Developing a Novel Approach for Identifying Geologic Controls on Groundwater Flow

开发一种识别地下水流地质控制的新方法

• 批准号: 2201527
• 负责人: Jessica Meyer
• 金额: $ 48.91万
• 依托单位: University of Iowa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2201527&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developing; Novel; Approach; Identifying; Geologic

Groundwater serves almost half the world’s population and irrigates 38% of agricultural land and there is increased strain on groundwater resource. In the United States, more effective management and remediation of the thousands of polluted groundwater sites will be critical. Managing these sites, responsibly and cost effectively, requires accurate description of the hydrostratigraphy, which describes the control that the distribution of different sediments and rocks in the subsurface has on groundwater flow. This research will develop a new approach that relies on collecting water levels in wells using a combination of leading-edge groundwater monitoring technologies to characterize hydrostratigraphy. The new approach will be tested at a field site where groundwater is contaminated by a mixture of organic chemicals. Student trainees will practice technical skills, science communication, project management skills, and learn to apply research results to inform site decisions. The groundwater monitoring technology from this research will be transferred to an outdoor teaching facility to provide students across the University of Iowa the opportunity to use the technology in their courses and undergraduate research. The goal of this research is to develop an approach to elucidate hydrostratigraphic units in the subsurface using a direct hydraulic dataset (i.e., water levels in wells). Water level data will be collected every 10 seconds from 10 to 15 distinct depths in the subsurface at every monitoring location using wells called multilevel systems. These data will show the response of water levels to changes in vertical groundwater flow during rainwater infiltration and/or changes in pumping. The response data will highlight the boundaries and thicknesses of distinct hydrostratigraphic units. Other complementary data sets and a computer model will be used to evaluate the accuracy of the hydrostratigraphy determined using this new approach and hydrostratigraphy developed using standard methods. The outcome will be the creation of an improved approach to characterizing hydrostratigraphy that is applicable to all groundwater settings. The findings will reduce uncertainty in simulations of groundwater flow and contaminant migration and provide a better basis for managing contaminated sites as demands on groundwater resources increase. This project is jointly funded by Hydrologic Sciences program, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

地下水服务于世界上近一半的人口，灌溉38%的农业用地，地下水资源的压力越来越大。在美国，更有效地管理和修复数千个受污染的地下水地点至关重要。以负责任和成本效益的方式管理这些地点，需要准确描述水文地层学，它描述了地下不同沉积物和岩石的分布对地下水流的控制。这项研究将开发一种新的方法，依靠收集水位在威尔斯使用的领先的地下水监测技术相结合，以表征水文地层。新方法将在地下水被有机化学品混合物污染的现场进行测试。学生学员将练习技术技能，科学沟通，项目管理技能，并学习应用研究成果，为网站决策提供信息。这项研究的地下水监测技术将转移到户外教学设施，为整个爱荷华州大学的学生提供在课程和本科研究中使用该技术的机会。本研究的目标是开发一种方法，使用直接水力数据集（即，威尔斯中的水位）。水位数据将每10秒收集一次，从10到15个不同深度的地下在每个监测位置使用威尔斯井称为多级系统。这些数据将显示水位对雨水渗透和/或抽水变化期间地下水垂直流动变化的反应。响应数据将突出不同水文地层单位的边界和厚度。其他补充数据集和计算机模型将用于评估使用这种新方法确定的水文地层学和使用标准方法开发的水文地层学的准确性。其结果将是创建一个更好的方法来描述水文地层学，适用于所有地下水环境。研究结果将减少地下水流和污染物迁移模拟的不确定性，并为管理污染场地提供更好的基础，因为对地下水资源的需求增加。该项目由水文科学计划、激励竞争性研究既定计划（EPSCoR）和地球科学仪器和设施计划共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。