Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Geology and Geography
Committee Chair
Joseph J. Donovan.
Abstract
Alluvial aquifers bounded by streams are water supply sources for numerous communities in the Ohio Valley, West Virginia. Groundwater flow models are tools for estimation of source areas, however, existing analytical solutions apply only in settings involving a single stream boundary. A series of numerical experiments was devised for wells near multiple surface sources examining the controlling aspects of well-location and boundary condition interaction on source areas. Local-scale models were constructed representing an alluvial aquifer bounded by a tributary intersecting a large river. Aquifer behavior was examined in response to variations in pumping well location and tributary gradient. Flow within aquifers bounded by a regulated stream was controlled by the presence of the larger river, while aquifers bounded by an unregulated stream derived nearly all source water from tributary infiltration. Source water analysis of alluvial aquifers with multiple bounding streams is best accomplished using simple numerical simulations of this type.
Recommended Citation
Webb, Sarah E., "Numerical analysis of source-water dynamics for stream-bounded alluvial aquifers" (2003). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1808.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1808