2), Oju-Ore-Ilogbo Road (L3), Obasanjo-Ijagba Road (L4), and Iyana Iyesi (L5). The study was carried out to avert the common challenges of drilling low-yield groundwater boreholes in the area. A total of 30 Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) and five two-dimensional Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) data sets have been acquired along the study areas. The geoelectrical resistivity results were integrated with the borehole logs to generate the spatial distribution of the subsurface lithologies in the area. The delineated subsurface lithologies include the topsoil (lateritic clay), clayey sand, sandy clay, fine silty sand, coarse sand, and shale/clay units. The fine silty sand and coarse sand units were identified as the two main aquifer units within the area. The depths to the upper aquifer unit in the area include 31.7–96.7 m, 38.5–94.0 m, 30.7–57.5 m, 39.1–63.4 m, and 46.9–57.5 m for locations L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5, respectively. At the same time, the depths to the lower aquifer unit in the area include 43.4–112.7 m, 52.2–108.0 m, 44.2–72.5 m, 53.7–78.5 m, and 63.5–72.9 m for locations L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5, respectively. The estimated hydraulic parameters for both aquifers show they are highly productive with mean porosity, mean hydraulic conductivity, and mean transmissivity of 20–22%, 12.4–17.0 × 10⁻² m/s, 1.56–2.18 m²/s for the upper aquifer, and 48–50%, 371–478 × 10⁻² m/s, 50.00–62.14 m²/s for the lower aquifer. By focusing on these aquifer systems during exploration, sustainable groundwater resources can be secured, providing relief to homeowners within the study area who might otherwise face the frustration of drilling unproductive and low-yield boreholes. However, it is crucial to consider the presence of sub-vertical faults in the study area, as these faults can significantly impact groundwater development and management. These sub-vertical structural faults may lead to changes in the permeability, hydraulic conductivity, and transmissivity of the delineated aquifers, affecting their productivity across the divide and ultimately influencing the overall water availability in the area. Careful consideration of these geological factors is essential for effective aquifer management and sustainable groundwater utilisation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Geophysical Methods for Hydrogeology)

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