Investigation of the saltwater intrusion potential into groundwater resources using numerical modeling (case study: Urmia coastal aquifer)

Amiri, Vahab

doi:10.22111/jneh.2020.32772.1601

Investigation of the saltwater intrusion potential into groundwater resources using numerical modeling (case study: Urmia coastal aquifer)

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Vahab Amiri

Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

10.22111/jneh.2020.32772.1601

Abstract

In this study, we have tried to investigate the interaction between groundwater resources of the Urmia domain and Urmia Lake through numerical modeling. The conceptual model of the Urmia aquifer has been prepared using available information and results of geophysical studies. Modeling of flow and soluble transport in the coastal part of Urmia aquifer has been done using the GMS software package. In this case, groundwater flow is first modeled using the MODFLOW module and then the solute transport (in this study, chloride concentration) is performed using the MT3DMS code. After modeling the flow and soluble transport, the outputs are used in the SEAWAT code. The calibration of aquifer hydraulic parameters was performed using the PEST code and manual method. In running the model in unsteady state and using calibrated parameters, the values of ME, MAE and RMSE of the model reached 0.11, 1.14 and 1.41, respectively. The results of flow modeling, solute transport, and mixing of saline and freshwater in the Urmia aquifer show that in the present situation, the relationship between the Urmia aquifer and Urmia Lake is as low as possible and the salinity of the aquifer is very low. Besides, the analysis of the water resources behavior in the coastal parts of this aquifer in two scenarios, including the 50% reduction in discharge of four main rivers and the 50% increase in groundwater extraction, shows that no significant change was made in the results of this model. Since solute transport is a function of flow dynamics in the region, a one-way flow of groundwater towards Urmia Lake, low permeability sediments (due to particle size and formation of salt layers) prevents the invasion of the Urmia Lake saltwater into the aquifer environment.

Keywords

References

References (in Persian)

Iran water resources management company, (2018). www.wrm.ir. [In Persian]

References (in English)

Adepelumi, A.A., Ako, B.D., Ajayi, T.R., Afolabi, O., & Omotoso, E.J. (2009). Delineation of saltwater intrusion into the freshwater aquifer of Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. Environmental Geology, 56, 927-933.

Amiri, V., Nakhaei, M., & Lak, R., (2017). Using radon-222 and radium-226 isotopes to deduce the functioning of a coastal aquifer adjacent to a hypersaline lake in NW Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 147, 128-147.

Amiri, V., Nakhaei, M., Lak, R., & Kholghi, M. (2016a). Assessment of seasonal groundwater quality and potential saltwater intrusion: a study case in Urmia coastal aquifer (NW Iran) using the groundwater quality index (GQI) and hydrochemical facies evolution diagram (HFE-D). Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 30, 1473-1484.

Amiri, V., Nakhaei, M., Lak, R., & Kholghi, M. (2016b). Geophysical, isotopic, and hydrogeochemical tools to identify potential impacts on coastal groundwater resources from Urmia hypersaline Lake, NW Iran. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23, 16738-16760.

Amiri, V., Nakhaei, M., Lak, R., & Kholghi, M. (2016c). Investigating the salinization and freshening processes of groundwater through major ion and trace element indicators: Urmia plain, NW of Iran. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188, 233.

Barbecot, F., Marlin, C., Gibert, E., & Dever, L. (2000). Hydrochemical and isotopic characterization of the Bathonian and Bajocian coastal aquifer of the Caen area (northern France). Applied Geochemistry, 15, 791-805.

Barker, A.P., Newton, R.J., & Bottrell, S.H. (1998) Processes affecting groundwater chemistry in a zone of saline intrusion into an urban aquifer. Applied Geochemistry, 13, 735-749.

Barlebo, H.C., Hill, M.C., Rosbjerg, D., & Jensen, K.H. (1998). Concentration data and dimensionality in groundwater models: Evaluation using inverse modeling. Nordic Hydrology, 29(3), 149-178.

Barlow, P.M., & Reichard, E.G. (2010). Saltwater intrusion in coastal regions of North America. Hydrogeology Journal, 18, 247-260.

Boluda-Botella, N., Valdes-Abellan, J., & Pedraza, R. (2014). Applying reactive models to column experiments to assess the hydrogeochemistry of seawater intrusion: Optimising ACUAINTRUSION and selecting cation exchange coefﬁcients with PHREEQC. Journal of Hydrology, 510, 59-69.

