Mega-scale groundwater systems

地下水是维持生命的重要资源，为大约1 000万加拿大人、地表沃茨和生态系统提供水源。我检查地下水系统在区域（10公里）大陆（1000公里）的规模，我称之为“超大规模”。研究巨型地下水系统是罕见的，但必不可少的一些重要的基础和应用问题已经出现在地球科学和工程界。这些问题包括渗透性在地球上的分布、地下水位的性质以及地下水排放以缓冲海洋酸化的可能性。 拟议的研究重点是当代，超大规模的地下水系统，并将使用各种实地工具和计算机模型。在此期间，我的核心研究问题是：1）上地壳渗透率的分布是什么？2）我们能否更好地量化地下水位和溶解在地下水中的二氧化碳向海洋的通量？这些问题将通过四个可检验的假设进行研究，由五名本科生，两名硕士生，一名博士生和一名博士后研究员。 总的来说，这些研究将1）更好地确定渗透率的分布，这将导致地下水被纳入更多的水文，气候和地表模型和2）表明，地下水可以在大陆尺度上进行检查，以回答紧迫的地球科学问题。此外，渗透率的分布显著影响地质碳封存、核废料处置库和页岩气勘探的可行性和安全性。这项研究计划将保持和建立加拿大在这一关键领域的巨型地下水系统的形象，特别是水资源成为一个重大的全球关注。

Groundwater is a crucial life-sustaining resource that supplies water to ~10 million Canadians, surface waters and ecosystems. I examine groundwater systems at regional (10s km) to continental (1000s km) scales, which I refer to as 'mega-scale'. Examining mega-scale groundwater systems is rare yet essential for a number of important fundamental and applied problems have emerged in the geoscience and engineering communities. These problems include the distribution of permeability in the earth, the nature of the water table and the potential for groundwater discharge to buffer ocean acidification. The proposed research focuses on contemporary, mega-scale groundwater systems and will use a variety of field-based tools and computer models. During this grant period, my core research questions are: 1) what is the distribution of permeability in the upper crust and 2) can we better quantify the water table and the flux of carbon dioxide dissolved in groundwater to the ocean? These questions will be examined through four testable hypothesis in studies conducted by five undergraduate students, two MSc students, one PhD student and one postdoctoral fellow. Overall these studies will 1) better define the distribution of permeability which will lead to groundwater being included in more hydrologic, climate and land-surface models and 2) show that groundwater can be examined at continental scales to answer pressing geoscience problems. Additionally, the distribution of permeability significantly impacts the viability and safety of geological carbon sequestration, nuclear waste repositories and shale gas exploration. This research program will maintain and build Canada's profile in this critical field of mega-scale groundwater systems, especially as water resources emerge as a significant global concern.