Advances in thermal tracers for measuring and managing groundwater resources

用于测量和管理地下水资源的热示踪剂的进展

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-05420
• 负责人: Kurylyk, Barret
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=713671
• 关键词: Advances; thermal; tracers; measuring; managing

Global groundwater resources are being depleted, which is eliciting concern over future water and food security. The present situation is expected to be exacerbated in the coming decades due to climate change as well as population redistribution and increased groundwater demand in urban environments. Unsustainable groundwater extraction is often thought to be limited to third world countries, but regions within Canada have recently experienced groundwater shortages due to droughts. Holistic groundwater management must consider both societal and ecosystem groundwater demands because groundwater discharge to rivers is critical for modulating temperatures and sustaining flows during the dry season. Sustainable groundwater management is often challenging due to difficulties associated with measuring groundwater fluxes (flow per unit area) to and from aquifers. Standard approaches to estimate these fluxes using tracers are typically only applicable in certain environments, require expensive sampling and analyses, and are characterized by assumptions and uncertainties. Thus, there is a critical need to develop improved methods to inexpensively and accurately trace groundwater fluxes. Heat can be used to study groundwater movement because water flow induces heat advection and disturbs subsurface temperatures. Heat offers advantages over other groundwater tracers as it is always present in the subsurface, it is inexpensive to continuously monitor, and it does not require further laboratory analysis. Uptake of existing analytical techniques for using heat as a groundwater tracer has been limited in the water resources management community because most common methods are restricted to depths less than one meter. The overall objective of this research program is to develop new integrated technology and techniques for tracing groundwater from temperature in deep and shallow aquifers to inform the sustainable management of groundwater resources for both societal and ecosystem needs. This research program, which will train seven students, will include instrument design, data collection, and model development. Research focused on shallow environments will provide improved methods for monitoring aquifer-river exchanges to aid in river restoration and habitat conservation, particularly in southeastern Canada where salmon populations are in decline due to river warming and where groundwater is critical for creating fish habitat. Research focused on heat tracing to quantify flows to and from deeper aquifers will provide new tools for groundwater engineers to monitor long-term changes in groundwater recharge or assess the viability of developing well fields in new locations. Knowledge developed in this research program will be transferred to other academics as well as the broader water resources management community via journal publications, presentations, and short courses.

全球地下水资源正在耗尽，这引起了人们对未来水和粮食安全的关注。由于气候变化以及人口重新分配和城市环境中的地下水需求增加，预计目前的情况将在未来几十年中加剧。通常认为地下水的提取不可持续，仅限于第三世界国家，但是加拿大境内的地区最近由于干旱而遭受了地下水短缺。整体地下水管理必须考虑社会和生态系统地下水的需求，因为对河流的地下水排放对于调节旱季的温度和维持流量至关重要。可持续的地下水管理通常是由于与含水层和含水层的测量地下水通量（每单位面积）相关的困难而挑战。使用示踪剂估算这些通量的标准方法通常仅适用于某些环境，需要昂贵的采样和分析，并且以假设和不确定性为特征。因此，迫切需要开发改进的方法来廉价，准确地追踪地下水通量。 热量可用于研究地下水运动，因为水流会诱导热对流并打扰地下温度。热量比其他地下示踪剂具有优势，因为它始终存在于地下，它不断地进行监视，并且不需要进一步的实验室分析。在水资源管理社区中，使用热量用作地下水示踪剂的现有分析技术的吸收受到限制，因为大多数常见的方法仅限于小于一米的深度。该研究计划的总体目的是开发新的综合技术和技术，以从深层和浅水含水层中的温度追踪地下水，以告知地下水资源的可持续管理，以满足社会和生态系统需求。该研究计划将培训七个学生，包括仪器设计，数据收集和模型开发。专注于浅水环境的研究将提供改进的方法来监测含水层河流交流以帮助河流修复和栖息地保护，尤其是在加拿大东南部，鲑鱼人群由于河流的变暖而下降，而地下水对于创造鱼类栖息地至关重要。旨在量化往返更深层含水层的热量的研究将为地下水工程师提供新的工具，以监测地下水充电的长期变化或评估新位置中发展井领域的可行性。该研究计划中开发的知识将通过期刊出版物，演示文稿和短期课程转移到其他学者以及更广泛的水资源管理社区。