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www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/6/7611/2009/
doi:10.5194/hessd-6-7611-2009
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Groundwater response to leakage of surface water through a thick vadose zone in the middle reaches area of Heihe River Basin, in China
1School of Water Resources & Environment, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
2Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Abstract. The behavior of groundwater response to leakage of surface water in the middle reaches area of Heihe River Basin is significantly influenced by a thick vadose zone. The variation of groundwater level is a result of two recharge events corresponding to leakage of Heihe River and irrigation water with different delay time. A nonlinear leakage model is developed to calculate the monthly leakage of Heihe River in considering changes of streamflow, river stage and agricultural water utilization. Numerical modeling of variable saturated flow is carried out to investigate the general behaviors of leakage-recharge conversion through a thick vadose zone. It is found that the variable recharge can be approximated by simple reservoir models for both leakage under a river and leakage under an irrigation district but with different delay-time and recession coefficient. A triple-reservoir model of relationship between surface water, vadose zone and groundwater is developed. It reproduces the in situ water table movement during 1989–2006 with variable streamflow of Heihe River and agricultural water utilization. The model is applied to interpret groundwater dynamics during 2007–2008 that observed in the Watershed Airborne Telemetry Experimental Research (WATER).
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Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Wang, X.-S., Ma, M.-G., Li, X., Zhao, J., Dong, P., and Zhou, J.: Groundwater response to leakage of surface water through a thick vadose zone in the middle reaches area of Heihe River Basin, in China, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 6, 7611-7647, doi:10.5194/hessd-6-7611-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
