Spring flux as an indicator of source geomorphology, substrata, and temperature conditions in springs

Spring flux (m/s), defined as spring flow (m 3 /s) divided by the area over which groundwater emerges (m 2 ) at a spring, provides a meaningful way to distinguish between fracture and seepage-filtration source geomorphologies for rheocrenes in Wisconsin, USA, and may be useful in distinguishing spri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrogeology journal 2022-02, Vol.30 (1), p.221-229
Main Authors: Swanson, Susan K., Graham, Grace E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Discharge
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental conditions
Filtration
Fluctuations
Fractures
Geology
Geomorphology
Geophysics/Geodesy
Groundwater
Habitat selection
Habitats
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Seepage
Spatial variations
Substrata
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
Water Quality/Water Pollution
Water sources
Water springs
Water temperature
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Description
Summary:Spring flux (m/s), defined as spring flow (m 3 /s) divided by the area over which groundwater emerges (m 2 ) at a spring, provides a meaningful way to distinguish between fracture and seepage-filtration source geomorphologies for rheocrenes in Wisconsin, USA, and may be useful in distinguishing spring source geomorphologies in other regions as well. For 20 fracture and seepage-filtration springs investigated in this study, the median spring flux for fracture springs is nearly two orders of magnitude greater than the median spring flux for seepage-filtration springs, whereas median discharges are similar. Relationships were also found to exist between spring flux and spring habitat characteristics. High spring flux due to focused discharge from a few large fractures, is associated with spatial consistency in water temperature and more heterogeneous substrata near the spring source. Lower spring flux due to the emergence of water from numerous water sources across a spring pool is associated with greater spatial variation in water temperature and more homogeneous substrata near the spring source. Used in association with other environmental conditions, spring flux could be useful in predicting spring habitat conditions where detailed ecological assessments are neither available nor feasible.
ISSN:1431-2174
1435-0157
DOI:10.1007/s10040-021-02412-1