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HYDRAULIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BURIED VALLEY SEDIMENTS AND ADJACENT BEDROCK FORMATIONS

Seyoum, Wondwosen
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1336439133

Abstract Details

2012, MS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences.
A buried valley is an ancient river or stream valley that predates the recent glaciation and since has been filled with glacial till and/or outwash. Outwash deposits are known to store and transmit large amounts of ground water. Their productivity largely depends on their hydraulic properties, rate of recharge and their hydraulic relationship with the adjacent bedrock formations. These relationships were illustrated by using MODFLOW to simulate steady-state three-dimensional flow through a section of a buried valley in Northeastern Ohio. The flow domain was divided into five hydrostratigraphic units: low conductivity (K) till and high K outwash parts of the drift sediment within the buried valley and three bedrock units: Pottsville Formation, Cuyahoga Group and Berea Sandstone, while the pre-Berea formations served as a no-flow boundary. Model input data, e.g. spatial distribution of the hydrostratigraphic units and their hydraulic properties were estimated using the data from Well Log and Drilling Reports of residential water wells. The model was calibrated using observed hydraulic heads and flow data with mean residual head error of 0.3m (1.0’). The calibrated model was used to quantify flux between buried valley and bedrock formations. Mass balance for the entire model consists of 2.7 Mm3/yr (87%) of inflow by recharge from precipitation and 0.4 Mm3/yr (13%) of inflow across the upstream model boundary. Approximately 80% of the inflow goes out as an outflow across the downstream model boundary and the remaining ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ 20% leaves the model as baseflow to Chagrin River. Within the model, buried valley receives 1.6 Mm3/yr (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿40% of the total inflow to the buried valley aquifer) from the adjacent bedrock aquifers. Mass balance along the buried valley/bedrock contact indicates that Pottsville Formation contributes 0.96 Mm3/yr (or 0.34 Mm3/yr/km) while the Berea Sandstone contributes 0.64 Mm3/yr (or 0.22 Mm3/yr/km). The calculated mass balance error is -2.2%. Significant amount of groundwater flow occurs from the bedrock aquifers to the buried valley. The buried valley aquifer functions as drainage to the surrounding bedrock aquifers.
Yoram Eckstein, Professor (Advisor)
Abdul Shakoor, Professor (Committee Member)
Griffith Elizabeth, Dr. (Other)
130 p.
Geological; Geology; Hydrology; Water Resource Management
Buried valley; hydraulic relationship; numerical model; groundwater; MODFLOW - GMS

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Seyoum, W. (2012). HYDRAULIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BURIED VALLEY SEDIMENTS AND ADJACENT BEDROCK FORMATIONS [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1336439133

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Seyoum, Wondwosen. HYDRAULIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BURIED VALLEY SEDIMENTS AND ADJACENT BEDROCK FORMATIONS. 2012. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1336439133.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Seyoum, Wondwosen. "HYDRAULIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BURIED VALLEY SEDIMENTS AND ADJACENT BEDROCK FORMATIONS." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1336439133

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.