Groundwater Modelling in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas

159 Pages·2010·6.22 MB·English

by  Howard S. Wheater

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Groundwater Modelling inArid andSemi-Arid Areas
Arid and semi-arid regions face major challenges in the management of scarce freshwater
resourcesunderpressuresofpopulation,economicdevelopment,climatechange,pollutionand
over-abstraction.Groundwateriscommonlythemostimportantwaterresourceintheseareas.
Groundwatermodelsarewidelyusedgloballytounderstandgroundwatersystemsandtoguide
decisionsonresourcemanagementandprotectionfrompollution.However,thehydrologyof
arid and semi-arid areas is very different from that of humid regions, and there is little
guidanceonthespecialchallengesofgroundwatermodellingfortheseareas.Thisbookbrings
together the worldwide experience of internationally leading experts to fill this gap in the
scientific and technical literature. It introduces state-of-the-art methods for the modelling of
groundwaterresourcesandtheirprotectionfrompollution.Itisillustratedwithawide-ranging
setofexamplesfromavarietyofregions,includingIndia,China,AfricaandtheMiddleEast.
Thebookisvaluableforresearchers,practitionersindevelopedanddevelopingcountries,and
graduate students in hydrology, hydrogeology, water resources management, environmental
engineeringandgeography.
Howard Wheater is Professor of Hydrology at Imperial College, London. He is past-
PresidentoftheBritishHydrologicalSociety,aFellowoftheRoyalAcademyofEngineering,
a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and a life member of the International Water
Academy. His research interests are in hydrology and water resources, with wide-ranging
applications including climate change, surface and groundwater hydrology, floods, water
resources and water quality. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and 6 books.
Academic awards include various UK prizes and the 2006 Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Inter-
nationalPrizeforWater.Hehasbeenextensivelyinvolvedinfloodandwaterresourceprojects
intheUKandinternationally,providingadvicetostatesandinternationalgovernments.Hehasa
particular interest in the hydrology of arid areas, and has worked in Oman, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen,UAE,Jordan,SyriaandEgypt,andArizona.HechairsUNESCO’sG-WADIaridzone
water resources programme and was invited by the Japanese government to give a keynote
addressonwaterscarcitytothe2003KyotoWorldWaterconference.
Simon Mathias holdsaLectureshipintheDepartmentofEarthSciencesatDurhamUniversity.
Priortothispositionhewasactiveinthefieldofgroundwaterengineeringasaresearcherandlecturer
withintheDepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringatImperialCollege,London.His
principalexpertiseliesinthedevelopmentofmathematicalmodelstodescribeflowandtransport
ofreactivecontaminantsinporousandfracturedporousmedia.DrMathiashasworkedonabroad
rangeofapplicationsincludingvadosezonetransportofnutrientsinfracturerocksystems,plant
uptakeofradionuclides,aquifercharacterisationstudies,buoyancy-drivenflowproblems,CO geo-
2
sequestration and hydraulic fracture propagation. He has published widely in international peer-
reviewedjournals.DrMathiasisanelectedcommitteememberoftheBritishHydrologicalSociety.
Xin Li is Professor at the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research
Institute(CAREERI),ChineseAcademyofSciences(CAS).Hisprimaryresearchinterestsinclude
landdataassimilation,applicationofremotesensingandGISinhydrologyandcryospherescience,
andintegratedwatershedstudy.HeiscurrentlydirectoroftheWorldDataCenterforGlaciology
andGeocryology, chairof the working grouponremotesensingoftheChinese Committeefor
WCRP/CliCandIUGG/IACS,co-chairoftheworkinggroupontheoryandmethodoftheChina
AssociationforGeographicInformationSystem,andamemberofAmericanGeophysicalUnion.
HeisalsothesecretaryofG-WADIAsiaestablishedbyUNESCOIHP.Hehaspublishedover120
journalarticles and monographs. He was recipient of the Outstanding Science and Technology
Achievement Prize of the CAS in 2005, First Class Science and Technology Progress Prize of
GansuProvince,andtheSeventhNationalAwardforYoungGeographersin2003.
international hydrology series
The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in 1975 as the successor to the International Hydrological Decade. The long-term goal of the IHP is to
advanceourunderstandingofprocessesoccurringinthewatercycleandtointegratethisknowledgeintowaterresourcesmanagement.
TheIHPistheonlyUNscienceandeducationalprogrammeinthefieldofwaterresources,andoneofitsoutputshasbeenasteady
streamoftechnicalandinformationdocumentsaimedatwaterspecialistsanddecisionmakers.
