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Sea level rise and storm surge effects in a coastal heterogeneous aquifer: a 2D modelling study in northern Germany

Effekte von Meerwasseranstieg und Sturmfluten in einem Küstenaquifer: eine 2D Modellierstudie in Norddeutschland

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Abstract

Climate change will affect coastal groundwater resources due to the mean sea level rise (MSLR) and an increase in storm intensity and frequency. Increasing saltwater intrusion from the subsurface as well as intrusion into aquifers from land-surface storm surges can be expected. We numerically investigate the impacts of MSLR and storm surge events in a 2D cross-sectional aquifer at the North-German coast using the coupled surface-subsurface approach of the HydroGeoSphere model. Aquifer heterogeneity is considered to investigate the influence of heterogeneity on the migration of salt plumes in the aquifer. A 1 m MSLR causes the saltwater/freshwater interface to migrate up to 1250 m landward, and the salinized area of the aquifer to expand up to 2050 m landward. Results from a storm surge simulation show that salt plume fingers develop below the flooded land surface, however, the fate of the salt plumes is highly dependent on the hydraulic conductivity of the subsurface.

Zusammenfassung

Der Klimawandel wird küstennahe Grundwasserressourcen beeinträchtigen. Dies wird einerseits durch den Anstieg des Meeresspiegels geschehen, was zu einer Zunahme der Salzwasserintrusion in einen küstennahen Aquifer führt. Andererseits werden die Intensität und Frequenz von Sturmfluten zunehmen, und es kann zu vermehrter Überspülung von Salzwasser über Deiche kommen. In der Folge wird das Salzwasser der Sturmfluten in den Untergrund infiltrieren und küstennahes Grundwasser kontaminieren. Mit dem numerischen Modell HydroGeoSphere untersuchen wir den Einfluss des steigenden Meeresspiegels und den Einfluss von Sturmfluten auf die Grundwasserressourcen einer norddeutschen Küstenregion. an der Oberflächenabfluss und Strömung im Untergrund können in diesem Modell vollständig gekoppelt werden. In den Simulationen wird die Heterogenität des Aquifers berücksichtigt, um deren Einfluss auf den Salztransport im Aquifer zu untersuchen. Ein Meeresspiegelanstieg von 1 m führt zu einem Versatz der Salzwasser/Süßwasser-Grenze um 1250 m landwärts und zu einer Vergrößerung der versalzenen Aquiferbreite um bis zu 2.050 m. Ergebnisse einer Sturmflut- Simulation zeigen, dass sich unter der überfluteten Landoberfläche Salzfinger bilden. Der Salztransport ist wesentlich von den hydraulischen Leitfähigkeiten des heterogenen Untergrundes abhängig.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under grant number GR 3463/2−1. We thank the editorial board of Grundwasser (Gudrun Massmann, Tania Röper) for handling our manuscript. We also thank two anonymous reviewers whose constructive comments have helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Fluid Mechanics in Civil Engineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Appelstr. 9A, 30167, Hannover, Germany

    Jie Yang &  Thomas Graf

  2. Geosciences Center, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Thomas Ptak

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  1. Jie Yang
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Correspondence to Jie Yang.

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Yang, J., Graf, T. & Ptak, T. Sea level rise and storm surge effects in a coastal heterogeneous aquifer: a 2D modelling study in northern Germany. Grundwasser 20, 39–51 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00767-014-0279-z

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