US-Oman Cooperative Research: Understanding Karstic Aquifers

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0322686 LoperDescription: This award supports a cooperative research project between Dr. David Loper, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida and Dr. Mohammed Al-Lawatia, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khodh, Oman. They plan to study the behavior of water and pollutants in aquifers by analyzing data on flow rates obtained from flow meters to be placed at strategic locations within the conduit system of Wakulla Springs, Florida and by cross-correlating this data with events which affect the flow, including tides, atmospheric pressure variations and, most importantly, up-gradient rainfall. The analyses will employ a number of statistical procedures and methods, including Fourier and wavelet spectrum analyses and dynamic-regression and non-parametric models. Additional insight will be sought by analyzing variations of flow, temperature and electrical conductivity at those locations in the spring and cross-correlating them with other relevant data such as water levels in streams and wells within the watershed of the spring. The results of the statistical analyses will provide the basis for the development of improved models of flow and transport in karstic aquifers. The use of statistical analyses and cross-correlations of relevant geophysical data to decipher the behavior of karstic aquifers is a relatively new approach. The proposed study will expand on this approach and endeavor to bring it into the mainstream of mathematical tools available to geohydrologists Scope: The management of underground water resources is a major societal challenge. Wise management must be based on sound scientific understanding of the behavior of water and pollutants in aquifers. This understanding is difficult to achieve in most aquifers because they are inhomogeneous. The extreme of inhomogeneity occurs in karstic aquifers. A prototype of a karstic aquifer is the Woodville Karst Plain in Leon and Wakulla Counties of Florida. The statistical techniques to be employed in this study have the potential to be powerful tools with which to study complex geophysical systems. The scientific methodologies and understanding developed in this study will be applicable to aquifers in other geographical regions. In particular, the knowledge of the behavior of karstic systems gained by the proposed study will benefit water managers in both the United States and Oman. The two scientists have complementary skills. They will exchange data and results applicable to the two countries. This project is funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Earth Sciences.