Pore water pressure

About: Pore water pressure is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11455 publications have been published within this topic receiving 247670 citations. The topic is also known as: pwp.

Spatial distribution and budget for submarine groundwater discharge in Eckernförde Bay (Western Baltic Sea)

Abstract: Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) from subseafloor aquifers, through muddy sediments, was studied in Eckernforde Bay (western Baltic Sea). The fluid discharge was clearly traced by 222 Rn enrichment in the water column and by the chloride profiles in pore water. At several sites, a considerable decrease in chloride, to levels less than 10% of bottom-water concentrations, was observed within the upper few centimeters of sediment. Studies at 196 sites revealed that .22% of the seafloor of the bay area was affected by freshwater admixture and active fluid venting. A maximal discharge rate of . 9Lm 22 d 21 was computed by modeling pore water profiles. Based on pore water data, the freshwater flow from subseafloor aquifers to Eckernforde Bay was estimated to range from 4 3 10 6 to 57 3 10 6 m 3 yr 21 . Therefore, 0.3-4.1% of the water volume of the bay is replaced each year. Owing to negligible surface runoff by rivers, SGD is a significant pathway within the hydrological cycle of this coastal zone. High-resolution bathymetric data and side-scan sonar surveys of pockmarks, depressions up to 300 m long, were obtained by using an autonomous underwater vehicle. Steep edges, with depths increasing by more than 2 m within 8-10 m in lateral directions, equivalent to slopes with an angle of as much as 118, were observed. The formation of pockmarks within muddy sediments is suggested to be caused by the interaction between sediment fluidization and bottom currents. Fluid discharge from glacial coastal sediments covered by mud deposits is probably a widespread, but easily overlooked, pathway affecting the cycle of methane and dissolved constituents to coastal waters of the Baltic Sea.

An integrated approach to quantify groundwater transport of phosphorus to Narrow Lake, Alberta

Abstract: An integrated approach was used to quantify groundwater phosphorus flux to Narrow Lake, a smallglacial-terrain lake in central Alberta. Data from a drilling program, major ion concentrations, environmental isotopes, and computer simulations indicated that the lake gains water through the nearshore region from a small, shallow groundwater flow system; at deep offshore regions, water moves from the lake to the groundwater flow system. Seepage flux was quantified by water budget, Darcy’s equation with data from wells near the lake, Darcy’s equation with data from minipiezometers in the lake, and seepage meters. Whole-lake seepage flux determined from minipiezometer data (30 mm yr-I) was only lO-25% of the other estimates (mean, 221 mm yr-I; range, 133-332 mm yr- l from seepage meter and water budget data, respectively). Groundwater contributed - 30% of the annual water load to the lake. The P concentration, [PI, in pore water from lake sediments (mean, 175 mg m-‘) was 8 times higher than groundwater from wells near the lake (mean, 2 1 mg m-3). Thus, if well water was used to estimate the [P] of the seepage water, the rate of groundwater P loading to the lake would be underestimated. The rate of groundwater P loading to the lake computed from average seepage flux and average pore-water [P] was 39 mg m-2 yr-I, and groundwater may be the largest single source of P to epilimnetic water in the lake.

Effective stress and pore pressure in the Nankai accretionary prism off the Muroto Peninsula, southwestern Japan

Abstract: [1] We developed a theoretical method for predicting effective stress and pore pressure based on rock physics model. We applied the method to reveal the pore pressure distribution within the Nankai accretionary prism off southwestern Japan and to investigate variations in pore pressure associated with evolution of the plate boundary decollement. From the crack aspect ratio spectrum estimated from laboratory and well-log data, we calculated a theoretical relationship between acoustic velocity and mean effective stress by using differential effective medium theory. By iteratively fitting the theoretically calculated velocity to the seismic velocities derived from 3D tomographic inversion, we estimated in situ mean effective stress within the accretionary prism. Pore pressure is then the difference between the effective stress and the confining stress. When we calculated pore pressure, we considered compressive state of stress in the accretionary prism. Our results confirm that pore fluid pressure is high within the subducting sedimentary sequence below the decollement; we determined a normalized pore pressure ratio (λ*) of 0.4-0.7. Abnormal pore pressures develop in the under-thrust sequence as a result of the increase in overburden load because of the thickened overlying prism and a low permeability barrier across the decollement. Overpressuring within the accreted sequence is initiated at the deformation front and proceeds landward. The increase in horizontal compaction within the accreted sequence may raise pore pressures within the accreted sequence, and the pore pressure (mean effective stress) contrast at the decollement becomes smaller landward of the deformation front.

The role of pore water in the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils

Abstract: Deformation and failure of soils are governed by the stresses acting on the soil skeleton. The isotropic stress acting on the soil skeleton can be divided into two components. One is the stress component which is transmitted through the soil skeleton. This skeleton stress is influenced by the pore water (“bulk water”) in the soil. The other is the internal stress component which does not contribute to equilibrium with a given external force. The internal stress is induced by the capillary tension of meniscus water clinging to the contact point of soil particles and acts so as to connect the soil particles tightly. Therefore, in modeling the stress and strain relations for unsaturated soils, it is of much importance to quantitatively evaluate how the pore water exists in the soil. This paper discusses the role of pore water on the mechanical behaviour of the soil. In particular, the significance of the water retention curve is emphasized from a mechanical viewpoint. Essential features required in modeling of the constitutive relations for unsaturated soils are discussed and presented.