University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      UNDERSTANDING HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES AND WATER FLUXES LINKING WETLAND PONDS AND GROUNDWATER IN THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      BAM-DISSERTATION-2018.pdf (6.539Mb)
      Date
      2018-07-19
      Author
      Bam, Edward KP 1980-
      ORCID
      0000-0003-1494-8671
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Doctoral
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      Understanding surface water-groundwater interaction processes and quantification of hydrological fluxes remains a scientific challenge in hydrology. However, comprehensive understanding of groundwater interactions with the surface and more accurate estimates of hydrologic fluxes are essential for water resources and environmental management and policy. Numerous hydrological studies conducted in the glaciated Prairie Pothole region focused mainly on the importance of wetland ponds and their relationship with shallow groundwater in the till using physical, geophysical and water chemistry measurements, and numerical models. In this thesis, I combined field observations, isotopes of water and geochemical tracers (δ2H, δ18O, lc-excess, 3H and Cl-, SO42-), to develop a physical isotope model to quantify water fluxes, examine interactions between surface water and the relatively deeper intertill aquifers (< 50 m), and assess the pathways of water and solutes from the ponds, uplands and lowlands areas hummocky landscape. My field campaign spanned between 2013 and 2016 at the St Denis National Research Area in Saskatchewan, Canada, where additional soil, hydrometric and water isotope data were collected to complement the existing previously collected stable isotope, hydraulic and hydrometric data. The data show that water isotope compositions of ponds are reflective of seasons and residence time, and this property is useful for quantifying spatial surface water fluxes. Pond water infiltration rates estimated from the new model show that ephemeral ponds have the highest outflow rates, and pond-subsurface interactions can be determined without groundwater heads. The water isotopes and hydrometric measurements indicate that interaction between ponds and the intertill aquifer is limited to ponds upland, and water from ephemeral ponds are the dominant source of depression-focused recharge to the intertill aquifer. The stable isotopes and dissolved ions data showed that rapid downward advective movement of water occurs in the shallow weathered zone throughout the till and at all landscape positions and this water could serve as recharge water to the aquifer. The work represents a distinct contribution to the literature regarding our understanding of the hydrological processes linking wetland ponds and groundwater in the prairie pothole region.
      Degree
      Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
      Department
      School of Environment and Sustainability
      Program
      Environment and Sustainability
      Supervisor
      Ireson, Andrew M
      Committee
      Van der Kamp, Garth; McDonnell, Jeffrey J; Hendry, Jim M; Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich
      Copyright Date
      October 2018
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/8841
      Subject
      Prairies
      wetland
      groundwater recharge
      isotopes
      water balance
      dissolved ions
      flow processes
      ephemeral ponds
      depression focused recharge
      water fluxes
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      The University of Saskatchewan's main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy