Variations of streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity before and after a flood season

Guangdong Wu, Longcang Shu, Chengpeng Lu, Xunhong Chen, Xiao Zhang, Emmanuel K. Appiah-Adjei, Jingsi Zhu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

The change of vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kv) before and after a flood season is crucial in understanding the long-term temporal variation of streambed permeability. Therefore, in this study, a detailed Kvfield investigation was conducted at an in-channel site within the Dawen River, China, before and after a flood season. In-situ falling-head permeameter tests were performed for the determination of Kv. The tests were conducted using a 10 × 10 grid, at five different depths. In total, 871 valid Kvvalues from layers 1–5 were obtained. The Kruskal-Wallis test on these Kvvalues before and after the flood season shows they belonged to different populations. The sediments before the flood season primarily consisted of sand and gravel, whereas after the flood season, patchy distribution of silt/clay occurred in the sandy streambed and silt/clay content increased with the increasing depth; under the losing condition during flooding, downward movement of water brought fine particles into the coarse sediments, partially silting the pores. Accordingly, the Kvvalues after the flood season had a smaller mean and median, and a higher level of heterogeneity, compared to those before the flood season. Additionally, the distribution pattern in Kvacross the stream differed before and after flood season; after the flood season, there was an increasing trend in Kvfrom the south bank to the north bank. Overall, the contrasts of Kvbefore and after the flood season were predominantly subject to the infiltration of fine particles.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1603-1615
Number of pages13
JournalHydrogeology Journal
Volume23
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2015

Keywords

  • China
  • Groundwater statistics
  • Groundwater/surface-water relations
  • Temporal variability
  • Vertical hydraulic conductivity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Water Science and Technology
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

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