Lecture 'Heat as tracer in the study of groundwater-surface water interaction'
- For whom
- Alumni , Employees , Students
- When
- 25-04-2024 from 15:30 to 17:00
- Where
- Auditorium Valère Billiet, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Gent
- Language
- English
- Organizer
- Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology - Department of Geology - Faculty of Sciences
- Contact
- thomas.hermans@ugent.be
- Website
- https://hydrogeo.ugent.be/
Interaction between aquifers and surface water is crucial fro the management of water resources. Heat tracers can help to reveal its complexity.
Interaction between aquifers and surface water triggers chemical reactions and impacts biological activity. Several persistent challenges hinder research on these processes: the heterogeneity of the interaction between groundwater and surface water, the difficulty of upscaling, the movement of water exchange areas depending on groundwater and surface water levels, and the difficulties in detecting flow that occurs underwater.
In this context, the use of temperature offers a quick and cost-effective alternative for increasing data sets. The application of heat as a tracer has undergone significant evolution in measurement systems, modeling options, and real-case applications. However, there are still challenges to solve, as heat is not a perfect tracer and certain heat transport parameters remain rarely quantified.
In this talk, an overview of the evolution in methods, applications and challenges of using heat as a tracer for studying groundwater-surface water interaction is given.