Abstract
An investigation of the effect of tidally influenced water elevations on the concentration of groundwater contaminants discharging to a surface-water body is studied using a one-dimensional homogeneous sand column. A constant water level is imposed upstream, and the downstream water level is controlled by a wave generator that controls the hydraulic head to mimic a 12-h tidal fluctuation. The experimental results demonstrate that the tidal fluctuations in the downstream reservoir result in a decrease in average contaminant concentration at the point of discharge to the tidally influenced surface-water body. The further upstream an observation well is located, the smaller the amplitude of the concentration oscillation. Fourier analysis suggests that the dominant frequency of the pressure at different locations along the length of the column is identically two cycles per day and that the concentration data have a dominant frequency of two cycles per day, but also exhibit harmonics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boutt, D.F., Fleming, B.J.: Implications of anthropogenic river stage fluctuations on mass transport in a valley fill aquifer. Water Resour. Res. 45. (2009). doi:10.1029/2007WR006526
Bowles J.E.: Foundation Analysis and Design, 5th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (1996)
Chen, H.: Investigation of contaminant transport in tidally-influenced aquifers: experiment and analysis. Dissertation, University of Vermont (2010)
Croke B., Cleridou N., Kolovos A., Vardavas I., Papamastorakis J.: Water resources in the desertification-threatened Messara Valley of Crete: estimation of the annual water budget using a rainfall-runoff model. Environ. Modell. Softw. 15(4), 387–402 (2000)
Dalton F.N. et al.: Time-domain reflectometry: simultaneous measurement of soil-water content and electrical-conductivity with a single probe. Science 224(4652), 989–990 (1984)
Ebrahimi K., Falconer R.A., Lin B.L.: Flow and solute fluxes in integrated wetland and coastal systems. Environ. Modell. Softw. 22(9), 1337–1348 (2007)
Elfeki A.M.M., Uffink G.J.M., Lebreton S.: Simulation of solute transport under oscillating groundwater flow in homogeneous aquifers. J. Hydraul. Res. 45(2), 254–260 (2007)
Khondaker A.N. et al.: Tidal effects on transport of contaminants in a coastal shallow aquifer. Arab. J. Sci. Eng. 22(1C), 65–80 (1997)
Kim J.-H., Lee J., Cheong T.-J., Kim R.-H., Koh D.-C., Ryu J.-S., Chang H.-W.: Use of time series analysis for the identification of tidal effect on groundwater in the coastal area of Kimje, Korea. J. Hydrol. 300, 188–192 (2004)
Kohout F.A.: Cyclic flow of salt water in the Biscayne aquifer of southeastern Florida. J. Geophys. Res. 65, 2133–2141 (1960)
Mao X. et al.: Tidal influence on behaviour of a coastal aquifer adjacent to a low-relief estuary. J. Hydrol. 327(1–2), 110–127 (2006)
Moore W.S.: The subterranean estuary: a reaction zone of ground water and sea water. Mar. Chem. 65(1–2), 111–125 (1999)
Nielsen P.: Tidal dynamics of the water table in beaches. Water Resour. Res. 26(9), 2127–2134 (1990)
Perrier F., Richon P., Sabroux J.-C.: Temporal variations of radon concentration in the saturated soil of Alpine grassland: the role of groundwater flow. Sci. Tot. Environ. 407(7), 2361–2371 (2009)
Raubenheimer B., Guza R.T., Elgar S.: Tidal water table fluctuations in a sandy ocean beach. Water Resour. Res. 35(8), 2313–2320 (1999)
Robinson C., Li L., Barry D.A.: Effect of tidal forcing on a subterranean estuary. Adv. Water Resour. 30(4), 851–865 (2007)
Rotzoll K., El-Kadi A.I.: Estimating hydraulic properties of coastal aquifers using wave setup. J. Hydrol. 353(1–2), 201–213 (2008)
Sun H.B.: A two-dimensional analytical solution of groundwater response to tidal loading in an estuary. Water Resour. Res. 33(6), 1429–1435 (1997)
Taniguchi M.: Tidal effects on submarine groundwater discharge into the ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(12), 3 (2002)
Underwood M.R., Peterson F.L., Voss C.I.: Groundwater lens dynamics of Atoll Islands. Water Resour. Res. 28(11), 2889–2902 (1992)
Urish D.W., McKenna T.E.: Tidal effects on groundwater discharge through a sandy marine beach. Ground Water 42(7), 971–982 (2004)
Ursino, N., Silvestri, S., Marani, M.: Subsurface flow and vegetation patterns in tidal environments. Water Resour. Res. 40(5) (2004). doi:10.1029/2003WR002702
Von Asmuth J.R., Knotters M.: Characterising groundwater dynamics based on a system identification approach. J. Hydrol. 296(1-4), 118–134 (2004)
Wilson, A.M., Gardner, L.R.: Tidally driven groundwater flow and solute exchange in a marsh: numerical simulations. Water Resour. Res. 42(1) (2006). doi:10.1029/2005WR004302
Yim C.S., Mohsen M.F.N.: Simulation of tidal effects on contaminant transport in porous media. Ground Water 30(1), 76–86 (1992)
Zawadzki W., Chorley D.W., Patrick G.: Capture-zone design in an aquifer influenced by cyclic fluctuations in hydraulic gradients. Hydrogeol. J. 10(6), 601–609 (2002)
Zhang Q., Volker R.E., Lockington D.A.: Experimental investigation of contaminant transport in coastal groundwater. Adv. Environ. Res. 6, 229–237 (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, H., Pinder, G.F. Investigation of Groundwater Contaminant Discharge into Tidally Influenced Surface-Water Bodies: Experimental Results. Transp Porous Med 89, 307–321 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-011-9771-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-011-9771-4