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Hydrogeology
The Hydrogeology program leads to an M.S., or Ph.D. degree in Geological Sciences or in Environmental Geosciences. Our research explores the processes that influence groundwater flow and solute transport, as well as the role of fluids in geological processes.
Faculty
Visiting Professors
Warren W. Wood - John Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies
Adjunct and Joint Faculty
M.S. Phanikumar - Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Randall J. Schaetzl - Joint with Dept. of Geography
Roger B. Wallace - Joint with Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Selected Research Topics
Modeling and Monitoring Hydrologic Processes in Large Watersheds
We have developed a novel hydrologic process model called the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model (ILHM), which is a framework of
existing and novel
codes to simulate the entire hydrologic cycle at large watershed scales. ILHM is capable of modeling all the major surface and near-surface hydrologic processes including evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and stream discharge. In the first application of the model, the ILHM-modeled stream flows compared favorably with measured data with a minimum of parameter calibration. It was tested for a small watershed (~130 square kilometers) in Michigan, and is currently being applied to much larger domains. The primary ILHM code is written in the MATLAB computing environment with some routines coded in C and FORTRAN.
Understanding dynamic watershed processes requires high spatial and temporal resolution simulations coupled to extensive databases fo groundwater levels and stream flows. Our groundwater flow simulations are being integrated into a suite of tools to better understand the influecne of land use and climage changes on water flows, nutrient fluxes to streams, and the health of aquatic ecosystems.
Related Publications:
Hyndman, D.W., A. D. Kendall, and N. R.H. Welty, (2007)) Evaluating Temporal and Spatial
Variations in Recharge and Streamflow Using the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model
(ILHM), AGU Monograph, Data Integration in Subsurface Hydrology.
Kendall, A. D., and D. W. Hyndman, (2007), Examining Watershed Processes Using Spectral
Analysis of Hydrologic Time Series, AGU Monograph, Data Integration in Subsurface Hydrology.
Jayawickreme, D. H., and D. W. Hyndman (2007), Evaluating the Influence of Land Cover on
Seasonal Water Budgets Using Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) Rainfall and Streamflow Data,
Water Resources Research, 43, W02408, doi:10.1029/2005WR004460.
Estimating Aquifer Properties from Geophysical and Tracer Data
New methods of estimating aquifer properties are needed to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the transport and fate of groundwater contaminants, and to better design remediation systems. Geophysical methods have long been applied to characterize oil reservoirs, while their application to characterize aquifers is much more recent. Our research group is developing a novel set of approaches that combine diverse hydrologic and geophysical data sources to estimate flow and transport properties with the highest resolution possible.
Related Publications
Hyndman, D. W., and J. Tronicke, 2005, Hydrogeophysical Case Studies at the Local Scale: the Saturated Zone: Chapter 13, Hydrogeophysics, Kluwer Press.
Hyndman, D. W., S. M. Gorelick, and J. M. Harris, 2000, Inferring the relationship between seismic slowness and hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous aquifers , Water Resources Research, 36(8), 2121-2132.
Hyndman, D. W., 1998, Geophysical and Tracer Characterization Methods: Chapter 11, Groundwater Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 11-1 - 11-29.
Hyndman, D. W., and S. M. Gorelick, 1996, Estimating lithologic and transport properties in three dimensions using seismic and tracer data, Water Resources Research, 32(9), 2659-2670.
Hyndman, D. W., and J. M. Harris, 1996, Traveltime inversion for the geometry of aquifer lithologies, Geophysics, 61(6). Larger Image
Hyndman, D. W., J. M. Harris, and S. M. Gorelick, 1994, Coupled seismic and tracer test inversion for aquifer property characterization, Water Resources Research, 30(7), pp. 1965-1977.
Interactions Between Hydrologic, Microbial, and Geochemical Processes
A fundamental issue in aquifer biogeochemistry is the means by which solute transport geochemical processes, and microbiological activity combine to produce spatial and temporal variations in redox zonation. Our Hydrogeology and Hydrogeochemistry groups are examining the temporal variability of TEAP conditions in shallow groundwater contaminated with waste fuel and chlorinated solvents.
