5th Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference –

Americas

EMPIRICAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR GROUNDWATER DYNAMICS IN COASTAL

AQUIFERS

Cesar Canul-Macario*, Paulo Salles, José A. Hernández-Espriu, Roger Pacheco

 Contents

1. Introduction
2. Objectives and Motivations
3. Methodology
4. Field Site
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Conclusions

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 Introduction
Precipitation (P)
Aquifer Head =
Regional Discharge (R)

f(AT, MT, P, R)
Meteorological Tide (MT)
Astronomical Tide (AT) Aquifer Salinity =
Future: Sea Level Rise (SLR) f(Aquifer Head, SLR, P, R)

Confining layer
tlag

(Dessu et al. 2018; Fiorillo et al. 2018; Levanon et al. 2017; Tularam and Signal
Keeler 2006) Delayed effect
(Coutino et al. 2017; Kovacs et al. 2017, 2018; Rocha et al. 2015;
Vera, Mariño-Tapia, and Enriquez 2012; Young et al. 2018).

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 Objectives
a. Numerical evaluation (quantitative analysis) of relationships between Salinity, Aquifer Level and
Forcing Agents (Sea Level Position and Regional Aquifer Discharge)

b. Development of conceptual model of aquifer mixing zone (saline interface) asociated to this forcings.

Motivations
a. No-physical methods: accessible and feasible method to study the saline interface salinity and forcing’s
effects involved in coastal aquifers. This methods offers an easy explanations of this phenomena, but
limited at monitoring domain (Ketabchi et al. 2016; Post and Werner 2017; Rachid et al. 2017; Werner et al.
2013).

b. Recent works only offer a qualitative explanation of the phenomena.

c. Empirical relationships offer a tool for undestanding the interaction between the hydrological
forcing, sea level and aquifer response.

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 Field Site

MID: Continent
P9: Transition
SSL: Coast

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 Methodology

Cross yi+lag = f(xi)

Astronomic Effects Correlation

response (yi+lag)
Data Base: (AT,AH,AS)
Aquifer Level (HOBO t_tide Scatter
Pressure Logger)

Aquifer
(Pawlowicz, Beardsley, &
Aquifer Salinity Plot
Lentz, 2002)
(HOBO EC Temp
Loger) Meteorologic Effects
Tidal Effect (xi)
Tides (SMN) (MT,MH*,MS) Time lag of aquifer head an
aquifer salinity vs Tidal
effects

RUOA (University Network of

Atmospheric Observatories) 𝑴𝑯𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 − 𝑴𝑻𝒔𝒆𝒂
SMN (National Tides Service) 𝒊= Qualitative
AT (Astronomical tide)
∆𝒙𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒂
Regional Discharge
AH (Astronomcal Aquifer head) 𝑸=𝑲∗𝒊 time Series
AS (AstronomcaAquifer Salinity)
MT (Meteorological Head) 𝑸 = 𝑪 𝟐 ∗ 𝒃𝟑 ∗ 𝒊
MH (Meteorological Aquifer Head)
MS (Meteorological Aquifer Salinity)
i hydraulic gradient
Q Aquifer discharge

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 Results: Time series

AH: Astronomic Head

MH: Meteorologic Head 𝜕ℎൗ

𝜕𝑡

i: Hydraulic gradient
Rainy months Dry months+Lowest
Sea level
MID: Continent
P9: Transition
SSL: Coast

USI: Upper Saline Interface

BSI: Bottom Saline Interface

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Results: Astronomical Head

AH: Astronomic Head GROUNDWATER LEVELS

Astronomical effects

t lag Sample Correlation 95% Distance to coast Percent AT

ID
(hours) (XCF) Bounds (km) (%)
P7a 0.0 0.75 ± 0.012 0.80 79.00
P5 0.5 0.68 ± 0.012 5.00 43.00
P9 2.0 0.53 ± 0.012 12.00 26.00
P8 2.5 0.41 ± 0.012 11.00 14.00
Ferris, 1951
𝜋𝑆 𝑡 𝜋𝑆
−𝑥
ℎ 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝐻𝑜𝑒 𝜏𝑇 sin
2𝜋𝜏
−𝑥
𝜏𝑇 8
MH: Meteorologic Head
Results: Meteorological Head

Meteorological effects

t lag Sample Correlation 95% Distance to coast Percent MT

ID
(hours) (XCF) Bounds (km) (%)
P7a 0.0 0.83 ± 0.015 0.80 61.20
P5 0.0 0.76 ± 0.015 5.00 46.90
P9 1.0 0.70 ± 0.015 12.00 51.30
P8 7.0 0.63 ± 0.015 11.00 39.80
Turner et al., 1997 P7b 59.5 0.53 ± 0.015 22.00 35.40

Trglavcnik et al., P4 34.5 0.34 ± 0.015 23.00 5.50

2017 Linear Regression Slope = Percent of meteorological

tide propagated
AH: Astronomic Head
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MH: Meteorologic Head
 Results: Astronomical and Meteorological Salinity

AS: Astronomic Salinity

SALINITY USI: Upper Saline Interface AT: Astronomic Tide
Astronomical effects BSI: Bottom Saline Interface

t lag Sample Correlation 95%

MS: Meteorologic Salinity

ID
(hours) (XCF) Bounds
P7a USI 7.5 0.22 ± 0.015
P7a BSI -2.5 0.68 ± 0.015
P8 USI 1.5 0.63 ± 0.015
P8 BSI N. D. N. D. ± 0.015 Kovacs et al., 2017; Coutinho et al., 2017
Meteorological effects R=[ 0.53,0.65]
t lag Sample Correlation 95%
ID
(hours) (XCF) Bounds
P7a USI 0.0 -0.15 ± 0.015
P7a BSI 0.0 -0.18 ± 0.015
P8 USI 0.0 -0.29 ± 0.015
P8 BSI 0.0 0.47 ± 0.015 10
MT: Meteorologic Tide
 Discussion
Kovacs et al., 2017
Coutino et al., 2017
Regional Discharge

Sea Level

Confining layer

AT vs AH Direct Relationship
Dessu et al. 2018; Fiorillo et al.
2018; Levanon et al. 2017
MT vs MH Direct Relationship
Rocha et al. 2015; Vera, Mariño-Tapia, and
AT vs AS Direct Relationship
Enriquez 2012; Young et al. 2018, Kovacs et al.,
MT vs MS Inverse Relationship??? 2017; Coutino et al., 2017
.
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 Conclusion
Coast Continent
Meteorological Astronomical
Tidal effects (MT) Tidal effects (AT)
4.100 m
2.886 m 1.966 m
0.540 m

Mangrove Aquifer Piezometric head

• Direct Relation to Aquifer head

Elevation (masl)
elevation (MT + AT).

Discharge
• Direct Relation to Saline
interface dynamics (AT), no
clearly relation with MT

• Diurnal discharge governed for Saline

sea level position and short term Interface
recharge events (AT). Seasonal
discharge governed for sea level
position and rainy months (MT +
P)
Coast distance (m)
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 Acknowledgments

Organismo de Cuenca
Península de Yucatán

Instituto de Ingeniería

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 THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Cesar Canul-Macario: CCanulM@iingen.unam.mx

Paulo Salles: PSallesA@iingen.unam.mx
Jose A. Hernández-Espriú: ahespriu@unam.mx
Roger Pacheco Castro: RPachecoC@iingen.unam.mx

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