Pervasive, Preferential Flow through Mega-Thick Unsaturated Zones in the Southern Great Basin.

ABSTRACT: Recharge from preferential flow through mega-thick (100-1000 m) unsaturated zones is a pervasive phenomenon, as demonstrated with a case study of volcanic highland recharge areas in the Great Basin province in southern Nevada, USA. Statistically significant rising water-level trends occur for most study-area wells and resulted from a relatively wet period (1969-2005) in south-central Nevada. Wet and dry winters control water-level trends, with water levels rising within a few months to a year following a wet-winter recharge event and declining during sustained dry periods. Even though a megadrought has persisted since 2000, this drought condition did not preclude major recharge events. Modern groundwater reaching the water table is consistent with previous geochemical studies of the study

SUBMITTER: Jackson TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9540884 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature