BayCEER Workshop 2015

Identification, Characterization and Quantification of the interaction between groundwater and lake: A toolbox to be implemented for sustainable, regional water resources management

P 3.3 in Droughts, floods and hidden flowpaths: This research holds WATER

Lake Constance is a deep, oligotrophic lake, which supplies more than 4 million people in southwestern Germany with drinking water. The lake bottom of Lake Constance was mapped in great detail (Projekt Tiefenschärfe). Due to new emerging details, the groundwater-lake interaction could be more important than previously thought. In order to describe the groundwater-lake interaction, lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD) hot spots have to be identified, the LGD has to be characterized and quantified.  This project (Seezeichen) will use several physical and chemical methods in order to investigate the groundwater-lake interaction. Two main physical methods will be implemented. One is to use seepage meters and the second one is to develop a thermal mapper. The goal of this instrument is to map the lake bottom with a high thermal resolution in order to identify spots where groundwater enters the lake bottom. Several different chemical tracers, such as main ions, Cl, stabile and radiogenic isotopes, will be applied. These kinds of tracers can later be used to calculate a water balance of a lake.  Furthermore, another chemical tracer ²²²Rn will be used to identify and quantify LGD. The aim of the project is to develop a toolbox with several methods, which can be applied by a variety of users who work in water resources management. Furthermore, the methods shall be transferable to other lakes.

 

 

Sponsored by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) 

Keywords: groundwater-lake interaction chemical tracer thermal mapping Radon