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WATERS Test Bed Projects Feasibility Studies
Summer 2007
Since November 2006 we have been working with the principle investigators from the various WATERS test bed projects to determine if and how geophysical investigations could be integrated into there current research goals to provide added value to the science at these sites. These NSF funded two-year projects are designed to test various aspects of hydrological observatory design and operation and are located in a range of environmental conditions (further details: http://www.hydrologicscience.org/wtbs/index.html).
We have had a great response from the majority of these test-bed projects. Time constraints involved with the field work have meant that we have recently narrowed it down to 5 of these projects for this first phase over summer 2007. A brief description of the geophysical aims within each of the test-bed projects follows, a more detailed description can be found through the links at the end of each paragraph. Included in these links are the preliminary budgets for each of the geophysical feasibility studies to provide an idea of the costs involved in each case (these costs vary widely from site to site depending on location, on-site support from the test-bed, in terms of accommodation, transportation, etc, and geophysical equipment required).
These include the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada test-bed, PI: Roger Bales, where the application of electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) technique will aid in the constraint of the hydrogeological models of the Wolverton field site through subsurface characterization. In addition we will be applying the electromagnetic induction (EMI) technique to help in understanding groundwater fluxes through the system by conducting a series of time lapse surveys over the field site during the period of study. A preliminary visit has been planned for May 2007, once the snow cover has melted back, to aid in the planning of the main surveys in Fall 2007 and to conduct the first EMI surveys.
Sierra Nevada Hydrologic Observatory (SNHO)
The Baltimore Urban Groundwater test-bed, PI: Claire Welty, presents a very interesting challenge in what is a little studied area in both hydrology and geophysics. One of the science questions in this study is looking at the spatial variation in the topography of the water table below the Baltimore urban area and how this is affected by the quantity and type (i.e. residential, industrial, commercial) of impervious cover on the land surface. We aim to apply a range of geophysical techniques, including ERI, ground penetrating radar (GPR), seismic refraction, and microgravity, in imaging this variation in the water table at a number of locations within the Dead Run watershed at the test-bed site. A preliminary visit was completed at the beginning of April 2007, where through a series of discussions, site visits, and conducting a number of 1D soundings using the ERI technique we were able to gain a better understanding of the research issues, field sites and the applicability of the geophysical techniques. This was all invaluable when it came to refining the plans for the main surveys planned for July 2007.
Quantifying Urban Groundwater in Environmental Field
Observatories: A Missing Link in Understanding How the Built
Environment Affects the Hydrologic Cycle
The Flathead River Basin test bed, PI: Johnnie Moore, where the application of the ERI and GPR techniques will aid in the understanding of spatial variations in groundwater – surface water interactions within the alluvial bar/channel systems in the basin. High resolution surface and borehole surveys at sites on the Middle Fork of Flathead River are planned for August 2007 to image the spatial distribution of hydrological parameters of interest in this study through the formulation of transforms from the geophysical data and aquifer testing results.
Crown of the Continent Hydrologic Observatory (CCHO)
The Clear Creek Environmental Hydrologic Observatory test bed, PI: Thanos Papanicolaou, are very interested in the role of soil type, land use and management, and terrain and topography on the effective hydraulic conductivity and erosion rates within the watershed. We aim to conduct a visit in late Fall 2007 and apply the EMI technique to mapping out the various soil types within the study sites.
Clear Creek Environmental Hydrologic Observatory
The final test bed we are involved with in this first phase, Susquehanna River Basin site, PI: Christopher Duffy, is somewhat of a special case. Here one of our geophysics nodes, Kamini Singha at Penn State University, has been involved with the test-bed and has subsequently formed a research collaboration with the hydrologists on the project in line with our current model. They are currently designing a number of combined hydrological and geophysical experiments for the summer with the HMF –Geophysics central facility involved in an advisory capacity.