Carrera, J., Hidalgo, J.J., Slooten, L.J., & Vazquez-Sune, E. (2010). Computational and conceptual issues in the calibration of seawater intrusion models. Hydrogeology Journal, 18, 131-45.

Chen, K., & Jiao, J.J. (2014). Modeling freshening time and hydrochemical evolution of groundwater in coastal aquifers of Shenzhen, China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 71, 2409-2418.

Chiang, W.H. (2005). 3D groundwater modeling with PMWIN, a simulation system for modeling groundwater ﬂow and transport processes, Springer, 87-89.

Danesh-Yazdi, S.M., & Ataie-Ashtiani, B. (2019). Lake Urmia crisis and restoration plan: Planning without appropriate data and model is gambling. Journal of Hydrology, 576, 639-651.

Darling, W.G., Edmunds, W.M., & Smedley, P.L. (1997). Isotopic evidence for paleowaters in the British Isles. Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 12, 813-829.

Doherty, J. (2004). Manual for PEST. 5th ed. Brisbane, Australia: Watermark Numerical Computing.

Dregne, H.E. (2000). Land degradation in the drylands. Arid Land Resources Management, Vol. 16, 99-132.

Fidelibus, M.D., Calò, G., Tinelli, R., & Tulipano, L. (2011). Salt groundwaters in the Salento karstic coastal aquifer (Apulia, Southern Italy). In: Lambrakis, N., Stournaras, G., & Katsanou, K. (Eds.). Advances in the Research of Aquatic Environment,EnvironmentalEarth Sciences Series, vol.1. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 407-415.

Gelhar, L.W., Welty, C., & Rehfeldt, K.R. (1992). A critical review of Data on Field-Scale Dispersion in Aquifers. Water Resources Research, 28(7), 1955-1974.

Hill, M.C., & Tiedeman, C.R. (2007). Effective Groundwater Model Calibration: Analysis of Sensitivities, Predictions, and Uncertainty. New York, N.Y.: Wiley. 480 p.

Iran water resources management company (IWRM) (2018). http://www.wrm.ir/

Jahanshahi R., & Zare M. (2016). Hydrochemical investigations for delineating salt-water intrusion into the coastal aquifer of Maharlou Lake, Iran. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 121, 16-29.

Jiao, J., & Post, V. (2019). Coastal Hydrogeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1017/9781139344142

Khazaei, B., Khatami, S., Alemohammad, S.H., Rashidi, L., Wu, C., Madani, K., Kalantari, Z., Destouni, G., & Aghakouchak, A. (2019). Climatic or regionally induced by humans? Tracing hydro-climatic and land-use changes to better understand the Lake Urmia tragedy. Journal of Hydrology, 569, 203-217.

Konikow, L.F., & Bredehoeft, J.D. (1992). Ground-water models cannot be validated. Advances in Water Resources, 15(1), 75-83.

Koussis, A.D., & Mazi, K. (2018). Corrected interface flow model for seawater intrusion in confined aquifers: relations to the dimensionless parameters of the variable-density flow. Hydrogeology Journal, 26, 2547-2559.

Langevin, C.D., Thorne, D.T., Dausman, A.M., Sukop, M.C., & Guo, W. (2007). SEAWAT Version 4: a computer program for simulation of multi-species solute and heat transport. US Geological survey techniques and methods book 6. Reston, USA: US Geological Survey; 40 p [chapter A22].

Lucas, Y., Schmitt, A.D., Chabaux, F., Clément, A., Fritz, B., Elsass, Ph., & Durand, S. (2010). Geochemical tracing and hydrogeochemical modeling of water-rock interactions during salinization of alluvial groundwater (Upper Rhine Valley, France). Applied Geochemistry, 25, 1644-1663.

Madani, K. (2014). Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis?. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 4(4), 315-328.

Mollema, P.N., Antonellini, M., Dinelli, E., Gabbianelli, G., Greggio, N., & Stuyfzand, P.J. (2013). Hydrochemical and physical processes inﬂuencing salinization and freshening in Mediterranean low-lying coastal environments. Applied Geochemistry, 34, 207-221.

