A Fractured Rock Geophysical Toolbox Method Selection Tool

GW/SW-MST: A Groundwater/Surface-Water Method Selection Tool

Groundwater/surface-water (GW/SW) exchange and hyporheic processes are topics receiving increasing attention from the hydrologic community. Hydraulic, chemical, temperature, geophysical, and remote sensing methods are used to achieve various goals (e.g., inference of GW/SW exchange, mapping of bed materials, etc.), but the application of these methods is constrained by site conditions such as water depth, specific conductance, bed material, and other factors. Researchers and environmental professionals working on GW/SW problems come from diverse fields and rarely have expertise in all available field methods; hence there is a need for guidance to design field campaigns and select methods that both contribute to study goals and are likely to work under site-specific conditions. Here, we present the spreadsheet-based GW/SW-Method Selection Tool (GW/SW-MST) to help practitioners identify methods for use in GW/SW and hyporheic studies. The GW/SW-MST is a Microsoft Excel-based decision support tool in which the user selects answers to questions about GW/SW-related study goals and site parameters and characteristics. Based on user input, the tool indicates which methods from a toolbox of 32 methods could potentially contribute to achieving the specified goals at the site described.

GW/SW-MST: A Groundwater/Surface-Water Method Selection Tool

Groundwater/surface-water (GW/SW) exchange and hyporheic processes are topics receiving increasing attention from the hydrologic community. Hydraulic, chemical, temperature, geophysical, and remote sensing methods are used to achieve various goals (e.g., inference of GW/SW exchange, mapping of bed materials, etc.), but the application of these methods is constrained by site conditions such as water depth, specific conductance, bed material, and other factors. Researchers and environmental professionals working on GW/SW problems come from diverse fields and rarely have expertise in all available field methods; hence there is a need for guidance to design field campaigns and select methods that both contribute to study goals and are likely to work under site-specific conditions. Here, we present the spreadsheet-based GW/SW-Method Selection Tool (GW/SW-MST) to help practitioners identify methods for use in GW/SW and hyporheic studies. The GW/SW-MST is a Microsoft Excel-based decision support tool in which the user selects answers to questions about GW/SW-related study goals and site parameters and characteristics. Based on user input, the tool indicates which methods from a toolbox of 32 methods could potentially contribute to achieving the specified goals at the site described.

An overview of geophysical technologies appropriate for characterization and monitoring at fractured-rock sites

Geophysical methods are used increasingly for characterization and monitoring at remediation sites in fractured-rock aquifers. The complex heterogeneity of fractured rock poses enormous challenges to groundwater remediation professionals, and new methods are needed to cost-effectively infer fracture and fracture-zone locations, orientations and properties, and to develop conceptual site models for flow and transport. Despite the potential of geophysical methods to "see" between boreholes, two issues have impeded the adoption of geophysical methods by remediation professionals. First, geophysical results are commonly only indirectly related to the properties of interest (e.g., permeability) to remediation professionals, and qualitative or quantitative interpretation is required to convert geophysical results to hydrogeologic information. Additional demonstration/evaluation projects are needed in the site remediation literature to fully transfer geophysical methods from research to practice. Second, geophysical methods are commonly viewed as inherently risky by remediation professionals. Although it is widely understood that a given method may or may not work at a particular site, the reasons are not always clear to end users of geophysical products. Synthetic modeling tools are used in research to assess the potential of a particular method to successfully image a target, but these tools are not widely used in industry. Here, we seek to advance the application of geophysical methods to solve problems facing remediation professionals with respect to fractured-rock aquifers. To this end, we (1) provide an overview of geophysical methods applied to characterization and monitoring of fractured-rock aquifers; (2) review case studies showcasing different geophysical methods; and (3) discuss best practices for method selection and rejection based on synthetic modeling and decision support tools.

Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity Survey Pre-modeling Tool

Geophysical tools have much to offer users in environmental, water resource, and geotechnical fields; however, techniques such as electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) are often oversold and/or overinterpreted due to a lack of understanding of the limitations of the techniques, such as the appropriate depth intervals or resolution of the methods. The relationship between ERI data and resistivity is nonlinear; therefore, these limitations depend on site conditions and survey design and are best assessed through forward and inverse modeling exercises prior to field investigations. In this approach, proposed field surveys are first numerically simulated given the expected electrical properties of the site, and the resulting hypothetical data are then analyzed using inverse models. Performing ERI forward/inverse modeling, however, requires substantial expertise and can take many hours to implement. We present a new spreadsheet-based tool, the Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity (SEER), which features a graphical user interface that allows users to manipulate a resistivity model and instantly view how that model would likely be interpreted by an ERI survey. The SEER tool is intended for use by those who wish to determine the value of including ERI to achieve project goals, and is designed to have broad utility in industry, teaching, and research.

Vegetation Controls on the Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Deep Moisture in the Unsaturated Zone: A Hydrogeophysical Evaluation

Information on the spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture in the vadose zone is important to assess groundwater recharge and solute transport in unconsolidated substrate as influenced by biological processes. Time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) was used to monitor soil moisture dynamics to a depth of 9 m in a grassland, a grassland encroached by a juniper species (eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana), a juniper woodland and an oak forest in the south-central Great Plains, Oklahoma, USA. A site-specific relationship between moisture content and electrical conductivity data was developed for the soil zone, and a perched water zone was monitored at two of the sites. Results showed that (a) change in soil moisture content was linearly correlated to change in electric conductivity in the soil zone; (b) vegetation cover type induced differences in vertical bulk electrical resistivity (ER) profiles and influenced the temporal evolution of soil moisture profiles; and (c) juniper encroachment lowered the water level in the perched groundwater aquifer. Our results suggest land use and vegetation cover type, as opposed to rock properties, controls deep water drainage for the vegetation transition zone. Methods used to measure hydrogeophysical changes, such as ERI, can be used for broader understanding of geological, physical, and biological processes and their links in Earth’s critical zones.