Groundwater Parameters and Flow Systems Near Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Precipitation near Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) averages 132 cm/yr. About 76 cm/yr of water is consumed by evapotranspiration. The natural streamflow, which averages 56 cm/yr of water, consists of overland flow (about 21 cm/yr) from water bodies, wetlands, and impervious areas of groundwater discharge (about 35 cm/yr of water). Groundwater occurs in a stormflow zone that extends from the land surface to a depth of 0.3-2 m and in shallow and deeper aquifers that extend from the water table to the base of fresh water. in the stormflow zone, most water flows through macropores and mesopores, which have a volumetric porosity of about 0.002. In the vadose zone and below the water table, water flows through fractures that have a volumetric porosity in the range 1 x 10{sup -5} to 0.02. Water inflow occurs by precipitation and infiltration. infiltration that exceeds the soil water deficit forms a perched water table in the stormflow zone at the level where infiltration rate exceeds vertical hydraulic conductivity. Some water percolates down to the water table but the majority flows downslope to the streams. Recharge of the shallow aquifer is only about 3.2 cm/yr of water or 5.7% of streamflow. Most of the water that recharges the shallow aquifer is discharged by evapotranspiration above the water table. The remainder is discharged at springs and streams where the water table is within the stormflow zone. Digital models that permit unsaturated conditions and transient flows may be more appropriate than steady-state models of saturated flow for the ORNL area.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 814257
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-11368; TRN: US200317%%99
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jan 1989
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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