Tunneling is often unpopular with local residents and environmentalists, and can cause aquifer damage. Tunnel sealing is sometimes used to avoid groundwater leakage into the tunnel, thereby mitigating the damage. Due to the high cost of sealing operations, a detailed hydrogeological investigation should be conducted as part of the tunneling project to determine the impact of sealing, and groundwater modeling is an accurate method that can aid decision-making. Groundwater-level drawdown induced by the construction of the Headrace water-conveyance tunnel in Sri Lanka dried up 456 wells. Due to resulting socio-environmental problems, tunnel sealing was decided as a remedy solution. However, due to the expectation of significant delays and high costs of sealing, and because the water pressure in the tunnel may prevent groundwater seepage into the tunnel during operation, there was another (counter) decision that the tunnel could remain unsealed. This paper describes groundwater modeling carried out using MODFLOW to determine which option—sealed or unsealed tunnel—is more effective in groundwater level recovery. The Horizontal Flow Barrier and River packages of MODFLOW were used to simulate sealed and unsealed tunnels, respectively. The simulation results showed that only through tunnel sealing can the groundwater level be raised to preexisting levels after 18 years throughout the study area. If the tunnel remains unsealed, about 1 million m³/year of water conveyed by the tunnel will seep into the aquifer, reducing the operational capacity of the tunnel as a transport scheme. In conclusion, partial tunnel sealing in high-impact sections is recommended.

Temperature, discharge, and stable isotope ratios of five karst springs in a mountainous area of Zigui County, Hubei Province, Central China, were analyzed. The purpose was to illustrate the heat exchanges linked to circulation depth in the exposed karst water systems through the development of a method for estimating heat input and heat flux during a rainstorm. Meteorological water in the study area conformed to a local meteoric water line (δD = 8.37 δ¹⁸O + 12.99) with a mean δ¹⁸O elevation gradient of −4.0‰ km⁻¹, which was used to estimate mean circulation depths of 209–686 m. The mean spring temperatures defined a vertical gradient of −5.4 °C km⁻¹, which resembled that of the stable atmosphere of the Earth, indicating that the thermal response patterns are mainly controlled by surface air temperature. Thermal convection after rainfall events dominated heat exchange between baseflow and recharge water, leading to a warmer and colder recharge during summer and winter, respectively, whereas thermal conduction dominated the heat exchange only between groundwater, surrounding geology, and the interface air under a condition of no rainfall, resulting in only small temperature variations of the baseflow. Successful application of the method for estimating heat exchange showed that the characteristics of shallow circulation, strong karstification, and well-developed epikarst readily allowed disruption of the thermal balance of the Yuquandong system, resulting in a poor heat regulation capacity, a larger variation of heat input, a lower mean heat flux, and lower baseflow temperatures compared to those of the Dayuquan system.

A hydrogeological conceptual model of the source, circulation pathways and temporal variation of a low-enthalpy thermal spring in a fractured limestone setting is derived from a multidisciplinary approach. St. Gorman’s Well is a thermal spring in east-central Ireland with a complex and variable temperature profile (maximum of 21.8 °C). Geophysical data from a three-dimensional(3D)audio-magnetotelluric(AMT) survey are combined with time-lapse hydrogeological data and information from a previously published hydrochemical analysis to investigate the operation of this intriguing hydrothermal system. Hydrochemical analysis and time-lapse measurements suggest that the thermal waters flow within the fractured limestones of the Carboniferous Dublin Basin at all times but display variability in discharge and temperature. The 3D electrical resistivity model of the subsurface revealed two prominent structures: (1) a NW-aligned faulted contact between two limestone lithologies; and (2) a dissolutionally enhanced, N-aligned, fault of probable Cenozoic age. The intersection of these two structures, which has allowed for karstification of the limestone bedrock, has created conduits facilitating the operation of relatively deep hydrothermal circulation (likely estimated depths between 240 and 1,000 m) within the limestone succession of the Dublin Basin. The results of this study support a hypothesis that the maximum temperature and simultaneous increased discharge observed at St. Gorman’s Well each winter is the result of rapid infiltration, heating and recirculation of meteoric waters within a structurally controlled hydrothermal circulation system.

Combined simulation-optimization modeling is an essential tool for coastal groundwater management. However, determining the appropriate simulation-optimization approach for specific seawater intrusion problems remains a significant challenge, especially for the real-world conditions associated with management of complex groundwater systems, competing management objectives, and global concerns of future climate change. In this study, a linked multi-objective simulation-optimization framework, the MOSWTGA (multi-objective optimal code, coupling SEAWAT and an improved genetic algorithm), was applied to a coastal groundwater system in Zhoushuizi district of Dalian City in northern China. The system has fractured karst aquifers and is modelled for the next 20 years (from 2010) under the moderate greenhouse gas concentration scenario RCP4.5 (representative concentration pathways) in the CNRM (Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques) and MIROC (Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate) climate modes derived from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). The MOSWTGA was developed by integrating the density-dependent groundwater flow and solute transport code SEAWAT with a genetic algorithm improved by adding the Pareto-dominated ranking module, Pareto solution set filter, and fitness sharing procedure. A set of near Pareto-optimal solutions of the trade-off between the maximum of the total pumping rate and the minimum of the extent of seawater intrusion was obtained. The study tried to provide a theoretical basis for real-world groundwater management under the given conditions.

