Nitrate fluctuations at the water table: implications for recharge processes and solute transport in the Chalk aquifer

Hydrological Processes

Volumn 29, Issue 15, 2015, Pages 3355-3367

  Sorensen, James P R ^a   Butcher, Andrew S ^a   Stuart, Marianne E ^a   Townsend, Barry R ^a  

^a BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

chalk; contamination; fracture flow; nitrate; piston displacement; recharge

Indexed keywords

AQUIFERS; CONTAMINATION; COPYRIGHTS; FRACTURE; GROUNDWATER RESOURCES; LIMESTONE; NITRATES; PISTON DISPLACEMENT; RAIN; SOLUTE TRANSPORT; SURFACE WATERS; WATER POLLUTION;

CHALK; FRACTURE FLOW; HORIZONTAL FRACTURES; HYDROGRAPH ANALYSIS; NITRATE CONCENTRATION; RECHARGE; RISING WATER TABLE; VERTICAL RESOLUTION;

RECHARGING (UNDERGROUND WATERS);

AQUIFER POLLUTION; CONCENTRATION (COMPOSITION); FRACTURE FLOW; GROUNDWATER FLOW; NITRATE; RECHARGE; SOLUTE TRANSPORT; WATER TABLE;

EID: 84946765542     PISSN: 08856087     EISSN: 10991085     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10447     Document Type: Article

References (57)

