Regional similarities in the distributions of well yield from crystalline rocks in Fennoscandia

• Main Authors: Banks, D., Gundersen, P., Gustafson, G., Mäkelä, J., Morland, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norges Geologiske Undersoekelse 2010
• Subjects: QE Geology; Norway; Fennoscandia; Fennoscandian
• Online Access: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/76146/; http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/76146/1/76146.pdf; http://www.ngu.no/upload/Publikasjoner/Bulletin/Bulletin450_33-47.pdf

Well yields from Precambrian and Palaeozoic bedrock in Norway, Sweden and Finland exhibit very similar and approximately log-normal distributions: all three data sets exhibit a median yield of 600–700 L hr-1, despite the differences in climate and lithology. This similarity is tentatively reflected on a larger geographical scale by a meta-analysis of the international data sets on crystalline rock aquifers from other recently glaciated areas (i.e., without a thick regolith of weathered rock). An heuristic treatment of the Fennoscandian data sets suggests that this median yield is consistent with the following bulk properties of shallow (to c. 70–80 m depth) crystalline bedrock: transmissivity of 0.56 ± 0.30 m2 d-1 (6.4 ± 3.4 x 10-6 m2 s-1) and hydraulic conductivity of around 1.1 (± 0.6) x 10-7 m s-1.