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Vicente Quinones-Aponte

Publications and source records attributed to Vicente Quinones-Aponte.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1996

Analysis of tests of subsurface injection, storage, and recovery of freshwater in the lower Floridan aquifer, Okeechobee County, Florida

A series of freshwater subsurface injection, storage, and recovery tests were conducted at an injection-well site near Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee County, Florida, to assess the recoverability of injected canal water from the Lower Floridan aquifer. At the study site, the Lower Floridan aquifer is characterized as having four local, relatively independent, high-permeability flow zones (389 to 398 meters, 419 to 424 meters, 456 to 462 meters, and 472 to 476 meters below sea level). Four subsurface injection, storage, and recovery cycles were performed at the Lake Okeechobee injection-well site in which volumes of water injected ranged from about 387,275 to 1,343,675 cubic meters for all the cycles, and volumes of water recovered ranged from about 106,200 to 484,400 cubic meters for cycles 1, 2, and 3. The recovery efficiency for successive cycles 2 and 3 increased from 22 to 36 percent and is expected to continue increasing with additional cycles. A comparison of chloride concentration breakthrough curves at the deep monitor well (located about 171 meters from the injection well) for cycles 1, 4, and test no. 4 (from a previous study) revealed unexpected finings. One significant result was that the concentration asymptote, expected to be reached at concentration levels equivalent or close to the injected water concentration, was instead reached at higher concentration levels. The injection to recovery rate ratio might affect the chloride concentration breakthrough curve at the deep monitor well, which could explain this unexpected behavior. Because there are four high-permeability zones, if the rate of injection is smaller than the rate of recovery (natural artesian flow), the head differential might not be transmitted through the entire open wellbore, and injected water would probably flow only through the upper high- permeability zones. Therefore, observed chloride concentration values at the deep monitor well would be higher than the concentration of the injected water and would represent a mix of water from the different high-permeability zones. A generalized digital model was constructed to simulate the subsurface injection, storage, and recovery of freshwater in the Lower Floridan aquifer at the Lake Okeechobee injection-well site. The model was constructed using a modified version of the Saturated-Unsaturated TRAnsport code (SUTRA), which simulates variable-density advective-dispersive solute transport and variable-density ground-water flow. Satisfactory comparisons of simulated to observed dimensionless chloride concentrations for the deep monitor well were obtained when using the model during the injection and recovery phases of cycle 1, but not for the injection well during the recovery phase of cycle 1 even after several attempts. This precluded the determination of the recovery efficiency values by using the model. The unsatisfactory comparisons of simulated to observed dimensionless chloride concentrations for the injection well and failure of the model to represent the field data at this well could be due to the characteristics of the Lower Floridan aquifer (at the local scale), which is cavernous or conduit in nature. To test this possibility, Reynolds numbers were estimated at varying distances from the injection well, taking into consideration two aquifer types or conceptual systems, porous media and cavernous. For the porous media conceptual system, the Reynolds numbers were greater than 10 at distances less than 1.42 meters from the injection well. Thus, application of Darcy's law to ground-water flow might not be valid at this distance. However, at the deep monitor well (171 meters from the injection well), the Reynolds number was 0.08 which is indicative of laminar porous media flow. For the cavernous conceptual system, the Reynolds numbers were greater than 2,000 at distances less than 1,000 meters from the well. This number represents the upper limit of laminar flow, which is the fundamental assumption

Florida↗
USGS1995

Preliminary assessment of injection, storage, and recovery of freshwater in the lower Hawthorn aquifer, Cape Coral, Florida

