Research Project
The Use of Geophysical Methods to Develop an Improved Model of the Processes Governing the Operation of an Artificial Recharge Pond
The Place
The field site for this research is the Harkins Slough artificial recharge pond, near Watsonville, California, U.S.A. Water is added to the pond during the winter months, percolates down into the region below the pond, is stored over a period of ~ 3 months, and is recovered through pumping at near-by recovery wells. The pond is owned and operated by the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA).
The Problem
What is causing the dramatic observed decrease in the infiltration rate over time? Why is not all of the stored water recovered? Where does the 'lost" water (70% of the stored water) go?
Our Approach
Geophysical techniques are being used and developed to provide information to hydrologists, at multiple spatial scales, about processes controlling both water quantity and water quality in the stored and recovered water. The goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate a methodology that integrates numerous forms of data to develop an improved understanding of the hydrologic system. This may, in turn, lead to improvements in the operation of the artificial recharge pond.
Harkins Slough recharge pond, January 2006 as PVWMA begins diverting storm water. Photo provided by Brian Lockwood (PVWMA).
Project Lead/Contact
Vanessa Mitchell, Adam Pidlisecky, Rosemary Knight
Project Collaborators
Brian Lockwood, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency
Jon Lear, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
Seth Haines, U.S. Geological Survey
Project Publications and Presentations
- Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R., Temperature dependence of electrical resistivity measurements: A useful infiltration tracer? Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Oral Presentation, 2008.
- Mitchell, V., Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R., Rational experimental design for electrical resistivity imaging, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., POSTER, 2008. (Winner of AGU Outstanding Student Presentation Award in Near-Surface Geophysics)
- Pidlisecky, A. and Knight, R. Exploiting the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity measurements to monitor infiltration. National Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Oct. 5-9, 2008, Houston, TX: GSA Abstracts with Programs, 2008.
- Mitchell, V., A. Pidlisecky, R. Knight, S. Jenni, R. Will, and J. Lear (2009), , EOS Trans., AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., ., Abstract H43C-1045 PDF OF POSTER.
- Haines, S. S., Pidlisecky, A., Knight, R., Hydrogeologic structure underlying a recharge pond delineated with shear-wave seismic reflection and cone penetrometer data, Near Surface Geophysics, Vol 7, No. 5, October 2009, pp. 329-339. Doi: 10.3997/1873-0604.2009036.
- Cockett, R and Pidlisecky, A. Numerical Modeling of Unconsolidated Sediments to Explore Relationships Between Electrical Conductivity and Hydrogeologic Parameters at the Pore-Scale. Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract NS31B-1166, 2009.
- Mitchell, V., Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R. Electrical Resistivity Imaging for Studying Dynamics of Vadose Zone Processes. Submitted to Fall AGU 2010
- Cockett, R, Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R. Long-Term Monitoring of Infiltration at a Managed Aquifer Recharge Site Using Electrical Resistivity Probes. Submitted to Fall AGU 2010
- Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R. The use of wavelet analysis to derive infiltration rates from time-lapse 1D resistivity records. Accepted to Vadose Zone Journal, 2010.
- Mitchell, V., Pidlisecky, A., and Knight, R Inversion of time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging data for monitoring infiltration, SEG Expanded Abstracts, SEG annual meeting 2010.
- Mitchell, V., Informed Electrical Resistivity Imaging for Monitoring Infiltration Dynamics in the Near Surface, Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, 2010.