The International Hydrology Series has been developed by the IHP in collaboration with Cambridge University Press as a major
collection of research monographs, synthesis volumes and graduate texts on the subject of water. Authoritative and international
inscope,thevariousbookswithintheseriesallcontributetotheaimsoftheIHPinimprovingscientificandtechnicalknowledgeof
freshwaterprocesses,inprovidingresearchknowhowandinstimulatingtheresponsiblemanagementofwaterresources.
editorial advisory board
SecretarytotheAdvisoryBoard
DrMichaelBonellDivisionofWaterScience,UNESCO,IrueMiollis,Paris75732,France
MembersoftheAdvisoryBoard
ProfessorB.P.F.BragaJrCentroTechnolo´gicadeHidra´ulica,Sa˜oPaulo,Brazil
ProfessorG.DaganFacultyofEngineering,Tel,AvivUniversity,Israel
DrJ.KhouriWaterResourcesDivision,ArabCentreforStudiesofAridZonesandDryLands,Damascus,Syria
DrG.LeavesleyUSGeologicalSurvey,WaterResourcesDivision,DenverFederalCenter,Colorado,USA
DrE.MorrisScottPolarResearchInstitute,Cambridge,UK
ProfessorL.OyebandeDepartmentofGeographyandPlanning,UniversityofLagos,Nigeria
ProfessorS.SorooshianDepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineering,UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine,California,USA
ProfessorK.TakeuchiDepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineering,YamanashiUniversity,Japan
ProfessorD.E.WallingDepartmentofGeography,UniversityofExeter,UK
ProfessorI.WhiteCentreforResourceandEnvironmentalStudies,AustralianNationalUniversity,Canberra,Australia
titles in print in this series
M.Bonell,M.M.HufschmidtandJ.S.GladwellHydrologyandWaterManagementintheHumidTropics:HydrologicalResearch
IssuesandStrategiesforWaterManagement
Z.W.KundzewiczNewUncertaintyConceptsinHydrologyandWaterResources
R.A.FeddesSpaceandTimeScaleVariabilityandInterdependenciesinHydrologicalProcesses
J.Gibert,J.MathieuandF.FournierGroundwater/SurfaceWaterEcotones:BiologicalandHydrologicalInteractionsand
ManagementOptions
G.DaganandS.NeumanSubsurfaceFlowandTransport:AStochasticApproach
J.C.vanDamImpactsofClimateChangeandClimateVariabilityonHydrologicalRegimes
D.P.LoucksandJ.S.GladwellSustainabilityCriteriaforWaterResourceSystems
J.J.BogardiandZ.W.KundzewiczRisk,Reliability,Uncertainty,andRobustnessofWaterResourceSystems
G.KaserandH.OsmastonTropicalGlaciers
I.A.ShiklomanovandJ.C.RoddaWorldWaterResourcesattheBeginningoftheTwenty-FirstCentury
A.S.IssarClimateChangesduringtheHoloceneandtheirImpactonHydrologicalSystems
M.BonellandL.A.BruijnzeelForests,WaterandPeopleintheHumidTropics:Past,PresentandFutureHydrologicalResearch
forIntegratedLandandWaterManagement
F.GhassemiandI.WhiteInter-BasinWaterTransfer:CaseStudiesfromAustralia,UnitedStates,Canada,ChinaandIndia
K.D.W.NandalalandJ.J.BogardiDynamicProgrammingBasedOperationofReservoirs:ApplicabilityandLimits
H.S.Wheater,S.SorooshianandK.D.SharmaHydrologicalModellinginAridandSemi-AridAreas
J.DelliPriscoliandA.T.WolfManagingandTransformingWaterConflicts
L.A.Bruijnzeel,F.N.ScatenaandL.S.HamiltonTropicalMontaneCloudForests
H.S.Wheater,S.A.Mathias,X.LiGroundwaterModellinginAridandSemi-AridAreas
Groundwater Modelling in Arid
and Semi-Arid Areas
Howard S. Wheater
ImperialCollege ofScience, Technology and Medicine, London
Simon A. Mathias
DurhamUniversity
Xin Li
ChineseAcademyof Sciences,Lanzhou,China
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521111294
© Cambridge University Press 2010
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
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may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2010
ISBN-13 978-0-511-90193-5 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-11129-4 Hardback
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accurate or appropriate.
