World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2018
Salt Transport from an Estuary into the Underlying Aquifer—Field Measurements
Publication: World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2018: Groundwater, Sustainability, and Hydro-Climate/Climate Change
ABSTRACT
An unstable condition occurs as a result of heavier saltwater in an estuary overlying the freshwater in the underlying aquifer. This could result in significant salt transport from the estuary into the aquifer. Groundwater salinity was measured at the Eau Gallie and River Walk transects below a coastal estuary known as the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) to determine the temporal and spatial extent of salt transport from the IRL into the aquifer. These transects extend from the mainland to the Atlantic Ocean or the Barrier Island and are 3.1 km and 1.6 km long, respectively. Measurements were taken on five occasions between June 2014 and September 2015. During this period, the IRL salinities in the Eau Gallie and River Walk transects varied from 0.53 to 0.79 (ocean salinity=1), and from 0.58 to 0.90, respectively. The groundwater flow into the unconfined aquifer below the transects is primarily freshwater (salinity=0.0833) from the mainland and flows upward into the IRL. At each transect, salinity measurements were made at 16 wells at depths of 1 m to 3 m below the lagoon bed. The inverse distance weighted interpolation (IDW) method was used to create iso-salinity contours below the IRL at both transects. These contours showed that the groundwater salinity changed with the IRL salinity indicating that salt from the IRL was moving down into the aquifer and mixing with the upward moving freshwater from the mainland. This salt transport should be accounted for in the hydrodynamic models of the IRL.
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Published In
World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2018: Groundwater, Sustainability, and Hydro-Climate/Climate Change
Pages: 145 - 154
Editor: Sri Kamojjala, Las Vegas Valley Water District
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8141-7
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: May 31, 2018
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