Groundwater in fractured bedrock environments: managing catchment and subsurface resources – an introduction

Ofterdinger, U.; MacDonald, A.M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6636-1499; Comte, J.-C.; Young, M.E.. 2019 Groundwater in fractured bedrock environments: managing catchment and subsurface resources – an introduction. In: Ofterdinger, U.; MacDonald, A.M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6636-1499; Comte, J.-C.; Young, M.E., (eds.) Groundwater in fractured bedrock environments: managing catchment and subsurface resources. London, UK, Geological Society of London, 1-9. (Geological Society Special Publication, 479, 479).

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Abstract/Summary

Hard rocks, including crystalline igneous, metamorphic and strongly cemented sedimentary and carbonate rocks, cover about 50% of the Earth's land surface (Singhal & Gupta 2010). Globally, the volume of groundwater contained in hard rock aquifers is not well constrained (Comte et al. 2012) but locally they can be important aquifers (MacDonald et al. 2012), albeit with low groundwater storage and poor primary porosity and permeability. Groundwater flow in these hard rocks is commonly observed to be associated with water-bearing discontinuities, such as fractures, joints and faults (Mazurek 2000; Berkowitz 2002; Font-Capo et al. 2012), and in the weathered regolith (Wright 1992; Chilton & Foster 1995; Deyassa et al. 2014). Structural elements such as fault zones also strongly govern the behaviour of these systems (Forster & Evans 1991; López & Smith 1995; Bense et al. 2013). The nature, abundance, orientation and connectivity of these water-bearing features are largely governed by the history and nature of structural deformation of the bedrock, and commonly impose strong anisotropic flow and transport parameters on these bedrock aquifers (Hsieh et al. 1985; Bour & Davy 1997; Mortimer et al. 2011). Weathering processes furthermore lead to an alteration of bedrock composition and associated aquifer properties resulting in enhanced fracture connectivity and an overall vertical stratification/zonation of bulk aquifer properties, ranging from highly altered shallow regolith horizons to more competent sparsely fractured bedrock at depth (Dewandel et al. 2006; Krásný & Sharp 2007; Lachassagne et al. 2011).

Item Type:	Publication - Book Section
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1144/SP479-2018-170
ISSN:	0305-8719
Additional Keywords:	GroundwaterBGS, Groundwater, Groundwater resources, Aquifer characterisation
Date made live:	27 Jun 2019 14:35 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524066

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