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Raumzeitmuster des See-Grundwasser-Austausches in einem sauren Tagebaurestsee

Spatio-temporal patterns of lake-groundwater exchange in an acid mine lake

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Kurzfassung

Die Wasserqualität von Restseen des Braunkohletagebaus wird stark durch den Zustrom von Grundwasser aus dem Bereich der Abraumkippen geprägt. Dabei kann die Höhe der Zustromrate die Freisetzung von Azidität an der See-Grundwasser-Grenzfläche maßgeblich steuern. Eine robuste Quantifizierung von Austauschraten zwischen See- und Grundwasser ist daher von großer Bedeutung für eine Prognose der chemischen Entwicklung derartiger Seen.

Die räumlichen und zeitlichen Muster des See-Grundwasser-Austausches in einem sauren Restsee des Braunkohletagebaus in der Niederlausitz wurden anhand von Flusskammermessungen an 16 Standorten untersucht. Zur Absicherung der Flusskammermessungen wurden an einzelnen Standorten zusätzlich Austauschraten aus vertikalen hydraulischen Gradienten und Leitfähigkeiten sowie durch inverse Simulation vertikaler Chloridprofile bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse der verschiedenen Methoden sind sehr gut vergleichbar und zeigen eine starke räumliche und zeitliche Variabilität des Austausches. Das generelle Muster des Austausches ist im Gegensatz zu früheren Untersuchungen (Knoll et al. 1999) rezent durch Grundwasserzustrom im Norden und Abstrom von Seewasser im Süden gekennzeichnet. Gemessene Austauschraten lagen zwischen –1,7 l m–2 d–1 (Abstrom) und > 200 l m–2 d–1 (Zustrom). Die höchsten Grundwasserzustromraten wurden an lokalen Hotspots in den tieferen Bereichen des Sees festgestellt und sind vermutlich auf lokale hydraulische Verbindungen mit einem tieferen, tertiären Grundwasserleiter zurückzuführen. Das generelle räumliche Muster ist vor allem durch das regionale Grundwasserströmungsfeld bedingt. Zeitliche Variabilität ergibt sich aus der Instationarität der hydrologischen Randbedingungen (See- und Grundwasserstände), die sich jedoch infolge sehr unterschiedlicher hydraulischer Ankopplung des Sees an ein komplexes, heterogenes Grundwassersystem lokal unterschiedlich stark auf die See-Grundwasser-Austauschraten auswirkt.

Abstract

Water quality of acid mine lakes is strongly affected by groundwater inflow from the mine tailings. The rate of inflow can be an important control on the release of acidity at the lake-groundwater interface. A robust quantification of exchange fluxes is therefore of paramount importance for the chemical evolution of the lakes. The spatial and temporal patterns of lake-groundwater exchange in an acid mine lake from open pit lignite mining in Lower Lusatia, Eastern Germany were investigated using seepage meter measurements at 16 locations. To validate exchange rates from the seepage meters, additional flux estimates were obtained from hydraulic gradients, hydraulic conductivities and vertical chloride profiles. The different methods compared well and revealed strong spatial and temporal variability of exchange. In contrast to previous studies (Knoll et al. 1999), the general pattern of exchange is currently characterized by groundwater inflow at the north end of the lake and outflow of lake water to the aquifer in the south. Exchange rates ranged from –1.7 l m–2 d–1 (outflow) to > 200 l m–2 d–1 (inflow). The highest rates of inflow were observed at local hot spots in the deeper part of the lake and are explained by local hydraulic connections with the underlying Tertiary aquifer. The general spatial pattern is controlled by the regional groundwater flow field. Temporal patterns are the result of transients in the hydrologic boundary conditions (lake and groundwater levels), which, depending on the connectivity between the lake and parts of the aquifer-system, affect exchange fluxes to different degrees.

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Danksagung

Wir danken den zahlreichen studentischen Hilfskräften, vor allem Benjamin Kopp und Tanja Broder, die durch ihre tatkräftige Unterstützung der Geländearbeiten zu dieser Arbeit beigetragen haben. Von der LMBV wurden freundlicherweise Stichtagsmessungen des Seewasserspiegels zur Verfügung gestellt, die einen Abgleich mit den über Druckaufnehmer kontinuierlich gemessenen Seewasserständen ermöglichte. Die Arbeiten wurden finanziert durch die DFG (Projekt FL 631/5-1).

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Hydrologie, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Deutschland

    J. H. Fleckenstein,  C. Neumann,  N. Volze &  J. Beer

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  1. J. H. Fleckenstein
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  2. C. Neumann
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  3. N. Volze
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  4. J. Beer
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Correspondence to J. H. Fleckenstein.

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Fleckenstein, J.H., Neumann, C., Volze, N. et al. Raumzeitmuster des See-Grundwasser-Austausches in einem sauren Tagebaurestsee. Grundwasser 14, 207–217 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00767-009-0113-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00767-009-0113-1

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