Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography
The external drivers and internal controls of groundwater flow in the thawed “active layer” above permafrost are poorly constrained because they are dynamic and spatially variable. Understanding these controls is critical because groundwater can supply solutes such as dissolved organic matter to sur...
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ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:cee_facpub-4657 2023-05-15T14:54:45+02:00 Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography O'Connor, Michael T. Cardenas, M. Bayani Neilson, Bethany T. Nicholaides, Kindra D. Kling, George W. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 2019-07-08T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cee_facpub/3654 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4657&context=cee_facpub unknown Hosted by Utah State University Libraries https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cee_facpub/3654 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4657&context=cee_facpub Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. PDM Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications permafrost groundwater permeability microtopography baseflow Arctic Civil and Environmental Engineering text 2019 ftutahsudc 2022-03-07T21:51:14Z The external drivers and internal controls of groundwater flow in the thawed “active layer” above permafrost are poorly constrained because they are dynamic and spatially variable. Understanding these controls is critical because groundwater can supply solutes such as dissolved organic matter to surface water bodies. We calculated steady‐state three‐dimensional suprapermafrost groundwater flow through the active layer using measurements of aquifer geometry, saturated thickness, and hydraulic properties collected from two major landscape types over time within a first‐order Arctic watershed. The depth position and thickness of the saturated zone is the dominant control of groundwater flow variability between sites and during different times of year. The effect of water table depth on groundwater flow dwarfs the effect of thaw depth. In landscapes with low land‐surface slopes (2–4%), a combination of higher water tables and thicker, permeable peat deposits cause relatively constant groundwater flows between the early and late thawed seasons. Landscapes with larger land‐surface slopes (4–10%) have both deeper water tables and thinner peat deposits; here the commonly observed permeability decrease with depth is more pronounced than in flatter areas, and groundwater flows decrease significantly between early and late summer as the water table drops. Groundwater flows are also affected by microtopographic features that retain groundwater that could otherwise be released as the active layer deepens. The dominant sources of groundwater, and thus dissolved organic matter, are likely wet, flatter regions with thick organic layers. This finding informs fluid flow and solute transport dynamics for the present and future Arctic. Text Arctic permafrost Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU Arctic |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
op_collection_id |
ftutahsudc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
permafrost groundwater permeability microtopography baseflow Arctic Civil and Environmental Engineering |
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permafrost groundwater permeability microtopography baseflow Arctic Civil and Environmental Engineering O'Connor, Michael T. Cardenas, M. Bayani Neilson, Bethany T. Nicholaides, Kindra D. Kling, George W. Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
topic_facet |
permafrost groundwater permeability microtopography baseflow Arctic Civil and Environmental Engineering |
description |
The external drivers and internal controls of groundwater flow in the thawed “active layer” above permafrost are poorly constrained because they are dynamic and spatially variable. Understanding these controls is critical because groundwater can supply solutes such as dissolved organic matter to surface water bodies. We calculated steady‐state three‐dimensional suprapermafrost groundwater flow through the active layer using measurements of aquifer geometry, saturated thickness, and hydraulic properties collected from two major landscape types over time within a first‐order Arctic watershed. The depth position and thickness of the saturated zone is the dominant control of groundwater flow variability between sites and during different times of year. The effect of water table depth on groundwater flow dwarfs the effect of thaw depth. In landscapes with low land‐surface slopes (2–4%), a combination of higher water tables and thicker, permeable peat deposits cause relatively constant groundwater flows between the early and late thawed seasons. Landscapes with larger land‐surface slopes (4–10%) have both deeper water tables and thinner peat deposits; here the commonly observed permeability decrease with depth is more pronounced than in flatter areas, and groundwater flows decrease significantly between early and late summer as the water table drops. Groundwater flows are also affected by microtopographic features that retain groundwater that could otherwise be released as the active layer deepens. The dominant sources of groundwater, and thus dissolved organic matter, are likely wet, flatter regions with thick organic layers. This finding informs fluid flow and solute transport dynamics for the present and future Arctic. |
author2 |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. |
format |
Text |
author |
O'Connor, Michael T. Cardenas, M. Bayani Neilson, Bethany T. Nicholaides, Kindra D. Kling, George W. |
author_facet |
O'Connor, Michael T. Cardenas, M. Bayani Neilson, Bethany T. Nicholaides, Kindra D. Kling, George W. |
author_sort |
O'Connor, Michael T. |
title |
Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
title_short |
Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
title_full |
Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
title_fullStr |
Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
title_full_unstemmed |
Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects of Stratigraphy, Thaw, and Topography |
title_sort |
active layer groundwater flow: the interrelated effects of stratigraphy, thaw, and topography |
publisher |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cee_facpub/3654 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4657&context=cee_facpub |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic permafrost |
genre_facet |
Arctic permafrost |
op_source |
Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cee_facpub/3654 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4657&context=cee_facpub |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_rightsnorm |
PDM |
_version_ |
1766326503077838848 |