Related Publications
McGuire, J. T., D. T. Long, and D.W. Hyndman, 2005, Analysis of recharge induced geochemical change in a contaminated aquifer, Ground Water, 43(4), 518-530.
Haack, S.K, L.R. Fogarty, T.G. West, E.W. Alm, J.T. McGuire, D.T. Long, D.W. Hyndman, and L. J. Forney. 2004, Spatial and Temporal Changes In Microbial Community Structure Associated With Recharge-Influenced Chemical Gradients In A Contaminated Aquifer, Environmental Microbiology, 6(5), 438-448, doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2003.00563.x.
McGuire, J. T., D. T. Long, M. J. Klug, S. K. Haack, and D. W. Hyndman, 2002, Evaluating the Behavior of Oxygen, Nitrate, and Sulfate During Recharge and Quantifying Reduction Rates in a Contaminated Aquifer, Environmental Science and Technology, (36), 2693-2700.
McGuire, J. T., E. W. Smith, J. J. Kolak, D. T. Long, D. W. Hyndman, M. A. Velbel, M. J. Klug, and S. K. Haack, 2000, Temporal variations in parameters reflecting terminal-electron-accepting processes in an aquifer contaminated with waste fuel and chlorinated solvents, Chemical Geology , 169(3-4), 471-485.
Glacial Hydrology
Research in glacial hydrology involves the origin and pathway of subglacial discharge associated with primarily temperate glaciers in Southern Alaska. This generally involves quantifying discharge from the terminus of a glacier and separating flow components using isotopic characteristics of the discharge. Of particular concern is the origin of basal ice and debris bands that occur near the glacier terminus. Also of interest is defining flow components of meltwater discharge from the glacier and investigating the micromorphologic characteristics of glaciogenic sediments near the glacier margin.
Related Publications:
Larson G.J., Lawson D.E., Evenson E.B., Alley R.B., Knudsen O., Lachniet M.S., and Goetz S.L. 2006. Glaciohydraulic supercooling in former ice sheets? Geomorphology, 75 (1-2), 20-32.
Alley R.B., Lawson D.E., Larson G.J., Evenson E.B., and Baker G.S. 2003. Stabilizing feedbacks in glacier-bed erosion. Nature, 424(6950), 758-760.
Field Scale Bioremediation Design and Reactive Transport
Ground-water contamination with volatile organic compounds is a significant national and international problem. Waters containing these contaminants are typically pumped from contaminated aquifers and treated by air stripping or sorption onto activated carbon. These methods are costly, do not destroy the contaminants, may require pumping and disposal of large water volumes, and do not effectively remove contaminants sorbed to the aquifer material.
Accordingly, there has been a great deal of interest in alternative treatment strategies, such as enhanced in-situ remediation. Our research group in collaboration with the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Center for Microbial Ecology designed and installed a cost-effective biocurtain that is currently being used to remove carbon tetrachloride from an aquifer in Schoolcraft, Michigan. Novel aspects of the design are the use of closely-spaced wells to recirculate solutes through a biocurtain, well screens spanning the vertical extent of contamination, and a semi-passive mode of operation, with only six hours of low-level pumping per week.
Related Publications:
Zhao, X., R. B. Wallace, D.W. Hyndman, M. Dybas, and T. C. Voice, 2005, Heterogeneity of Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Sorption Properties in a Sandy Aquifer, Journal of Containant Hydrology,
78 (4), p-327-342, doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2005.06.002.
Phanikumar, M.S., D.W. Hyndman, X. Zhao, and M. Dybas, 2005, A Three-Dimensional Model of Microbial Transport and Biodegradation at the Schoolcraft, Michigan Site, Water Resources Research, 41, W05011, doi:10.1029/2004WR003376.
Biteman, S.E., D.W. Hyndman, M.S. Phanikumar, and G.S. Weissmann, 2004, Integration of Sedimentologic and Hydrogeologic Properties for Improved Transport Simulations, In Aquifer Characterization, J.S. Bridge and D.W. Hyndman eds., SEPM Special Publication 80.
