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Hydrogeologic characterization of an alpine glacial till, Snowy Range, Wyoming

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dc.contributor.authorHoughton, Tyler B., author
dc.contributor.authorRonayne, Michael, advisor
dc.contributor.authorStednick, John, committee member
dc.contributor.authorSanford, William, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T08:21:54Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T08:21:54Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractCharacterization of sediment hydraulic properties is essential to understanding groundwater movement. In many mountain watersheds, surficial geologic material, such as glacial till, plays an important role in water and nutrient chemical cycling. Hydraulic properties of alpine glacial tills are infrequently measured, requiring efforts to characterize this complex geologic material. This research involved the use of multiple measurement techniques to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity of surficial glacial tills at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site (GLEES) in south-central Wyoming. During the summer of 2010, three in situ methods (double-ring infiltrometer, mini disk infiltrometer, and Guelph permeameter) were used to measure field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat) at 32 locations around GLEES. Estimated K sat values obtained with the double-ring infiltrometer had a geometric mean of 0.12 cm/min and range of 0.007 to 0.40 cm/min. The Guelph permeameter had a geometric mean of 0.094 cm/min and range of 0.003 cm/min to 0.776 cm/min, and the mini disk infiltrometer obtained estimates with a geometric mean of 0.014 cm/min and ranged from 0.002 cm/min to 0.043 cm/min. The double-ring infiltrometer and Guelph permeameter measure K sat at a physical scale that is large enough to incorporate the large mixture of particle sizes that comprise the till. With a smaller physical measurement scale, the mini disk is predominantly influenced by the fine-grained fraction of the till. Using geometric mean K sat values obtained with the double-ring and mini disk infiltrometers and available snowpack data from the 2005 water year, a physically-based hydrologic and energy-balance model was used to simulate snowpack depletion, soil moisture changes, and groundwater recharge. Simulated sediment moisture changes were used to estimate vertical flow rates toward the water table. Using a higher K sat obtained at a larger physical measurement scale, the calculated flow rate 2 m below the surface is approximately three times that of the low K sat scenarios. Thus, the scale dependency of hydraulic conductivity is important when quantifying groundwater recharge in mountain watersheds.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierHoughton_colostate_0053N_10783.pdf
dc.identifierETDF2011400301GEOS
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/70779
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relationwwdl
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjecthydrogeologic characterization
dc.subjectscale dependency
dc.subjectmountain watershed
dc.subjectinfiltration tests
dc.subjectglacial till
dc.subjecthydraulic conductivity
dc.titleHydrogeologic characterization of an alpine glacial till, Snowy Range, Wyoming
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineGeosciences
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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