Groundwater in Fractured Bedrock Environments: Managing Catchment and Subsurface Resources
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Fractured bedrock aquifers have traditionally been regarded as low-productivity aquifers, with only limited relevance to regional groundwater resources. It is now being increasingly recognised that these complex bedrock aquifers can play an important role in catchment management and subsurface energy systems. At shallow to intermediate depth, fractured bedrock aquifers help to sustain surface water baseflows and groundwater dependent ecosystems, provide local groundwater supplies and impact on contaminant transfers on a catchment scale. At greater depths, understanding the properties and groundwater flow regimes of these complex aquifers can be crucial for the successful installation of subsurface energy and storage systems, such as deep geothermal or Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage systems and natural gas or CO2 storage facilities as well as the exploration of natural resources such as conventional/unconventional oil and gas. In many scenarios, a robust understanding of fractured bedrock aquifers is required to assess the nature and extent of connectivity between such engineered subsurface systems at depth and overlying receptors in the shallow subsurface.
Hard-rock aquifer response to pumping and sustainable yield of wells in some areas of Mediterranean Region
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Published:January 01, 2019
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CiteCitation
Antonella Baiocchi, Francesca Lotti, Vincenzo Piscopo, Valentina Sammassimo, 2019. "Hard-rock aquifer response to pumping and sustainable yield of wells in some areas of Mediterranean Region", Groundwater in Fractured Bedrock Environments: Managing Catchment and Subsurface Resources, U. Ofterdinger, A.M. MacDonald, J.-C. Comte, M.E. Young
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Abstract
Pumping tests carried out in three highly tectonized Mediterranean areas, which share similar climate conditions, were used to characterize hard-rock aquifers and examine the issue of the sustainable yield of wells. On the basis of the identified drawdown trends and hydraulic parameters, pumping scenarios were simulated through different methods. The results show that the long-term trend in the drawdown and the initial thickness of the aquifer constrain the sustainable yield of a well. In the worst cases examined, namely those related to an aquifer with a barrier boundary and a delayed response of the aquifer, the sustainable well yield is 1–2 L s−1. These well discharge values are significant when compared with those found in other regions of the world, and may be related to the dense network of the discontinuities which characterizes the sites.