Phanikumar, M.S., and D.W. Hyndman, 2003, Interactions Between Sorption and Biodegradation: Exploring bioavailability and pulsed nutrient injection, Water Resources Research, 39 (5), 1122, doi: 10.1029/2002WR001761.
Dybas, M.J., D.W. Hyndman, R. Heine, J. Tiedje, K. Linning, D. Wiggert, T. Voice, X. Zhao, L. Dybas, and C.S. Criddle, 2002, Development, Operation, and Long-Term Performance of a Full-Scale Biocurtain Utilizing Bioaugmentation, Environmental Science and Technology, (36), 3635-3644.
Phanikumar, M. S., D.W. Hyndman, and C.S. Criddle, 2002, Subsurface Biocurtain Design Using Reactive Transport Models, Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation, 22, no. 3, 113-123.
Phanikumar, M.S., D. W. Hyndman, D. Wiggert, M.J. Dybas, M.E. Witt, and C.S. Criddle, 2002, Simulation of Microbial Transport and Carbon Tetrachloride Biodegradation in Intermittently-fed Aquifer Columns, Water Resources Research, 38 (4), 4-1 to 4-13.
Hyndman, D. W., M. J. Dybas, L. Forney, R. Heine, T. Mayotte, M.S. Phanikumar, G. Tatara, J. Tiedje, T. Voice, R. Wallace, D. Wiggert, X. Zhao and C. S. Criddle, 2000, Hydraulic Characterization and Design of a Full-Scale Biocurtain, Ground Water, 38(3), p. 462-474.
Hyndman, D. W., M. J. Dybas, D. Wiggert, X. Zhao, R. Wallace, T. Voice, M. S. Phanikumar, and C. S. Criddle, 2000, Hydraulic Characterization and Design of a Full-Scale Biocurtain, Ground Water , 38(3), p. 462-474.
Modeling Watershed Scale Groundwater Flow and Geochemistry
Ground water chemistry is reflective of time-weighted averages of anthropogenic inputs originating from spatial and temporal patterns of land use. We developed an approach to examine potential relationships between land use-derived solutes and baseflow surface water quality using regional ground water and solute transport models linked to GIS. Our first test of this approach estimated chloride concentrations in surface water due to road salt transport through ground water in a large coastal watershed in Michigan.
Related Publications:
Wood W.W. and Sanford W.E., 2007, Atmospheric bromine flux from the coastal Abu Dhabi sabkhat: A ground-water mass-balance investigation. Geophysical Research Letters, 34(14).
Tyler S.W., Munoz J.F., and Wood W.W., 2006, The response of playa and sabkha hydraulics and mineralogy to climate forcing. Ground Water, 44(3), 329-338.
Wood W.W., Sanford W.E., and Frape S., 2005, Chemical openness and potential for misinterpretation of the solute environment of coastal sabkhat. Chemical Geology, 215(1-4), 361-372.
Wayland, K.G, D.W. Hyndman, D.F. Boutt, B.C. Pijanowski, D.T. Long, 2002, Modeling The Impact Of Historical Land Uses On Surface Water Quality Using Ground Water Flow And Solute Transport Models, Lakes and Reservoirs, (7), 189-199.
Boutt, D. F., D.W. Hyndman, B.C. Pijanowski, and D.T. Long, 2001, Modeling Impacts of Land Use on Groundwater and Surface Water Quality, Ground Water, 39 (1), 24-34.
Hydrostratigraphic Characterization
Related Publications
Bennett, G. L., G. S. Weissmann, G. S. Baker, and D. W. Hyndman, 2006, Regional-scale assessment of a sequence bounding paleosol on fluvial fans using ground penetrating radar, eastern San Joaquin Valley, California., GSA Bulletin, 118(5/6), p. 724–732; doi: 10.1130/B25774.1.
Microcosm Studies
Solute transport through heterogeneous environments is often poorly understood because of inadequate definition of aquifer stresses and boundary conditions. One approach to address these concerns is to transport a large, minimally disturbed, highly heterogeneous aquifer mesocosm to a controlled laboratory setting. This approach will bridge the gap between small-scale laboratory studies and large-scale field studies.
