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S. B. Gingerich

Publications and source records attributed to S. B. Gingerich.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2016

Observations of nearshore groundwater discharge: Kahekili Beach Park submarine springs, Maui, Hawaii

Study region The study region encompasses the nearshore, coastal waters off west Maui, Hawaii. Here abundant groundwater—that carries with it a strong land-based fingerprint—discharges into the coastal waters and over a coral reef. Study focus Coastal groundwater discharge is a ubiquitous hydrologic feature that has been shown to impact nearshore ecosystems and material budgets. A unique combined geochemical tracer and oceanographic time-series study addressed rates and oceanic forcings of submarine groundwater discharge at a submarine spring site off west Maui, Hawaii. New hydrological insights for the region Estimates of submarine groundwater discharge were derived for a primary vent site and surrounding coastal waters off west Maui, Hawaii using an excess 222 Rn ( t 1/2 = 3.8 d) mass balance model. Such estimates were complemented with a novel thoron ( 220 Rn, t 1/2 = 56 s) groundwater discharge tracer application, as well as oceanographic time series and thermal infrared imagery analyses. In combination, this suite of techniques provides new insight into the connectivity of the coastal aquifer with the near-shore ocean and examines the physical drivers of submarine groundwater discharge. Lastly, submarine groundwater discharge derived constituent concentrations were tabulated and compared to surrounding seawater concentrations. Such work has implications for the management of coastal aquifers and downstream nearshore ecosystems that respond to sustained constituent loadings via this submarine route.

Hawaii↗
USGS2009

Oxygen, hydrogen, and helium isotopes for investigating groundwater systems of the Cape Verde Islands, West Africa

Stable isotopes (?? 18 O, ?? 2 H), tritium ( 3 H), and helium isotopes ( 3 He, 4 He) were used for evaluating groundwater recharge sources, flow paths, and residence times of three watersheds in the Cape Verde Islands (West Africa). Stable isotopes indicate the predominance of high-elevation precipitation that undergoes little evaporation prior to groundwater recharge. In contrast to other active oceanic hotspots, environmental tracers show that deep geothermal circulation does not strongly affect groundwater. Low tritium concentrations at seven groundwater sites indicate groundwater residence times of more than 50 years. Higher tritium values at other sites suggest some recent recharge. High 4 He and 3 He/ 4 He ratios precluded 3 H/ 3 He dating at six sites. These high 3 He/ 4 He ratios (R/R a values of up to 8.3) are consistent with reported mantle derived helium of oceanic island basalts in Cape Verde and provided end-member constraints for improved dating at seven other locations. Tritium and 3 H/ 3 He dating shows that S??o Nicolau Island's Ribeira Faj?? Basin has groundwater residence times of more than 50 years, whereas Fogo Island's Mosteiros Basin and Santo Ant??o Island's Ribeira Paul Basin contain a mixture of young and old groundwater. Young ages at selected sites within these two basins indicate local recharge and potential groundwater susceptibility to surface contamination and/or salt-water intrusion. ?? Springer-Verlag 2009.

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS2008

Analysis of an unconfined aquifer subject to asynchronous dual-tide propagation

Most published solutions for aquifer responses to ocean tides focus on the one-sided attenuation of the signal as it propagates inland. However, island aquifers experience periodic forcing from the entire coast, which can lead to integrated effects of different tidal signals, especially on narrow high-permeability islands. In general, studies disregard a potential time lag as the tidal wave sweeps around the island. We present a one-dimensional analytical solution to the ground water flow equation subject to asynchronous and asymmetric oscillating head conditions on opposite boundaries and test it on data from an unconfined volcanic aquifer in Maui. The solution considers sediment-damping effects at the coastline. The response of Maui Aquifers indicate that water table elevations near the center of the aquifer are influenced by a combination of tides from opposite coasts. A better match between the observed ground water head and the theoretical response can be obtained with the proposed dual-tide solution than with single-sided solutions. Hydraulic diffusivity was estimated to be 2.3 ?? 107 m 2/d. This translates into a hydraulic conductivity of 500 m/d, assuming a specific yield of 0.04 and an aquifer thickness of 1.8 km. A numerical experiment confirmed the hydraulic diffusivity value and showed that the y-intercepts of the modal attenuation and phase differences estimated by regression can approximate damping factors caused by low-permeability units at the boundary.

