Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing
Investigation of river water/groundwater interaction aims generally at: (i) localizing water migration pathways; and (ii) quantifying water and associated matter exchange between the two natural water resources. Related numerical models generally rely on model-specific parameters that represent the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3027 |
| _version_ | 1797549624449302528 |
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| author | Michael Schubert Kay Knoeller Christin Mueller Benjamin Gilfedder |
| author_facet | Michael Schubert Kay Knoeller Christin Mueller Benjamin Gilfedder |
| author_sort | Michael Schubert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Investigation of river water/groundwater interaction aims generally at: (i) localizing water migration pathways; and (ii) quantifying water and associated matter exchange between the two natural water resources. Related numerical models generally rely on model-specific parameters that represent the physical conditions of the catchment and suitable aqueous tracer data. A generally applicable approach for this purpose is based on the finite element model FINIFLUX that is using the radioactive noble gas radon-222 as naturally occurring tracer. During the study discussed in this paper, radon and physical stream data were used with the aim to localize and quantify groundwater discharge into a well-defined section of a small headwater stream. Besides site-specific results of two sampling campaigns, the outcomes of the study reveal: (i) the general difficulties of conducting river water/groundwater interaction studies in small and heterogeneous headwater catchments; and (ii) the particular challenge of defining well constrained site- and campaign-specific values for both the groundwater radon endmember and the radon degassing coefficient. It was revealed that determination of both parameters should be based on as many data sources as possible and include a critical assessment of the reasonability of the gathered and used datasets. The results of our study exposed potential limitations of the approach if executed in small and turbulent headwater streams. Hence, we want to emphasize that the project was not only executed as a case study at a distinct site but rather aimed at evaluating the applicability of the chosen approach for conducting river water/groundwater interaction studies in heterogeneous headwater catchments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:17:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d68646bbc0434ca0ab1c0a7acceadb18 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:17:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-d68646bbc0434ca0ab1c0a7acceadb182023-11-20T18:52:22ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-10-011211302710.3390/w12113027Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass BalancingMichael Schubert0Kay Knoeller1Christin Mueller2Benjamin Gilfedder3UFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, GermanyUFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle, GermanyUFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle, GermanyLimnologic Research Station, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, GermanyInvestigation of river water/groundwater interaction aims generally at: (i) localizing water migration pathways; and (ii) quantifying water and associated matter exchange between the two natural water resources. Related numerical models generally rely on model-specific parameters that represent the physical conditions of the catchment and suitable aqueous tracer data. A generally applicable approach for this purpose is based on the finite element model FINIFLUX that is using the radioactive noble gas radon-222 as naturally occurring tracer. During the study discussed in this paper, radon and physical stream data were used with the aim to localize and quantify groundwater discharge into a well-defined section of a small headwater stream. Besides site-specific results of two sampling campaigns, the outcomes of the study reveal: (i) the general difficulties of conducting river water/groundwater interaction studies in small and heterogeneous headwater catchments; and (ii) the particular challenge of defining well constrained site- and campaign-specific values for both the groundwater radon endmember and the radon degassing coefficient. It was revealed that determination of both parameters should be based on as many data sources as possible and include a critical assessment of the reasonability of the gathered and used datasets. The results of our study exposed potential limitations of the approach if executed in small and turbulent headwater streams. Hence, we want to emphasize that the project was not only executed as a case study at a distinct site but rather aimed at evaluating the applicability of the chosen approach for conducting river water/groundwater interaction studies in heterogeneous headwater catchments.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3027river water/groundwater interactiontracerradon mass balanceFINIFLUX |
| spellingShingle | Michael Schubert Kay Knoeller Christin Mueller Benjamin Gilfedder Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing Water river water/groundwater interaction tracer radon mass balance FINIFLUX |
| title | Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing |
| title_full | Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing |
| title_fullStr | Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing |
| title_short | Investigating River Water/Groundwater Interaction along a Rivulet Section by <sup>222</sup>Rn Mass Balancing |
| title_sort | investigating river water groundwater interaction along a rivulet section by sup 222 sup rn mass balancing |
| topic | river water/groundwater interaction tracer radon mass balance FINIFLUX |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3027 |
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