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Detailed hydraulic head profiles as essential data for defining hydrogeologic units in layered fractured sedimentary rock

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

This paper describes a study in southern Wisconsin where vertical hydraulic head profiles measured in exceptional detail provided the key data for defining hydrogeologic units (HGUs) in a layered sequence of sandstone, siltstone, shale, and dolostone. The most important data were obtained from corehole MP-6 which was cored 131 m into bedrock and instrumented using a Westbay® multilevel system with 36 depth discrete monitoring intervals. The resulting head profile is consistant over time and shows eight distinct inflections in hydraulic head. Several of the inflections occur between adjacent permeable units and are likely due to poor vertical connectivity of fracture sets rather than distinct lower permeability layers or aquitards in the conventional sense. No other type of data was capable of identifying the position of such distinct hydrogeologic features. These zones of abrupt head loss provide the primary dataset for delineation of eleven HGUs at MP-6 and are supported by less detailed head profiles at other locations. Although the detailed head profiles are essential, core logs and geophysical logs from other boreholes are nessessary to fully establish the lateral continuity of the HGUs.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Hydrite Chemical Company through the University Consortium for Field-Focused Groundwater Contamination Research and by a grant from NSERC Canada. Financial and technical support was also provided by Westbay® Instruments Inc. (a division of Schlumberger Water Services), FLUTe™, and Solinst® Canada Ltd. In addition, expertise and time were provided by Carl Keller of FLUTe™, Andrew Bessant, Dave Larssen and Frank Magdich of Westbay® Instruments Inc., and Diane Austin formerly of the University of Waterloo (UW). This paper also relied on geophysical logs collected by Peeter Pehme and Daren Mortimer (Dillon Consulting, ON) and Ken Bradbury and others at the WGNHS. In addition, the numerical modeling was performed by Steve Chapman (UW). The authors also benefited from various discussions with all of the above people as well as Sue Swanson (Beloit College), Mike Noel (GeoTrans), and Tom Miazga (Hydrite Chemical Company).

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  1. Beth L. Parker

    Present address: School of Engineering, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, ON, Canada

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Jessica R. Meyer, Beth L. Parker & John A. Cherry

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Correspondence to Jessica R. Meyer.

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Meyer, J.R., Parker, B.L. & Cherry, J.A. Detailed hydraulic head profiles as essential data for defining hydrogeologic units in layered fractured sedimentary rock. Environ Geol 56, 27–44 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1137-4

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