Groundwater Base Level Changes and Adjoining Hydrological Systems (eBook)

Groundwater Base Level Changes and Adjoining Hydrological Systems 3
Acknowledgements 5
Contents 7
Chapter 1 Introduction 10
References 12
Chapter 2 The Main Types of Groundwater Base-Level 13
Chapter 3 Factors Controlling Base-Level Elevation Changes 15
3.1 General 15
3.2 Global, Regional and Local Climate Changes 15
3.3 Tectonic Movements 18
3.4 Isostatic and Glacio-Isostatic Movements 18
3.5 Land Subsidence Through Compaction and Dewatering 20
3.6 Groundwater Cones of Depression Caused by Natural Processes of Evapotranspiration 21
3.7 Groundwater Cones of Depression Caused by Groundwater Exploitation 23
References 24
Chapter 4 Methods and Techniques to Define Base-Level Elevation and to Measure and Assess the Effect of Their Variation on Adjoining Groundwater Systems 28
4.1 Base-Level Elevation 28
4.1.1 Current Ground Level Measurements 28
4.1.1.1 Precise Geodetic Leveling 28
4.1.1.2 The GPS Technique 29
4.1.1.3 The INSAR Technique 29
4.1.2 Current Sea and Lake Level Measurements 29
4.1.3 Paleo- and Historic Shorelines 30
4.1.3.1 Near-Shore Marine Terraces 30
4.1.3.2 Karstification and Cave Formation 31
4.1.3.3 Erosional and Other Geomorphological Evidence 34
4.1.3.4 Sedimentological Indicators 35
4.1.3.5 Submerged Archaeological Sites 35
4.2 Methods to Determine Groundwater Systems´ Response to Base-Level Changes 36
4.2.1 Current Field Measurement 36
4.2.2 Indirect Estimation 37
4.2.3 Hydrological Simulations 38
References 39
Chapter 5 Capturing of Groundwater Basins and Shifts of Divides 44
5.1 General 44
5.2 Climate Changes 44
5.3 Tectonically Induced Elevation Changes of Base-Levels 45
5.4 Karst Systems 46
5.5 Stream Piracy by Groundwater Sapping 47
5.6 Groundwater Exploitation 47
References 48
Chapter 6 Salinity, Salination and Freshening of the Different Base-Levels and Their Adjoining Groundwater Sytems 49
6.1 General 49
6.2 The Global Marine Base-Level 49
6.2.1 Base-Level Salinity 49
6.2.2 Adjoining Groundwater Systems Salinity 49
6.3 Continental Endorheic Base-Levels Distant from the Sea 52
6.3.1 Base-Level Salinity 52
6.3.2 Adjoining Groundwater Systems Salinity 53
6.4 Flow-Through, Intermediate, Base-Levels 55
6.4.1 Base-Level Salinity 55
6.4.2 Adjoining Groundwater Systems Salinity 55
6.5 Salinity of Endorheic Base-Levels Below Sea Level, Close to the Sea 56
6.6 Freshening of Coastal Aquifers 56
References 59
Chapter 7 Paleo, Current and Future Marine Base-Levels 61
7.1 General 61
7.2 The Neogene Marine Mediterranean Base-Level 61
7.3 The Black Sea Neogene to Holocene Base-Levels 64
7.4 Quaternary and Holocene Marine Base-Levels 67
7.5 Current and Future Marine Base-Levels 69
References 71
Chapter 8 Characteristics of Current Continental Endorheic Base-Levels 75
References 78
Chapter 9 Current Continental Base-Levels Above Sea Level 79
9.1 General 79
9.2 Lake Chad Basin 79
9.3 The Great Salt Lake Basin 83
9.4 The Andean Altiplano Basin 86
9.5 The Aral Sea Basin 89
9.6 The Mono Lake Basin, California 91
9.7 The Main Ethiopian Rift Basin 96
References 101
Chapter 10 Current Continental Base-Levels Below Sea Level and Distant from the Sea 106
10.1 General 106
10.2 The Great Artesian Basin and Lake Eyre Basin, Australia 106
10.3 The Death Valley Basin 111
10.4 Central Asia Closed Endorheic Basins 114
10.5 The Caspian Sea-Kara Bogaz Gol Basin 118
References 121
Chapter 11 Current Continental Base-Levels Below Sea Level, Located Close to the Sea 124
11.1 General 124
11.2 The Dead Sea Rift Endorheic Base-Level 125
11.2.1 General 125
11.2.2 Structure and Tectonics 127
11.2.3 The Hydrological History of the DSR Base-Level 127
11.2.4 Current Groundwater Flow Regime 130
11.2.5 Water Salinities of the DSR Base-Levels and Their Adjoining Groundwater Systems 131
11.2.6 The Response of the Groundwater System to the DSR Base-Level Changes 136
11.2.6.1 General 136
11.2.6.2 Paleo-Groundwater System 138
11.2.6.3 Current Groundwater System 139
11.2.6.4 Future Groundwater System 142
11.3 The Afar Depression-Lake Asal 145
11.4 The Qattara Depression 149
11.5 The Salton Trough Base-Level 152
11.6 The Chotts of Tunisia and Algeria 154
11.7 Sabkhat Ghuzayyil, Sirte Basin, Libya 157
11.8 Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic 160
11.9 The Argentine Salinas Close to the Atlantic Coast 161
11.10 Sebkha Paki Tah, Morocco 162
11.11 Salination Mechanism 162
References 163
Index 171