Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Earth Sciences

Committee Chair

Deborah Leslie

Committee Member

Dan Larsen

Committee Member

Hsiang-te Kung

Committee Member

Michele Reba

Abstract

Overdraft of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas has resulted in groundwater decline and led to the designation of critical groundwater areas. Managed aquifer recharge using infiltration galleries and on-farm reservoir source water is being investigated as a strategy for sustaining groundwater resources. Mineralogical analyses, water quality data and geochemical modeling were used to predict chemical reactions commonly associated with mineral-water reactions from surface water-groundwater interactions. Alluvial aquifer sediment is dominated by quartz and feldspars, with little expandable smectic clay in the unsaturated zone that pose risk for reducing infiltration rates and inducing reactions along the flow path. Geochemical data suggest groundwater quality following injection of reservoir water will be most heavily influenced by the dissolution/precipitation of carbonate minerals and cation exchange. Reservoir constituent levels during the injection season should not pose a contamination risk, as they generally do not exceed groundwater concentrations.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open access

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