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Investigation of groundwater-surface water interactions at selected sites along the Rio Grande using high frequency pressure observations
Bandy-Baldwin, Kimberly M.
Bandy-Baldwin, Kimberly M.
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2012
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2012
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In the semi-arid southwestern United States, understanding the relationship between groundwater and surface water is important for sustainable water resources management. Albuquerque, NM, the largest population center in the state of New Mexico, obtains water from the Santa Fe Aquifer Group and the Rio Grande; therefore interaction between these two connected water resources is particularly important for local legislators and regulators. The United States Geologic Survey (USGS) established the Middle Rio Grande Valley Monitoring Network to better quantify water resources in this area. High frequency pressure, high frequency temperature, geologic coring, and slug test data were collected at eight locations in the Albuquerque, NM area from 2003 to 2010. These data and the fully-integrated, physical hydrology model, ParFlow were used to model the Barelas cross-section in order to better understand the system's response to perturbations in river stage. Thirty-six ParFlow models were created assuming three different subsurface scenarios: homogenous, layered and correlated, Gaussian random field. The domain extent, spatial discretization, total run time, and topography were kept consistent between all scenarios. Seven hydraulic conductivity values and three specific storage values were tested. All ParFlow models were spun-up to ensure steady state conditions and simulated for the 2006-2007 water year. Model outputs were compared to corresponding physically observed values to determine goodness of model fit and to assess any trends in the data. Hydraulic conductivity and specific storage were shown to play very different roles in the model predictions.
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