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River stage influences on uranium transport in a hydrologically dynamic groundwater-surface water transition zone: U TRANSPORT IN A GROUNDWATER-SURFACE WATER TRANSITION ZONE

Journal Article · · Water Resources Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018009· OSTI ID:1254595
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA
  2. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque New Mexico USA
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A tightly spaced well-field within a groundwater uranium (U) plume in the groundwater-surface water transition zone was monitored for a three year period for groundwater elevation and dissolved solutes. The plume discharges to the Columbia River, which displays a dramatic spring stage surge resulting from mountain snowmelt. Groundwater exhibits a low hydrologic gradient and chemical differences with river water. River water intrudes the site in spring. Specific aims were to assess the impacts of river intrusion on dissolved uranium (Uaq), specific conductance (SpC), and other solutes, and to discriminate between transport, geochemical, and source term heterogeneity effects. Time series trends for Uaq and SpC were complex and displayed large temporal well-to well variability as a result of water table elevation fluctuations, river water intrusion, and changes in groundwater flow directions. The wells were clustered into subsets exhibiting common temporal behaviors resulting from the intrusion dynamics of river water and the location of source terms. Concentration hot spots were observed in groundwater that varied in location with increasing water table elevation. Heuristic reactive transport modeling with PFLOTRAN demonstrated that mobilized U was transported between wells and source terms in complex trajectories, and was diluted as river water entered and exited the groundwater system. While uranium time-series concentration trends varied significantly from year to year as a result of climate-caused differences in the spring hydrograph, common and partly predictable response patterns were observed that were driven by water table elevation, and the extent and duration of the river water intrusion event.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1254595
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-112480; 48590; KP1702030
Journal Information:
Water Resources Research, Journal Name: Water Resources Research Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 52; ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (5)

Coupling a three-dimensional subsurface flow and transport model with a land surface model to simulate stream–aquifer–land interactions (CP v1.0) journal January 2017
Dam Operations and Subsurface Hydrogeology Control Dynamics of Hydrologic Exchange Flows in a Regulated River Reach journal April 2019
Identification and mapping of riverbed sediment facies in the Columbia River through integration of field observations and numerical simulations journal February 2019
Drought Conditions Maximize the Impact of High‐Frequency Flow Variations on Thermal Regimes and Biogeochemical Function in the Hyporheic Zone journal October 2018
Drought Conditions Maximize the Impact of High-Frequency Flow Variations on Thermal Regimes and Biogeochemical Function in the Hyporheic Zone text January 2018

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Related Subjects

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
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