A preliminary assessment of subsurface injection, storage and recovery of fresh canal water was made in the naturally brackish lower Hawthorn aquifer in Cape Coral, southwestern Florida. A digital modeling approach was used for this preliminary assessment, incorporating available data on hydrologic conditions, aquifer properties, and water quality to simulate density-dependent ground-water flow and advective-dispersive transport of a conservative ground-water solute (chloride ion). A baseline simulation was used as reference to compare the effects of changing various operational factors on the recovery efficiency. A recovery efficiency of 64 percent was estimated for the baseline simulation. Based on the model, the recovery efficiency increases if the injection rate and recovery rates are increased and if the ratio of recovery rate to injection rate is increased. Recovery efficiency decreases if the amount of water injected is increased; slightly decreases if the storage time is increased; is not changed significantly if the water is injected to a specific flow zone; increases with successive cycles of injection, storage, and recovery; and decreases if the chloride concentrations in either the injection water or native aquifer water are increased. In everal hypothetical tests, the recovery efficiency fluctuated between 22 and about 100 percent. Two successive cycles could bring the recovery efficiency from 60 to about 80 percent. Interlayer solute mass movement across the upper and lower boundaries seems to be the most important factor affecting the recovery efficiency. A sensitivity analysis was performed applying a technique in which the change in the various factors and the corresponding model responses are normalized so that meaningful comparisons among the responses could be made. The general results from the sensitivity analysis indicated that the permeabilities of the upper and lower flow zones were the most important factors that produced the greatest changes in the relative sensitivity of the recovery efficiency. Almost equally significant changes occurred in the relative sensitivity of the recovery efficiency when all porosity values of the upper and lower flow zones and the leaky confining units and the vertical anisotropy ratio were changed. The advective factors are the most important in the Cape Coral area according to the sensitivity analysis. However, the dispersivity values used in the model were extrapolated from studies conducted at the nearby Lee County Water Treatment Plant, and these values might not be representative of the actual dispersive characteristics of the lower Hawthorn aquifer in the Cape Coral area.

Florida↗
USGS1986

Water resources of the Lower Rio Grande de Arecibo alluvial valley, Puerto Rico

An assessment of the surface and groundwater resources of the lower Rio Grande de Arecibo alluvial valley was made between 1981 and 1983. Rio Grande de Arecibo is the major source of water in the valley with a mean-annual discharge of 527 cu ft/sec (382,000 acre-ft/yr). Its lowest mean-daily flow (low flow) during 12 yr of record is 50 cu ft/sec. Withdrawals of water from Rio Grande de Arecibo exceeding 15 cu ft/sec during periods of extreme low flows could cause reduction of recharge to the aquifer. However, withdrawals of as much as 35 cu ft/sec are possible when base flow ranges from 90 to 200 cu ft/sec without causing a reduction of aquifer recharge. An unconfined aquifer within the alluvial valley is hydraulically continuous with bordering limestone formations. A clay layer divides the alluvial aquifer into two separate hydraulic systems. Groundwater from the alluvial aquifer above the clay layer has not been widely developed. However, high yielding wells presently yield as much as 9.6 mil gal/day (10,800 acre-ft/yr) from the aquifers occurring below the clay layer within the alluvium and underlaying limestones. Transmissivity ranges from 3,000 sq ft/day in the alluvial area to 42,000 sq ft/day in the adjacent limestone areas. Total groundwater flow through aquifers within the study area (excluding water withdrawn by wells) is about 20.6 mil gal/day (23,100 acre-ft/yr). 50% of this amount is estimated to flow to the eastern area of Cano Tiburones and discharges as springs and seeps. An estimated 9.4 mil gal/day (10,500 acre-ft/yr) of additional groundwater can be withdrawn from the aquifers below the clay layer without reversing the northward hydraulic gradient. Seepage from Rio Grande de Arecibo to the groundwater system at the east side of the valley is probably the key to the development of groundwater resources in the Arecibo area. San Pedro spring, with an average discharge of 8.6 mil gal/day (9,600 acre-ft/yr), is undeveloped and represents a potential alternate source of water. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1986

Use of borehole neutron logs to estimate moisture content in the unsaturated zone of an alluvial aquifer

he neutron borehole logging tool was calibrated for the determination of moisture content in the unsaturated zone of an alluvial aquifer . A continuous core sample was collected to a depth of 15 ft from the unsaturated zone . Moisture content and other soil properties were determined by standard soil-laboratory techniques. The neutron logs profile was correlated to moisture content . The first correlation included all the data points within the unsaturated zone . A correlation coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. An inspection of the plotted data showed that points at the upper extreme of the fitted line departed significantly. A second correlation was tried eliminating data points 1, 3, and 5 which fell too low in the first trial. An almost perfect correlation coefficient of 0.99 was obtained for the data points that were included in the second trial. The criteria used to select the data points for the second correlation trial was that all these points also fell on the left most limit of the neutron profile. The neutron logs profile, which is like a type of harmonic curve seems to be affected by an undefined factor. Analyzing the shape of the neutron profile it is inferred that hysteresis is the most probable phenomena that is affecting this moisture content profile. Although correlating neutron logs to moisture content is not a straight forward procedure, with an appropriate analysis, calibrated neutron logging tools can be used to determine the moisture content within the unsaturated zone of aquifers. Moisture content should be determined for calibration purposes at least at every foot of depth. Measurements of other elements or factors which may produce the harmonic curve effect might be included in further studies.

Conference Paper↗