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Variation of hydraulic conductivity with depth in the North China plain

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Abstract

The unique relationship between hydraulic conductivity (K) and depth (D) is hardly observed because K is affected by many geologic factors. To characterize the variation of K with D in unconsolidated sediments, 820 samples were collected from eight boreholes along the Hutuo River in the direction of flow in the North China Plain (NCP). The K values of these samples were determined using the geophysical logging and grain size data, after which the K series with D for eight boreholes were divided into three components: seasonal, trend, and random components, using the random forest (RF) and time series (TS) methods. The results indicate that the stratum pressure has significant effects on the variation of K with D in the upper layers for H2, H5, H6, and H7 and in the deep layer for H1, H3, and H4. It is here concluded that K can decrease with D when the effects of sedimentary environment and random errors are eliminated. The decreasing trend component of K includes three different decay models, and its difference value shows a decreasing trend from the piedmont region and central plain to the coastal area. The conclusions drawn in this paper are crucial to understanding the dependence of K on D in unconsolidated sediments, which can provide key information for quantifying deep groundwater flow and transport.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Geological Survey Projects Foundation of Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology (G201503, G201605, and SK201504), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015 M571658), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41502248).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China

    Rong Ma, Jiansheng Shi & Yilong Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Rong Ma

  3. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100021, China

    Lihui Sun

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  1. Rong Ma
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  2. Jiansheng Shi
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Correspondence to Jiansheng Shi.

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Ma, R., Shi, J., Zhang, Y. et al. Variation of hydraulic conductivity with depth in the North China plain. Arab J Geosci 9, 571 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2597-1

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