1. Allen DJ, Brewerton LJ, Coleby LM, Gibbs BR, Lewis MA, MacDonald AM, Wagstaff SJ, Williams AT. 1997. The physical properties of major aquifers in England and Wales, British Geological Survey Tech. Rep. WD/97/34 and Environment Agency R&D Pub. 8.
2. Almasri MN, Kaluarachchi JJ. 2007. Modeling nitrate contamination of groundwater in agricultural watersheds. Journal of Hydrology 343(3–4): 211–229.
3. Barhoum S, Valdès D, Guérin R, Marlin C, Vitale Q, Benmamar J, Gombert P. 2014. Spatial heterogeneity of high-resolution Chalk groundwater geochemistry–underground quarry at Saint Martin-le-Noeud, France. Journal of Hydrology 519: 756–768.
4. Barker J, Foster SS. 1981. A diffusion exchange model for solute movement in fissured porous rock. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 14(1): 17–24.
5. Barker JA. 1993. Modelling of flow and transport in the chalk. In Hydrogeology of the Chalk of Northwest Europe, Downing, RA, Price, M. and Jones GP (Eds). Clarendon Press, Oxford: 35–38.
6. Barraclough D, Gardner CMK, Wellings SR, Cooper JD. 1994. A tracer investigation into the importance of fissure flow in the unsaturated zone of the British Upper Chalk. Journal of Hydrology 156(1–4): 459–469.
7. Brouyere S, Dassargues A, Hallet V. 2004. Migration of contaminants through the unsaturated zone overlying the Hesbaye chalky aquifer in Belgium: a field investigation. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 72(1-4): 135–164.
8. Burns LC, Stevens RJ, Laughlin RJ. 1996. Production of nitrite in soil by simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28(4–5): 609–616.
9. Butcher AS. 1990. Core analysis techniques used by the Aquifer Properties Laboratories for hydrocarbon reservoir rocks, British Geological Survey Tech. Rep. WD/90/7.
10. Butler A, Mathias S, Gallagher A, Peach D, Williams A. 2009. Analysis of flow processes in fractured chalk under pumped and ambient conditions (UK). Hydrogeology Journal 17(8): 1849–1858.
11. Chilton P, Foster S. 1991. Nitrate Contamination: Exposure, Consequence, and Control. Bogardi I, Kuzelka RD. (eds). Springer-Verlag: Berlin; 333–347.
12. Downing RA, Price M, Jones G (eds). 1993. The Hydrogeology of the Chalk of North-West Europe. Clarendon Press: Oxford.
13. Foster SSD, Cripps AC, Smith-Carington A. 1982. Nitrate leaching to groundwater. Philosophical transactions of the royal society of London. B, Biological Sciences 296(1082): 477–489.
14. Gallagher AJ, Rutter HK, Buckley DK, Molyneux I. 2012. Lithostratigraphic controls on recharge to the Chalk aquifer of Southern England. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 45: 161–172.
15. Geake AK, Foster SSD. 1989. Sequential isotope and solute profiling in the unsaturated zone of British Chalk. Hydrological Sciences Journal 34(1): 79–95.
16. Gooddy DC, Bloomfield JP, Chilton PJ, Johnson AC, Williams RJ. 2001. Assessing herbicide concentrations in the saturated and unsaturated zone of a Chalk aquifer in Southern England. Ground Water 39(2): 262–271.
17. Gooddy DC, Kinniburgh DG, Barker JA. 2007. A rapid method for determining apparent diffusion coefficients in Chalk and other consolidated porous media. Journal of Hydrology 343(1): 97–103.
18. Haria AH, Hodnett MG, Johnson AC. 2003. Mechanisms of groundwater recharge and pesticide penetration to a chalk aquifer in southern England. Journal of Hydrology 275(1–2): 122–137.
19. Hong N, White JG, Weisz R, Gumpertz ML, Duffera MG, Cassel DK. 2007. Groundwater nitrate spatial and temporal patterns and correlations: influence of natural controls and nitrogen management. Vadose Zone Journal 6(1): 53–66.
20. Hopson PM. 2001. Geology of the area around South Winchester, Hursley and Braishfield, British Geological Survey.
21. Hosono T, Nakano T, Shimizu Y, Onodera SI, Taniguchi M. 2011. Hydrogeological constraint on nitrate and arsenic contamination in Asian metropolitan groundwater. Hydrological Processes 25(17): 2742–2754.
22. Hughes A, Mansour M, Robins N. 2008. Evaluation of distributed recharge in an upland semi-arid karst system: the West Bank Mountain Aquifer, Middle East. Hydrogeology Journal 16(5): 845–854.
23. Institute of Geological Sciences. 1979. Hydrogeological map of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Institute of Geological Sciences and Southern Water Authority.
24. Ireson A, Butler A, Gallagher A, Blöschl G, Giesen N, Muralidharan D, Ren L, Seyler F, Sharma U, Vrba J. 2009b. Groundwater Flooding in Fractured Permeable Aquifers. IAHS Press: Hyderabad; 165–172.
25. Ireson A, Butler A, Wheater H. 2012. Evidence for the onset and persistence with depth of preferential flow in unsaturated fractured porous media. Hydrology Research 43(5): 707–719.
26. Ireson AM, Butler AP. 2011. Controls on preferential recharge to Chalk aquifers. Journal of Hydrology 398(1–2): 109–123.
27. Ireson AM, Mathias SA, Wheater HS, Butler AP, Finch J. 2009a. A model for flow in the chalk unsaturated zone incorporating progressive weathering. Journal of Hydrology 365(3–4): 244–260.
28. Ireson AM, Wheater HS, Butler AP, Mathias SA, Finch J, Cooper JD. 2006. Hydrological processes in the Chalk unsaturated zone – insights from an intensive field monitoring programme. Journal of Hydrology 330: 29–43.
29. Jackson B, Browne C, Butler A, Peach D, Wade AJ, Wheater H. 2008. Nitrate transport in Chalk catchments: monitoring, modelling and policy implications. Environmental Science & Policy 11(2): 125–135.
