Investigation of Scale-dependent Groundwater/Surface-water Exchange in Rivers by Gradient Self-Potential Logging: Numerical Model and Field Experiment Data, Quashnet River, Massachusetts, October 2017 (ver. 2.0, November 2020)

Publication Date

2020-02-04

Start Date

2017-10-11

End Date

2019-09-30

Last Revision

2020-11-06

Ikard, S.J., Briggs, M.A., Minsley, B.J., and Lane, J.W., 2020, Waterborne self-potential logging data for remote detection of groundwater and surface water exchanges: Laboratory experiments and field experiments in the Quashnet River, Massachusetts, October 2017 - September, 2019 (ver. 2.0, November 2020): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FFPATU.

The purpose of this work was to use non-invasive waterborne self-potential logging measurements to develop an efficient, accurate method for detecting and geolocating focused vertical groundwater and surface-water exchanges in a river. The efficacy of waterborne self-potential logging for this purpose was demonstrated by testing three hypotheses during a series of 48 laboratory experiments and 3 field experiments: (1) under suitable conditions, locations of focused groundwater and surface-water exchange can be detected remotely by floating an electric dipole in the surface-water column above the exchange locations, thereby eliminating the necessity for physical contact between the dipole electrodes and the channel bed sediments and greatly increasing spatial coverage and the efficiency of the method; (2) the groundwater and surface-water exchange flow rates are linearly correlated with the peak amplitudes and rates-of-change of the streaming-potential voltages measured over locations of focused groundwater and surface-water exchange; and (3) the streaming-potential voltages show clear differences in polarity that are related to surface-water gains and surface-water losses.

• USGS Data Release Products
• USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

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