Contents
List of contributors page vi 6 Groundwatervulnerabilityandprotection 75
Preface ix A.P.Butler
Acknowledgements xi
7 Variabledensitygroundwaterflow:frommodelling
toapplications 87
1 Groundwatermodellinginaridandsemi-aridareas:
C.T.Simmons,P.Bauer-Gottwein,T.Graf,
anintroduction 1
W.Kinzelbach,H.Kooi,L.Li,V.Post,H.Prommer,
S.A.MathiasandH.S.Wheater
R.Therrien,C.I.Voss,J.WardandA.Werner
2 Hydrologicalprocesses,groundwaterrecharge
8 Sustainablewatermanagementinaridand
andsurface-water/groundwaterinteractions
semi-aridregions 119
inaridandsemi-aridareas 5
W.Kinzelbach,P.Brunner,A.vonBoetticher,
H.S.Wheater
L.KgotlhangandC.Milzow
3 Conceptualmodelsforrechargesequencesinarid
andsemi-aridregionsusingisotopicand Index 131
geochemicalmethods 21
W.M.Edmunds
Thecolourplateswillbefoundbetweenpages20and21.
4 Groundwaterflowandtransport 39
J.CarreraandS.A.Mathias
5 Performingunbiasedgroundwatermodelling:
applicationofthetheoryofregionalisedvariables 63
S.Ahmed,S.Sarah,A.NabiandS.Owais
v
Contributors
S.Ahmed T.Graf
Indo-FrenchCentreforGroundwaterResearch InstituteofFluidMechanics
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute DepartmentofCivilEngineering
Hyderabad GottfriedWilhelmLeibnizUniversity
India HannoverAppelstrasse9A
30167Hannover
P.Bauer-Gottwein Germany
InstitutforVandogMiljøteknologi
DanmarksTekniskeUniversitet L.Kgotlhang
Bygningstorvet TsodiloResources
Bygning115,rum154 Maun
KongensLyngby Botswana
Denmark
W.Kinzelbach
P.Brunner InstituteofEnvironmentalEngineering
CentreofHydrogeologyand ETHZurich
Geothermics(CHYN) Zurich
RueEmile-Argand11-CP158 Switzerland
CH-2009Neuchaˆtel
Switzerland H.Kooi
DepartmentofHydrologyandGeo-EnvironmentalSciences
A.P.Butler FacultyofEarthandLifeSciences
DepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineering VUUniversityAmsterdam
ImperialCollegeLondon DeBoelelaan1085
London Amsterdam
UK Nederland
J.Carrera L.Li
DepartmentofGeotechnicalEngineering CentreforEco-EnvironmentalModelling
andGeosciences HohaiUniversity
TechnicalUniversityofCatalonia Nanjing
Barcelona PRChina
Spain
S.A.Mathias
W.M.Edmunds DepartmentofEarthSciences
SchoolofGeographyandtheEnvironment DurhamUniversity
UniversityofOxford ScienceLaboratories
Oxford Durham
UK UK
vi
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS vii
C.Milzow R.Therrien
InstitutforVandogMiljøteknologi DepartmentofGeologyandGeologicalEngineering
DanmarksTekniskeUniversitet LavalUniversity
Bygningstorvet QuebecCity
Bygning115,rum154 Canada
KongensLyngby
Denmark A.vonBoetticher
Eidg.ForschungsanstaltWSL
A.Nabi Zu¨rcherstrasse111
Indo-FrenchCentreforGroundwaterResearch Birmensdorf
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute Switzerland
Hyderabad
India C.I.Voss
USGS
S.Owais 431NationalCenter
Indo-FrenchCentreforGroundwaterResearch 12201SunriseValleyDrive
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute Reston
Hyderabad Virginia
India USA
V.Post J.Ward
DepartmentofHydrologyandGeo-EnvironmentalSciences SchooloftheEnvironment
FacultyofEarthandLifeSciences FlindersUniversity
VUUniversityAmsterdam Adelaide
DeBoelelaan1085 Australia
Amsterdam
Nederland A.Werner
SchoolofChemistry,
H.Prommer PhysicsandEarthSciences
LandandWater–FloreatWA FlindersUniversity
CSIRO Adelaide
UnderwoodAvenue Australia
FloreatPark
Australia H.S.Wheater
DepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineering
S.Sarah ImperialCollegeLondon
Indo-FrenchCentreforGroundwaterResearch London
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute UK
Hyderabad
India
C.T.Simmons
SchooloftheEnvironmentandNationalCentreforGroundwater
ResearchandTraining
FlindersUniversity
Adelaide
Australia