The response to river stage fluctuation of a drilled well penetrating a confined aquifer was simulatedusing a stream–aquifer interaction algorithm. Because the confined aquifer is overlaid by a water tableaquifer, the algorithm was coupled with formulae used to correct the heads for mechanical loading.The coupling of stream–aquifer interaction and mechanical loading models was tried for the first timein this study. The test site was a drilled well installed on the Montalto Uffugo aquifer located at theCalabria University groundwater test field (Calabria region, south of Italy). This aquifer comprises a44 m-thick sand bank bounded on bottom and top by clay layers and covered by a 7 m-thick sandyconglomerate, being adjacent to the Mavigliano River. Overall, the head changes caused by a river stageraise represented a contribution of 49.3–57.8% to the total head, while mechanical loading accounted forthe remaining 50.7–32.2%. The loading was triggered by a sequence of short-spaced rainfall events lastingfor a total of 167 days, which caused recharge to the unconfined aquifer thickening the water column bysome 3.1 m.

Hydraulic head response of a confined aquifer influenced by river stage fluctuations and mechanical loading

FALLICO, Carmine
2015-01-01

Abstract

The response to river stage fluctuation of a drilled well penetrating a confined aquifer was simulatedusing a stream–aquifer interaction algorithm. Because the confined aquifer is overlaid by a water tableaquifer, the algorithm was coupled with formulae used to correct the heads for mechanical loading.The coupling of stream–aquifer interaction and mechanical loading models was tried for the first timein this study. The test site was a drilled well installed on the Montalto Uffugo aquifer located at theCalabria University groundwater test field (Calabria region, south of Italy). This aquifer comprises a44 m-thick sand bank bounded on bottom and top by clay layers and covered by a 7 m-thick sandyconglomerate, being adjacent to the Mavigliano River. Overall, the head changes caused by a river stageraise represented a contribution of 49.3–57.8% to the total head, while mechanical loading accounted forthe remaining 50.7–32.2%. The loading was triggered by a sequence of short-spaced rainfall events lastingfor a total of 167 days, which caused recharge to the unconfined aquifer thickening the water column bysome 3.1 m.
2015
Hydraulic head, Mechanical loading, River stage fluctuation, Hydraulic diffusivity, Flow modeling; Carico idraulico, Sollecitazione meccanica, Fluttuazione del livello idrico del fiume, Diffusività idraulica, Modellazione del flusso
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11770/145009
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