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Siliciclastic Aquifers Facies Models

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Aquifer Characterization Techniques

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Abstract

Siliciclastic aquifers are composed of sediment and rock that are dominated by silicate minerals, particularly quartz, feldspar, and clays. Siliciclastic aquifer properties are controlled by the grain size, sorting, and diagenesis of the sediments. Well-sorted sand and gravel facies deposited by flowing water and air tend to have the highest hydraulic conductivities and form aquifers, whereas low-energy clay-rich facies form confining and semiconfining strata. Facies models are provided for fluvial, alluvial fan, delta, eolian, glacial, and linear terrigenous shoreline (beach and barrier) depositional systems. Very large (multiple orders of magnitude) variations in hydraulic conductivity occur on multiple scales. A key issue for aquifer characterization is the connectivity and orientation of both clean sandy aquifer strata and clay-rich confining strata, which varies between depositional facies.

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    Robert G. Maliva

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Maliva, R.G. (2016). Siliciclastic Aquifers Facies Models. In: Aquifer Characterization Techniques. Springer Hydrogeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32137-0_3

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