USGS Monthly Groundwater News and Highlights: February 3, 2020

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Feature: Groundwater Connectivity of Depressional Wetlands

Wetlands exist in climates and landscapes that cause groundwater to discharge to the land surface, or that prevent rapid drainage of water from the land surface. The hydrology and chemistry of wetlands is complex -- they can receive groundwater inflow, or provide recharge to groundwater, or both. Understanding these complexities is important to the overall management of water availability.

A recent USGS study uses the hydrologic landscapes theoretical framework and numerical modeling to develop broadly applicable conceptual knowledge of depressional-wetland hydrologic connectivity and describe the predicted location, connectivity, likelihood of permanence and of spillover of wetlands. Depressional wetlands typically are determined by landforms and the slope of the adjacent water table. However, this study also identified certain arrangements of landforms that caused the water table to fall sharply and not follow the surface contour. Understanding all the nuances of landscape-scale connectivity will likely never be possible, but this analysis is an important step in that direction. One role of this research regarding the groundwater connectivity of wetlands is to provide a basis to develop tools and guidance needed by decision makers. Future research can help shrink the remaining gap.

[ Summary Table showing conceptual models of general patterns of wetland connectivity. Refer to article Table 3 for complete description. ]

Summary of general patterns of wetland connectivity. Source: Table 3, Neff and others, 2019.

Animation of Groundwater Watch Active Water Level Network

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows a daily snapshot of water-level statistics in the network for January 2020. Credit: USGS. The image is in the public domain.

USGS Groundwater-Related Publications

Numerical simulation of groundwater availability in central Moloka'i, Hawai'i (01/31/20)

High-resolution airborne geophysical survey of the Shellmound, Mississippi area (01/17/20)

Precipitation, temperature, groundwater-level elevation, streamflow, and potential flood storage trends within the Brazos, Colorado, Big Cypress, Guadalupe, Neches, Sulphur, and Trinity River Basins in Texas Through 2017 (01/17/20)

Groundwater recharge estimates for Maine using a Soil-Water-Balance model -- 25-year average, range, and uncertainty, 1991 to 2015 (01/28/20)

Effects of surface-water use on domestic groundwater availability and quality during drought in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California (01/14/20)

Analysis of aquifer framework and hydraulic properties of Lovelock Valley, Lovelock, Nevada (01/13/20)

Seismic evaluation of shallow-depth structure, faulting, and groundwater variations across the Dos Palmas Preserve, Riverside County, California (01/10/20)

Assessment of existing groundwater quality data in the Green-Duwamish watershed, Washington (01/09/20)

Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States (01/07/20)

Hydrogeologic framework of the Treasure Valley and surrounding area, Idaho and Oregon (01/17/20)

Preliminary assessment of shallow groundwater chemistry near Goodell Creek, North Cascades National Park, Washington (01/02/20)

USGS Groundwater Flow and Transport Model Data Releases

MODFLOW-2005 model used to evaluate water-management scenarios for the Mississippi Delta

MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Field Photo

Ever wondered about how groundwater observation wells are drilled? This photo provides a behind-the-scenes look as USGS drilled a groundwater well in California last month. This photo looks down over a mud tank and shakers, which are part of drilling operations. The drillers pump clean mud from the tank down the hole as they drill; this mud plays an important role in lubricating the drill bit, carrying larger bits of rock (cuttings) back out of the hole, and more. When the mud is pumped back out of the hole, the shaker vibrates the mud to separate out cuttings so that the mud can continue to be circulated through the well.

[ Photo of complex equipment on mud tank, including pipes, shaker screens, and other mud-spattered equipment. ]

Credit: USGS/Nicole Fenton. Photo is in the public domain. Click on photo for larger version.

Archive of Past Highlights:

Past monthly summaries are available online.