Laboratory Analog Analysis of Spring Recession Curve in a Karst Aquifer with Fracture and Conduit Domains
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 2
Abstract
Karst aquifers differ from other types of hydrogeological systems because of their complex behavior, which originates from strong heterogeneity. A karst spring carries an imprint of hydrologic information for the karst aquifer. The shape of the outflow hydrograph recorded at a spring is a unique reflection of the aquifer’s response. A karstic aquifer consisting of a fracture network and a conduit was proposed, and the spring recession curves generated from the designed karst aquifer were analyzed in this study. The purpose of the study was to discuss the influence of the main spring conduit diameter and the saturated thickness of the aquifer on spring recession curves. A combination of 7 groups of outlet pipes with different diameters and 7 initial water levels were used to simulate changes in diameter and saturated thickness, respectively. Thus, a total of 49 experimental tests were carried out in the laboratory karst aquifer. The results indicate that spring recession curves can be separated into two flow segments, and that the main spring conduit diameter has a remarkable influence on the initial flow of recession, recession duration, and recession coefficient. The results also show that the saturated thickness of the aquifer has a great effect on the initial flow of the recession and recession duration, but that its effect on the recession coefficient and the shape of the recession curve is slight.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China project, “The Research of Groundwater Flow in a Karst Aquifer with Fracture and Conduit Domains (No. 41172203).”
References
Boussiesq, J. (1877). “Essai sur la theories des eax courantes.” Memoires presentes par divers savants a l’Academie des Sciences de l’Institut National de France, Tome (in French).
Boussiesq, J. (1904). “Recherches théoriques sur l’ écoulement des nappes d’eau infiltrées dans le sol et sur le débit des sources.” J. Math. Pure Appl., 10(5–78), 363–394 (in French).
Cheng, Q. M. (2008). “A combined power-law and exponential model for streamflow recessions.” J. Hydrol., 352(1–2), 157–167.
Cheng, X., and Yang, Z. J. (2000). “A discussion on the factors of underground water regulation in karst areas.” Carsologica Sin., 19(1), 52–57 (in Chinese).
Civita, M. V. (2008). “An improved method for delineating source protection zones for karst springs based on analysis of recession curve data.” Hydrogeol. J., 16(5), 855–869.
Cornaton, F. (1999). “Utilisation de modèles continu discret et a double continuum pourl’analyse des reponses globales de l’aquifère karstique.” CHYN, Université of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (in French).
Cornaton, F., and Perrochet, P. (2002). “Analytical 1D dual-porosity equivalent solutions to 3D discrete single-continuum models. Application to karstic spring hydrograph modelling.” J. Hydrol., 262(1–4), 165–176.
Dewandel, B., Lachassagne, P., Bakalowicz, M., Weng, P. H., and Al-Malki, A. (2003). “Evaluation of aquifer thickness by analyzing recession hydrographs: Application to the Oman ophiolite hard-rock aquifer.” J. Hydrol., 274(1–4), 248–269.
Dreiss, S. J. (1982). “Linear kernels for karst aquifers.” Water Resour. Res., 18(4), 865–876.
Drogue, C. (1972). “Analyse statistique des hydrogrammes de décrues des sources karstiques.” J. Hydrol., 15(1), 49–68 (in French).
Dubois, C., Quinif, Y., and Baele, J. M. (2014). “The process of ghost-rock karstification and its role in the formation of cave systems.” Earth-Sci. Rev., 131, 116–148.
Eisenlohr, L., Király, L., Bouzelboudjen, M., and Rossier, Y. (1997). “Numerical simulation as a tool for checking the interpretation of karst spring hydrographs.” J. Hydrol., 193(1–4), 306–315.
Fiorillo, F. (2011). “Tank-reservoir drainage as a simulation of the recession limb of karst spring hydrograph.” Hydrogeol. J., 19(5), 1009–1019.
Fiorillo, F. (2014). “The recession of spring hydrographs, focused on karst aquifers.” Water Resour. Manage., 28(7), 1781–1805.
Fleury, P., Plagnes, V., and Bakalowicz, M. (2007). “Modelling of the functioning of karst aquifers with a reservoir model: Application to Fontaine de Vaucluse (South of France).” J. Hydrol., 345(1–2), 38–49.
Ford, D. C., and Williams, P. W. (1989). “Karst hydrology and geomorphology.” Unwin Hyman, London, 601.
Forkasiewitz, J., and Paloc, H. (1967). “Le régime de tarissement de la Foux-de-la-vis (the system of the Foux-de-la-vis depletion).” Chron. Hydrogeol., 3(10), 61–73 (in French).
