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dc.contributor.advisorStotler, Randy L
dc.contributor.authorBailey, Brooks
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-30T02:53:24Z
dc.date.available2018-01-30T02:53:24Z
dc.date.issued2017-05-31
dc.date.submitted2017
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/ku:14984
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/25795
dc.description.abstractAccurate estimates of hydrogeological parameters, such as hydraulic conductivity, are important for effective groundwater management strategies and contaminant transport studies in aquifers worldwide, including the High Plains aquifer (HPA) of the central United States. Traditional methods of estimating hydraulic conductivity such as pumping tests, are time consuming and resource intensive, while slug tests are primarily designed to estimate the horizontal component (Kx), rather than the vertical component (Kz). Over the last few decades, researchers have utilized the inverse relationship between water level changes in wells induced by step changes in barometric pressure, or barometric response, as an alternative methodology for estimating these parameters. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1. Assess the utility of time and frequency domain barometric response functions (BRFs) for estimating hydrogeological parameters including barometric efficiency (BE) and Kx; and 2. Estimate Kz within predominately unconfined portions of the HPA characterized by thick vadose zones. To assess the utility of BRFs for estimating hydraulic parameters, values of BE, Kx, and Kz were estimated with time and frequency domain BRF analyses near two Kansas Geological Survey Index Wells in Scott and Thomas County, Kansas. Values of Kx derived from time domain and frequency domain BRF analyses were compared to those estimated from slug tests. BE values estimated through both the time and frequency domain BRFs were similar, while Kx values estimated with BRFs were one to two orders of magnitude lower than those estimated through slug tests. Based on these results, both time and frequency domain BRFs are effective methods of estimating the BE of an aquifer, while Kx values estimated with these methods are only suitable as lower boundary estimates due to the influence of skin effects or an additional hydrogeological process not accounted for in the BRF analytical models, such as a vertical component of flow above the screened interval of a well in an aquifer. Although Kz values calculated through the estimation of vertical hydraulic diffusivity in the HPA were within an order of magnitude of those in other aquifers with similar hydrogeological settings, these estimates are likely inaccurate given the implausibly low estimates of α values, low Kx values, and apparent systematic deviations in the fitting curves of the frequency domain BRF. Improved results may be possible through modifying the frequency domain analytical solution to account for water table fluctuation and partial penetration within an unconfined setting as well as incorporating wellbore storage and skin effects. The form of the time domain BRF changed from 2013 to 2015, resulting in decreased estimates of K and α values. This provides further evidence of the transient nature of BRFs and suggests that they can potentially indicate changes in local hydrogeological conditions.
dc.format.extent136 pages
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Kansas
dc.rightsCopyright held by the author.
dc.subjectGeology
dc.subjectHydrologic sciences
dc.subjectBarometric
dc.subjectConductivity
dc.subjectFunction
dc.subjectHigh Plains
dc.subjectResponse
dc.titleASSESSING THE UTILITY OF BAROMETRIC RESPONSE FUNCTIONS IN ESTIMATING HYDROGEOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER
dc.typeThesis
dc.contributor.cmtememberButler, James J
dc.contributor.cmtememberTsoflias, George
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineGeology
dc.thesis.degreeLevelM.S.
dc.identifier.orcid
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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