Groundwater temperature and flow studies in the Great Basin

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Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Mines & Earth Sciences
Department Geology & Geophysics
Author Masbruch, Melissa Dawn
Title Groundwater temperature and flow studies in the Great Basin
Date 2013-12
Description A monitoring network in the alpine Brighton Basin was established to examine the relationship between air, ground, and noble gas groundwater recharge temperatures. Maximum noble gas groundwater recharge temperatures from 25 samples collected over 2 years averaged 2.9±1.2 °C, within the experimental error of the mean ground temperature of 2.3 °C , and vary from 0 to 7 °C, also comparable to ground temperature variations. Mean ground temperatures in the upper 1 m of soil over the 2 years were 1 °C cooler than mean air temperatures. This offset is explained by modeling a snow effect on ground temperature. This study indicates that interpretation of groundwater recharge temperatures derived from noble gases should be attentive to the local ground temperature effects in recharge areas. Two-dimensional modeling of fluid flow and heat transport are used to quantify effects of groundwater flow on the subsurface thermal regime and determine the lower limit of recharge rates that will produce an observable perturbation such that groundwater temperatures can be used to constrain them. The greatest temperature perturbations occur in the deepest portion of the recharge area. At recharge rates of 10 mm yr"1 or less, the hydrologic disturbance to the subsurface thermal regime is almost completely dependent on the recharge rate. At recharge rates higher than this, the hydrologic disturbance is dependent on both the recharge rate and permeability. At recharge rates of 50 mm yr"1 and greater, the plume of colder water persists towards the discharge area and could be easily measured and used to constrain recharge rates to the system. The Snake Valley area groundwater system was simulated using a threedimensional model incorporating groundwater flow and heat transport. This study represents one of the first regional modeling efforts to include calibration to groundwater temperatures. The inclusion of temperature observations reduced parameter uncertainties over using just water-level altitude and discharge observations. The distribution of simulated transmissivity includes areas of high transmissivity within and between hydrographic areas. Increased well withdrawals within these areas will likely affect a large portion of the study area, resulting in decreasing groundwater levels and discharge to springs and evapotranspiration.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Groundwater; Groundwater modeling; Temperature
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Melissa Dawn Masbruch 2013
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 5,788,396 Bytes
Identifier etd3/id/3496
ARK ark:/87278/s6pz8j2x
Setname ir_etd
ID 197050
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6pz8j2x