Geyer, T., Birk, S., Liedl, R., and Sauter, M. (2008). “Quantification of temporal distribution of recharge in karst systems from spring hydrographs.” J. Hydrol., 348(3–4), 452–463.
Goldscheider, N., and Drew, D. (2007). Methods in karst hydrogeology, Taylor and Francis, London.
Horton, R. E. (1933). “The role of infiltration in the hydrological cycle.” Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 14(1), 446–460.
Ji, Y. F., Shu, L. C., Dong, G. M., and Huang, B. J. (2010). “A study of the transformation mechanism of a precipitation-soil water-surface water-karst water system based on physical experiments.” Hydrogeol. Eng. Geol., 37(2), 91–94 (in Chinese).
Jukić, D., and Denić, J. V. (2009). “Groundwater balance estimation in karst by using a conceptual rainfall-runoff model.” J. Hydrol., 373(3–4), 302–315.
Ke, T. T., Shu, L. C., and Chen, X. H. (2013). “Modeling the groundwater recharge in karst aquifers by using a reservoir model.” Water Sci. Technol., 68(2), 406–412.
Kiràly, L., and Morel, G. (1976). “Remarques sur l’hydrogramme des sources karstiques simule par modèles mathématiques.” Bulletin d’Hydrogéologie, Neuchâtel, 1, 37–60.
Kovács, A., and Perrochet, P. (2008). “A quantitative approach to spring hydrograph decomposition.” J. Hydrol., 352(1–2), 16–29.
Kovács, A., Perrochet, P., Kiraly, L., and Jeannin, P. (2005). “A quantitative method for the characterization of karst aquifers based on spring hydrograph analysis.” J. Hydrol., 303(1–4), 152–164.
Kullman, E. (1983). “Groundwater regime with turbulent flow in fissure-karst rock environment.” Geologický ústav Dionýza Štúra, Bratislava, 237–262 (in Slovak).
Long, A. J. (2009). “Hydrograph separation for karst watersheds using a two-domain rainfall-discharge model.” J. Hydrol., 364(3–4), 249–256.
Maillet, E. (1905). Essais d’hydraulique souterraine et fluvial, Hermann, Prais.
Malík, P., and Vojtková, S. (2010). Advances in research in karst Media, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 101–106.
Malík, P., and Vojtková, S. (2012). “Use of recession-curve analysis for estimation of karstification degree and its application in assessing overflow/underflow conditions in closely spaced karstic springs.” Environ. Earth Sci., 65(8), 2245–2257.
Malvicini, C. F., Steenhuis, T. S., Walter, M. T., Parlange, J. Y., and Walter, M. F. (2005). “Evaluation of spring flow in the uplands of Matalom, Leyte, Philippines.” Adv. Water Resour., 28(10), 1083–1090.
Mangin, A. (1975). “Contribution a l’étude hydrodynamique des aquifères karstiques-Troisieme partie: Constitution et fonctionnement des aquifères karstiques.” Ann. Spéléol., 30(1), 21–124.
Moon, S. K., Woo, N. C., and Lee, K. S. (2004). “Statistical analysis of hydrographs and water-table fluctuation to estimate groundwater recharge.” J. Hydrol., 292(1–4), 198–209.
Radczuk, L., and Szarska, O. (1989). “Use of the flow recession curve for the estimation of conditions of river supply by underground water.” IAHS, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, U.K., 67–74.
Shu, L. C., Tao, Y. F., Dong, G. M., Wang, M. M., and Liu, L. H. (2008). “Laboratory simulation and analysis on spring recession process with karst multi-media.” Geotech. Invest. Surv., (9), 32–35 (in Chinese).
Tritz, S., Guinot, V., and Jourde, H. (2011). “Modelling the behavior of a karst system catchment using non-linear hysteretic conceptual model.” J. Hydrol., 397(3–4), 250–262.
Vashisht, A. K., and Bam, B. (2013). “Formulating the spring discharge-function for the recession period by analyzing its recession curve: A case study of the Ranichauri spring (India).” J. Earth Syst. Sci., 122(5), 1313–1323.
Vesna, D. J., and Damir, J. (2003). “Composite transfer functions for karst aquifers.” J. Hydrol., 274(1–4), 80–94.
White, W. B. (2006). “Fifty years of karst hydrology: 1953–2003.” Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 139–152.
White, W. B. (2007). “A brief history of karst hydrogeology: Contributions of the NSS.” J. Cave Karst Stud., 69(1), 13–26.
Yang, L. Z. (1982). “Karst water movement in Houzhai subterranean river, Puding, Guizhou Province.” Carsologica Sin., (1), 18–26 (in Chinese).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 2 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 1, 2014
Accepted: May 27, 2015
Published online: Sep 11, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Feb 11, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.