Water inrush in coal mines is commonly linked to fault zones. Excavation of the coal seam can lead to new fractures in the associated fault zone. Many water inrush disasters have a time lag, which is closely related to the fault zone’s permeability. In the present study, three kinds of fault analog samples (artificially reproduced samples analogous to the fault material) are prepared according to microscopic characteristics of natural fault samples, and permeability tests are carried out under constant water pressure. By monitoring the pressure change during the permeability test, the seepage process in the fault zone can be divided into three stages: slow growth, rapid growth, and saturation. In addition, a time-dependent equation of porosity and permeability in porous media is introduced in the coefficient partial differential equation module in COMSOL Multiphysics. By fully coupling with the Brinkman flow module, three kinds of numerical models of the fault zone with different initial porosity and permeability are established. The porosity growth rates in the three fault-zone seepage stages are 24, 23, and 2%, respectively. The growth rates of permeability are 122, 110, and 8%, respectively. The growth rates of flow velocity are 211, 185, and 11%, respectively. The growth rate of the fault model with low porosity and low permeability is lower than that of the other two models. By discussing different conceptual models of water inrush from faults, the results indicate that water inrush disasters can be delayed or prevented if the clay content in the fault is high.

The rapid decline of groundwater levels (GWL) due to pervasive groundwater abstraction in the densely populated (~1 billion) Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (IGBM) transboundary river basins of South Asia, necessitates a robust framework of prediction and understanding. While few localized studies exist, three-dimensional regional-scale characterization of GWL prediction is yet to be implemented. Here, ‘support vector machine’, a machine-learning-based method, is applied to data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and data on land-surface-model-based groundwater storage and meteorological variables, to predict the GWL anomaly (GWLA) in the IGBM. The study has three main objectives, (1) to understand the spatial (observation well locations) and subsurface (shallow vs. deep observation wells) variability in prediction results for in-situ GWLA data for a large number of observation wells (n = 4,791); (2) to determine its relationship with groundwater abstraction, and; (3) to outline the advantages and limitations of using GRACE data for predicting GWLAs. The findings, based on individual observation well results, suggest significant prediction efficiency (median statistics: r > 0.71, NSE > 0.70; p < 0.05) in most of the IGBM; however, the study identifies hotspots, mostly in the agriculture-intensive regions, having relatively poor model performance. Further analysis of the subsurface depth-wise prediction statistics reveals that the significant dominance of pumping in the deeper depths of the aquifer is linked to the relatively poor model performance for the deep observation wells (screen depth > 35 m) compared with the shallow observation wells (screen depth < 35 m), thus, highlighting the limitation of GRACE in representing spatial and depth-dependent local-scale pumping.

Integrated watershed modeling techniques have been applied in recent years to examine surface and subsurface interactions. Model performance is often evaluated by best fit of the hydrograph, which alone cannot explicitly explain whole catchment dynamics. To overcome this problem, this study incorporated multiple tracers (³H, ⁸⁵Kr, and groundwater temperature) into a physically-based fully distributed modeling framework for characterizing regional-scale hydrological processes in Kumamoto, southern Japan. First, a simulation performed by a hydrometrically calibrated model showed satisfactory performance for river discharge and groundwater level. However, this model showed poor fitting for isotopic composition and temperature due to the structural uncertainty of the model. A new model was established reflecting recent deep bore log data and incorporating tracer data showed acceptable accuracy for hydrographs and tracers. Thus, more reliable estimates of groundwater storage, groundwater age and water flow paths were depicted over the regional catchment. Comparisons between the two models indicate that the model structure of an area with an uncertain lower boundary can be addressed by incorporating multiple tracer data. Tracer-aided models could be applied for a holistic understanding of contaminant transport dynamics besides flow simulation.

Accurate estimation of irrigation return flow plays an important role in the effective management of groundwater, especially in arid and semiarid irrigation regions. However, there is a lack of sufficient research to clarify hydrological process dynamics associated with irrigation return flow. In this study, first, a two-dimensional/three-dimensional model, HYDRUS-2D/3D, was adopted to analyze two different irrigation types in the Delingha Depression, which is located at the northeastern margin of the Qaidam Basin, China. Then, a 3D saturated flow model was established. This study determined the effect of agricultural water application on the dynamics of irrigation return flow. A large difference in the irrigation return-flow coefficient (IRFC) was seen during the growing season; an IRFC of 0.3 was obtained using flood irrigation, whereas ditch irrigation resulted in an IRFC of only 0.1. The lag time of recharge was approximately 150 days. It was necessary to consider the lag time for the 3D numerical model to obtain satisfactory results. Flood irrigation led to a groundwater recharge rate of 90 mm/year. These results indicate that the lag time should be considered when groundwater recharge is estimated or modeled.

Infiltration from natural rivers or streams is the most important source of aquifer recharge at riverbank filtration (RBF) sites. Due to the influence of river hydrological processes and changes in suspended solids in rivers, riverbed sediments often undergo significant flushing and clogging processes, which lead to obvious spatial and temporal changes in riverbed sediment permeability. Moreover, the lithology, structure, and thickness of natural riverbed sediments change with time, influencing the bank infiltration rate into groundwater. At present, how riverbed-sediment flushing and clogging influences the sediment hydraulic conductivity is not fully understood, which results in high uncertainty about the amount of water involved in RBF. An RBF site in the middle reach of the Second Songhua River, northeastern China, was studied, and continuous time series data of riverbed-sediment hydraulic conductivity were obtained for the first time. By identifying the hydrological conditions, using field monitoring, laboratory experiments and field tests, the mechanisms of change associated with sediment lithology, infiltration rate, and hydraulic conductivity during flushing and clogging processes were revealed.