Murphy, B., & Morrison, R. (2007). Introduction to Environmental Forensics-Second Edition, Elsevier, 546 p.

Nakhaei, M., & Amiri, V. (2015). Estimating the unsaturated soil hydraulic properties from a redistribution experiment: application to synthetic data. Journal of Porous Media, 18(7), 717-729.

Nakhaei, M., Altafi-Dadgar, M., & Amiri, V. (2016). Geochemical processes analysis and evaluation of groundwater quality in Hamadan Province, Western Iran. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 9(5), 384.

Nakhaei, M., Amiri, V., Rezaei, K., & Moosaei, F. (2015). An investigation of the potential environmental contamination from the leachate of the Rasht waste disposal site in Iran. Bulletin of engineering geology and the environment 74 (1), 233-246.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)."Oroomieh Climate Normals 1961-1990". Retrieved December 27, 2012.

Perera, E.D.P., Jinno, K., Tsutsumi, A., & Hiroshiro, Y. (2009). Numerical study of salinity variation in a coastal aquifer: a case study of the Motooka region in western Japan. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 23, 957-965.

Poeter, E.P., Hill, M.C., Banta, E.R., Mehl, S., & Christensen, S. (2005). UCODE_2005 and six other computer codes for universal sensitivity analysis, calibration, and uncertainty evaluation. Reston, USA: US Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A11; 283 p.

Ranjan, S.P., Kazama, S., & Sawamoto, M. (2006). Effects of climate change on coastal fresh groundwater resources. Global Environmental Change, 16, 388-399.

Rengasamy, P. (2006). World salinization with emphasis on Australia. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57, 1017-1023.

Schulz, S., Darehshouri, S., Hassanzadeh, E., Tajrishy, M., & Schuth, C. (2020). Climate change or irrigated agriculture – what drives the water level decline of Lake Urmia. Scientific Reports, 10, 236, DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-57150-y

Sohrabi, N., Chitsazan, M., Amiri, V., & Moradi-Nezhad, T. (2013). Evaluation of groundwater resources in alluvial aquifer based on MODFLOW program, case study: Evan plain (Iran). International journal of agriculture and crop sciences, 5(11), 1164-1170.

Sohrabi, N., Kalantari, N., Amiri, V., & Nakhaei, M. (2017). Assessing the chemical behavior and spatial distribution of yttrium and rare earth elements (YREEs) in a coastal aquifer adjacent to the Urmia Hypersaline Lake, NW Iran. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24(25), 20502-20520.

Sowers, J., Vengosh, A., & Weinthal, E. (2011). Climate change, water resources, and the politics of adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa. Climatic Change, 104, pp. 599-627.

Spitz, K., & Moreno, J. (1996). A Practical Guide to Groundwater and Solute Transport Modeling, John Wiley and Sons Inc, 372 p.

Tajabadi, M., Zare, M., & Chitsazan M. (2018). The hydrogeochemical and isotopic investigations of the two-layered Shiraz aquifer in the northwest of Maharlou saline lake, south of Iran. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 139, 241-253.

Voss, C.I., & Provost, A.M. (2002). SUTRA, a model for saturated-unsaturated variable-density ground-water ﬂow with energy or solute transport. Reston, USA: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 02- 31; 250 p.

Webb, M.D., & Howard, K.W.F. (2011). Modeling the Transient Response of Saline Intrusion to Rising Sea-Levels. Ground Water, 49(4), 560-569.

Werner, A.D., Bakker, M., Post, V.E.A., Vandenbohede, A., Lu, C., Ataie-Ashtiani, B., Simmons, C.T., & Barry, D.A. (2013). Seawater intrusion processes, investigation, and management: Recent advances and future challenges. Advances in Water Resources, 51, 3-26.

Williams, J., Walker, G.R., & Hatton, T.J. (2002). Dryland salinization: A challenge for land and water management in the Australian landscape. In: Haygarth PM and Jarvis SC (eds.) Agriculture, Hydrology, and Water Quality. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

WMO (World Meteorological Organisation). (2014). http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=1454.

Zheng, C., Hill. M.C., Cao, G., & Ma, R. (2012). MT3DMS: model use, calibration, and validation. Transactions of the ASABE, 55(4), 1549-1559.