Ground Water↗
USGS2007

Cloud water in windward and leeward mountain forests: The stable isotope signature of orographic cloud water

Cloud water can be a significant hydrologic input to mountain forests. Because it is a precipitation source that is vulnerable to climate change, it is important to quantify amounts of cloud water input at watershed and regional scales. During this study, cloud water and rain samples were collected monthly for 2 years at sites on windward and leeward East Maui. The difference in isotopic composition between volume‐weighted average cloud water and rain samples was 1.4‰ δ 18 O and 12‰ δ 2 H for the windward site and 2.8‰ δ 18 O and 25‰ δ 2 H for the leeward site, with the cloud water samples enriched in 18 O and 2 H relative to the rain samples. A summary of previous literature shows that fog and/or cloud water is enriched in 18 O and 2 H compared to rain at many locations around the world; this study documents cloud water and rain isotopic composition resulting from weather patterns common to montane environments in the trade wind latitudes. An end‐member isotopic composition for cloud water was identified for each site and was used in an isotopic mixing model to estimate the proportion of precipitation input from orographic clouds. Orographic cloud water input was 37% of the total precipitation at the windward site and 46% at the leeward site. This represents an estimate of water input to the forest that could be altered by changes in cloud base altitude resulting from global climate change or deforestation.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2007

Estimating hydraulic properties of volcanic aquifers using constant-rate and variable-rate aquifer tests

In recent years the ground-water demand of the population of the island of Maui, Hawaii, has significantly increased. To ensure prudent management of the ground-water resources, an improved understanding of ground-water flow systems is needed. At present, large-scale estimations of aquifer properties are lacking for Maui. Seven analytical methods using constant-rate and variable-rate withdrawals for single wells provide an estimate of hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity for 103 wells in central Maui. Methods based on constant-rate tests, although not widely used on Maui, offer reasonable estimates. Step-drawdown tests, which are more abundantly used than other tests, provide similar estimates as constant-rate tests. A numerical model validates the suitability of analytical solutions for step-drawdown tests and additionally provides an estimate of storage parameters. The results show that hydraulic conductivity is log-normally distributed and that for dike-free volcanic rocks it ranges over several orders of magnitude from 1 to 2,500 m/d. The arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and median values of hydraulic conductivity are respectively 520, 280, and 370 m/d for basalt and 80, 50, and 30 m/d for sediment. A geostatistical approach using ordinary kriging yields a prediction of hydraulic conductivity on a larger scale. Overall, the results are in agreement with values published for other Hawaiian islands. ?? 2007 American Water Resources Association.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗
USGS2005

Three-dimensional variable-density flow simulation of a coastal aquifer in southern Oahu, Hawaii, USA

Three-dimensional modeling of groundwater flow and solute transport in the Pearl Harbor aquifer, southern Oahu, Hawaii, shows that the readjustment of the freshwater–saltwater transition zone takes a long time following changes in pumping, irrigation, or recharge in the aquifer system. It takes about 50 years for the transition zone to move 90% of the distance to its new steady position. Further, the Ghyben–Herzberg estimate of the freshwater/saltwater interface depth occurred between the 10 and 50% simulated seawater concentration contours in a complex manner during 100 years of the pumping history of the aquifer. Thus, it is not a good predictor of the depth of potable water. Pre-development recharge was used to simulate the 1880 freshwater-lens configuration. Historical pumpage and recharge distributions were used and the resulting freshwater-lens size and position were simulated through 1980. Simulations show that the transition zone moved upward and landward during the period simulated. Previous groundwater flow models for Oahu have been limited to areal models that simulate a sharp interface between freshwater and saltwater or solute-transport models that simulate a vertical aquifer section. The present model is based on the US Geological Survey’s three-dimensional solute transport (3D SUTRA) computer code. Using several new tools for pre- and post-processing of model input and results have allowed easy model construction and unprecedented visualization of the freshwater lens and underlying transition zone in Hawaii’s most developed aquifer.

