Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee
Inter-aquifer water exchange between the shallow and Memphis aquifers in Shelby County, Tennessee may pose a contamination threat due to the downward migration of younger, poor quality groundwater into deeper, more pristine aquifer. Discontinuities (breaches) in the upper Claiborne confining unit (U...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2583 |
| _version_ | 1797516937488498688 |
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| author | Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaino Brian Waldron Daniel Larsen Scott Schoefernacker |
| author_facet | Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaino Brian Waldron Daniel Larsen Scott Schoefernacker |
| author_sort | Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Inter-aquifer water exchange between the shallow and Memphis aquifers in Shelby County, Tennessee may pose a contamination threat due to the downward migration of younger, poor quality groundwater into deeper, more pristine aquifer. Discontinuities (breaches) in the upper Claiborne confining unit (UCCU) allow for leakage into the Memphis aquifer, a sand-dominated aquifer that provides about 95% of the groundwater used in the Memphis area. This study created a multi-layered 3D groundwater model for Shelby County using the United States Geological Survey’s MODFLOW-NWT program to evaluate water exchange for a simulation period from January 2005 to December 2016. Results indicate an overall leakage through the UCCU of 61 m<sup>3</sup>/min into the Memphis aquifer in Shelby County, accounting for 10% of its water budget inflow, with localized areas experiencing as much as 20% water exchange. As young water tends to stay in the upper part of the Memphis aquifer, water budget assessment for the upper 60 m of the Memphis aquifer revealed leakage representing 29% of the zone inflow, and as much as 53% in certain areas. More localized studies must be conducted to understand the location, characteristics, and orientation of the confining unit breaches, as well as the inter-aquifer water exchange. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:07:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c24153d5ffa4331861d5940a3e3dbb3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:07:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c24153d5ffa4331861d5940a3e3dbb32023-11-22T15:41:39ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-09-011318258310.3390/w13182583Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, TennesseeRodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaino0Brian Waldron1Daniel Larsen2Scott Schoefernacker3Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER), University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USACenter for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER), University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USADepartment of Earth Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USACenter for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER), University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USAInter-aquifer water exchange between the shallow and Memphis aquifers in Shelby County, Tennessee may pose a contamination threat due to the downward migration of younger, poor quality groundwater into deeper, more pristine aquifer. Discontinuities (breaches) in the upper Claiborne confining unit (UCCU) allow for leakage into the Memphis aquifer, a sand-dominated aquifer that provides about 95% of the groundwater used in the Memphis area. This study created a multi-layered 3D groundwater model for Shelby County using the United States Geological Survey’s MODFLOW-NWT program to evaluate water exchange for a simulation period from January 2005 to December 2016. Results indicate an overall leakage through the UCCU of 61 m<sup>3</sup>/min into the Memphis aquifer in Shelby County, accounting for 10% of its water budget inflow, with localized areas experiencing as much as 20% water exchange. As young water tends to stay in the upper part of the Memphis aquifer, water budget assessment for the upper 60 m of the Memphis aquifer revealed leakage representing 29% of the zone inflow, and as much as 53% in certain areas. More localized studies must be conducted to understand the location, characteristics, and orientation of the confining unit breaches, as well as the inter-aquifer water exchange.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2583groundwateraquitardconfining unitinter-aquifer exchangewater balanceleakage |
| spellingShingle | Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaino Brian Waldron Daniel Larsen Scott Schoefernacker Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee Water groundwater aquitard confining unit inter-aquifer exchange water balance leakage |
| title | Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee |
| title_full | Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee |
| title_fullStr | Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee |
| title_short | Development of a Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model to Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange in Shelby County, Tennessee |
| title_sort | development of a numerical multi layered groundwater model to simulate inter aquifer water exchange in shelby county tennessee |
| topic | groundwater aquitard confining unit inter-aquifer exchange water balance leakage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2583 |
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