30. Jones HK, Cooper JD. 1998. Groundwater Pollution, Aquifer Recharge and Vulnerability, Robins NS (ed). Geological Society: London; 117–128.
31. Keim DM, West LJ, Odling NE. 2012. Convergent flow in unsaturated fractured chalk. Vadose Zone Journal 11(4):.
32. Lawrence AR. 1985. Report on unsaturated zone profiling beneath ICI experimental plots at West llsley. British Geological Survey.
33. Ledoux E, Gomez E, Monget JM, Viavattene C, Viennot P, Ducharne A, Benoit M, Mignolet C, Schott C, Mary B. 2007. Agriculture and groundwater nitrate contamination in the Seine basin. The STICS–MODCOU modelling chain. Science of the Total Environment 375(1–3): 33–47.
34. Lee LJE, Lawrence DSL, Price M. 2006. Analysis of water level response to rainfall and implications for recharge pathways in the Chalk aquifer, S E England. Journal of Hydrology 330: 604–620.
35. Mathias S, Butler A, Peach D, Williams A. 2007. Recovering tracer test input functions from fluid electrical conductivity logging in fractured porous rocks. Water Resources Research 43(7):.
36. Mathias SA, Butler AP, Jackson BM, Wheater HS. 2006. Transient simulations of flow and transport in the Chalk unsaturated zone. Journal of Hydrology 330(1–2): 10–28.
37. Mathias SA, Butler AP, McIntyre N, Wheater HS. 2005. The significance of flow in the matrix of the Chalk unsaturated zone. Journal of Hydrology 310(1–4): 62–77.
38. Maurice L, Barker JA, Atkinson TC, Williams AT, Smart PL. 2011. A tracer methodology for identifying ambient flows in boreholes. Ground Water 49(2): 227–238.
39. Mellander P-E, Jordan P, Melland AR, Murphy PNC, Wall DP, Mechan S, Meehan R, Kelly C, Shine O, Shortle G. 2013. Quantification of phosphorus transport from a karstic agricultural watershed to emerging spring water. Environmental Science & Technology 47(12): 6111–6119.
40. Nimmo JR, Perkins KS, Rose PE, Rousseau JP, Orr BR, Twining BV, Anderson SR. 2002. Kilometer-scale rapid transport of naphthalene sulfonate tracer in the unsaturated zone at the idaho national engineering and environmental laboratory. Vadose Zone Journal 1(1): 89–101.
41. Orban P, Brouyère S, Batlle-Aguilar J, Couturier J, Goderniaux P, Leroy M, Maloszewski P, Dassargues A. 2010. Regional transport modelling for nitrate trend assessment and forecasting in a chalk aquifer. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 118(1): 79–93.
42. Osborn S, Cook HF. 1997. Nitrate vulnerable zones and nitrate sensitive areas: a policy and technical analysis of groundwater source protection in England and Wales. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 40(2): 217–234.
43. Price M, Low RG, McCann C. 2000. Mechanisms of water storage and flow in the unsaturated zone of the Chalk aquifer. Journal of Hydrology 233(1–4): 54–71.
44. Rivett MO, Smith JWN, Buss SR, Morgan P. 2007. Nitrate occurrence and attenuation in the major aquifers of England and Wales. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 40(4): 335–352.
45. Rutter HK, Cooper JD, Pope D, Smith M. 2012. New understanding of deep unsaturated zone controls on recharge in the Chalk: a case study near Patcham, SE England. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 45: 487–495.
46. Scanlon B, Healy R, Cook P. 2002. Choosing appropriate techniques for quantifying groundwater recharge. Hydrogeology Journal 10(1): 18–39.
47. Shand P, Bloomfield J. 1995. Mineralisation of shallow fracture surfaces in the Chalk and implications for contaminant attenuation.
48. Smith D, Wearn P, Richards H, Rowe P. 1970. Water movement in the unsaturated zone of high and low permeability strata by measuring natural tritium. Reprint from Isotope Hydrology 1970: 73–87.
49. Sorensen J, Finch J, Ireson A, Jackson C. 2014. Comparison of varied complexity models simulating recharge at the field scale. Hydrological Processes 28(4): 2091–2102.
50. Sorensen JP, Butcher AS. 2011. Water level monitoring pressure transducers: a need for industry-wide standards. Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 31(4): 56–62.
51. Sorensen JPR, Maurice L, Edwards FK, Lapworth DJ, Read DS, Allen D, Butcher AS, Newbold LK, Townsend BR, Williams PJ. 2013. Using boreholes as windows into groundwater ecosystems. PLoS ONE 8(7): e70264.
52. Stuart ME, Chilton PJ, Butcher AS. 2008a. Nitrate fluctuations in groundwater: review of potential mechanisms and application to case studies, British Geological Survey; 47pp. (OR/08/046).
53. Stuart M, Chilton P, Newell A, Butcher A. 2008b. Nitrate concentrations in the Morestead borehole, Twyford. British Geological Survey; 52pp, (OR/08/041).
54. Van den Daele GFA, Barker JA, Connell LD, Atkinson TC, Darling WG, Cooper JD. 2007. Unsaturated flow and solute transport through the Chalk: tracer test and dual permeability modelling. Journal of Hydrology 342(1–2): 157–172.
55. Wang L, Stuart M, Bloomfield J, Butcher A, Gooddy D, McKenzie A, Lewis M, Williams A. 2012. Prediction of the arrival of peak nitrate concentrations at the water table at the regional scale in Great Britain. Hydrological Processes 26(2): 226–239.
56. Wellings SR, Bell JP. 1980. Movement of water and nitrate in the unsaturated zone of Upper Chalk near Winchester, Hants., England. Journal of Hydrology 48(1–2): 119–136.
57. Zaidman MD, Middleton RT, West LJ, Binley AM. 1999. Geophysical investigation of unsaturated zone transport in the Chalk in Yorkshire. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 32(2): 185–198.