Groundwater in Fractured Bedrock Environments: Managing Catchment and Subsurface Resources
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.
Fracture and conduit controls on groundwater movement in the Carboniferous Limestone of the eastern Mendip Hills, Somerset, England
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Published:January 01, 2019
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CiteCitation
Christopher J. Newton, 2019. "Fracture and conduit controls on groundwater movement in the Carboniferous Limestone of the eastern Mendip Hills, Somerset, England", 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
Karst science is beginning to recognize and understand better the interaction between conduits and the fractures and/or pore spaces within the aquifer. The relationship has important significance in relation to the understanding of contaminant transport, resource management and dewatering practices. This study presents the results of a dye trace carried out to investigate the link between the aquifer and conduits near a large dewatered quarry in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. At the point of undertaking the study, there were no records of the quarry directly intercepting any conduits but water from the conduit(s) is known to be drawn into the quarry. During the study, water from the conduits was observed to be lost to and gained from the fractures in different places in the aquifer. This complexity highlights the dependence of conduit flow on water levels in the aquifer and the sensitivity of groundwater in karstified aquifers to contamination.
- aquifers
- carbonate rocks
- Carboniferous
- drawdown
- dye tracers
- England
- Europe
- fractures
- Great Britain
- ground water
- hydraulic conductivity
- hydrology
- karst hydrology
- karstification
- limestone
- Mendip Hills
- mine dewatering
- Paleozoic
- porosity
- sedimentary rocks
- sinkholes
- solution
- solution features
- Somerset England
- United Kingdom
- Western Europe