Hawaii↗
USGS2003

A thick lens of fresh groundwater in the southern Lihue Basin, Kauai, Hawaii, USA

A thick lens of fresh groundwater exists in a large region of low permeability in the southern Lihue Basin, Kauai, Hawaii, USA. The conventional conceptual model for groundwater occurrence in Hawaii and other shield-volcano islands does not account for such a thick freshwater lens. In the conventional conceptual model, the lava-flow accumulations of which most shield volcanoes are built form large regions of relatively high permeability and thin freshwater lenses. In the southern Lihue Basin, basin-filling lavas and sediments form a large region of low regional hydraulic conductivity, which, in the moist climate of the basin, is saturated nearly to the land surface and water tables are hundreds of meters above sea level within a few kilometers from the coast. Such high water levels in shield-volcano islands were previously thought to exist only under perched or dike-impounded conditions, but in the southern Lihue Basin, high water levels exist in an apparently dike-free, fully saturated aquifer. A new conceptual model of groundwater occurrence in shield-volcano islands is needed to explain conditions in the southern Lihue Basin.

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS2002

The influence of microclimates and fog on stable isotope signatures used in interpretation of regional hydrology: East Maui, Hawaii

Stable isotopes of precipitation, ground water and surface water measured on the windward side of East Maui from 0 to 3055 m altitude were used to determine recharge sources for stream flow and ground water. Correct interpretation of the hydrology using rainfall ??18O gradients with altitude required consideration of the influence of fog, as fog samples had isotopic signatures enriched by as much as 3??? in ??18O and 21??? in ??D compared to volume-weighted average precipitation at the same altitude. The isotopic analyses suggested that fog drip was a major component of stream flow and shallow ground water at higher altitudes in the watershed. 18O/altitude gradients in rainfall were comparable for similar microclimates on Maui (this study) and Hawaii Island (1990-1995 study), however, East Maui ??18O values for rain in trade-wind and high-altitude microclimates were enriched compared to those from Hawaii Island. Isotopes were used to interpret regional hydrology in this volcanic island aquifer system. In part of the study area, stable isotopes indicate discharge of ground water recharged at least 1000 m above the sample site. This deep-flowpath ground water was found in springs from sea level up to 240 m altitude, indicating saturation to altitudes much higher than a typical freshwater lens. These findings help in predicting the effects of ground water development on stream flow in the area. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Journal of Hydrology↗
USGS1998

Estimation of the depth to the fresh-water/salt-water interface from vertical head gradients in wells in coastal and island aquifers

An accurate estimate of the depth to the theoretical interface between fresh, water and salt water is critical to estimates of well yields in coastal and island aquifers. The Ghyben–Herzberg relation, which is commonly used to estimate interface depth, can greatly underestimate or overestimate the fresh-water thickness, because it assumes no vertical head gradients and no vertical flow. Estimation of the interface depth needs to consider the vertical head gradients and aquifer anisotropy that may be present. This paper presents a method to calculate vertical head gradients using water-level measurements made during drilling of a partially penetrating well; the gradient is then used to estimate interface depth. Application of the method to a numerically simulated fresh-water/salt-water system shows that the method is most accurate when the gradient is measured in a deeply penetrating well. Even using a shallow well, the method more accurately estimates the interface position than does the Ghyben–Herzberg relation where substantial vertical head gradients exist. Application of the method to field data shows that drilling, collection methods of water-level data, and aquifer inhomogeneities can cause difficulties, but the effects of these difficulties can be minimized.

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS1998

Numerical modelling of vertically extensive groundwater bodies in Maui, Hawaii: An alternative to perched aquifers

Groundwater in East Maui, Hawaii is traditionally described as a series of discrete aquifers perched on low-permeability units underlain by a basal lens with heads of about 2-3 m. An alternative concept, a fully saturated aquifer to as much as 1400 m elevation, was investigated using a numerical model with various horizontal hydraulic conductivity values and anisotropy ratios. Results indicate that horizontal hydraulic conductivity values between about 0.08 and 1.0 m per day and anisotropy ratios between 1:1 and 100:1 will produce simulated water tables that match observed water tables at 400-1400 m elevation. These values of hydraulic conductivity are consistent with available field data for hydraulic conductivity.Groundwater in East Maui, Hawaii is traditionally described as a series of discrete aquifers perched on low-permeability units underlain by a basal lens with heads of about 2-3 m. An alternative concept, a fully saturated aquifer to as much as 1400 m elevation, was investigated using a numerical model with various horizontal hydraulic conductivity values and anisotropy ratios. Results indicate that horizontal hydraulic conductivity values between about 0.08 and 1.0 m per day and anisotropy ratios between 1:1 and 100:1 will produce simulated water tables that match observed water tables at 400-1400 m elevation. These values of hydraulic conductivity are consistent with available field data for hydraulic conductivity.

IAHS-AISH Publication↗