91̽»¨

Project background

This project, carried out by University of 91̽»¨ postgraduate student Tristan Ibrahim between 2007 and 2010, focused on groundwater and surface water interactions in the upper River Don. Research assessed the multi-scale control of hydro-geologic and geomorphic features on flow and solute patterns in riverbeds at the local scale.

Key findings

• In the riverbed, local scale hyporheic flowpaths, driven by pool and riffle sequences, interact with large scale subsurface flowpaths, linked to the expansion and contraction of the alluvial valley.
• These interactions control the depth of stream water infiltration in the riverbed, the mixing of stream and groundwater, as well as the degradation of organic matter by microbial communities.  Groundwater-dominated environments are temporally more stable; they also display large scale hydrochemical trends in the downstream direction.
• In streamwater dominated environments, water exchange is primarily driven by riffle and pool sequences, and microbial activity varies seasonally.

Additional details

Funding: This project was part of the EU funded Marie Curie project Catsci

Publications

• Ibrahim, T.G., Lerner, D., Thornton, S.F. (2011). Integrating groundwater-surface water interactions in contaminated land context. Accepted for CL:AIRE Research Bulletins (http://www.claire.co.uk/)
• Wainwright, J., Ibrahim, T.G., Lexartza-Artza, I., Turnbull, L., Thornton, S.F. and Brazier, R.E. (2011). Linking environmental régimes, space and time: interpretations of structural and functional connectivity'. Geomorphology.
• Ibrahim, T.G., Thornton, S.F. and Wainwright, J. (2010). Interplay of geomorphic and hydrogeologic features at reach- and channel unit-scales on riverbed hydrology and hydrochemistry: a conceptual model in the Lower Coal Measures, South Yorkshire, UK. Hydrogeology Journal, 18(6), 1391-1411.
• Ibrahim, T.G., Käser, D., Ritchie, A. (2009). Measurements and monitoring at the groundwater-surface water interface. In: The Hyporheic Handbook. On-line publication of the Environment Agency (UK).
• Buss, S., Cai, Z., Cardenas, B., Fleckenstein, J., Hannah, D., Heppell, K., Hulme, P., Ibrahim, T., Kaeser, D., Krause, S., Lawler, D., Lerner, D., Mant, J., Malcolm, I.,; Old, G., Parkin, G., Pickup, R., Pinay, G., Porter, J., Rhodes, G., Ritchie, A., Riley, J., Robertson, A., Sear, D., Shields, B., Smith, J., Tellam, J., Wood, P., 2009. The Hyporheic Handbook: A Handbook on the groundwater-surfacewater interface and hyporheic zone for environmental managers. Bristol, UK, Environment Agency.