Groundwater in Geologic

Processes
Second Edition

Steven E. Ingebritsen
United States Geological Survey

Menlo Park, California

Ward E. Sanford
United States Geological Survey

Reston, Virginia

Christopher E. Neuzil
United States Geological Survey

Reston, Virginia

CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS

Contents

rrejace
Ackno wledgem en ts
List of symbols

page xni
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XX

1 Groundwater flow
1.1 Darcy's law
1.1.1 The limits of Darcy 's law
1.1.2 Driving forces for groundwater flow
1.2 Crustal permeability
1.2.1 Permeability versus porosity
1.2.2 Heterogeneity and anisotropy
1.2.3 Scale dependence
1.2.4 Depth dependence
1.2.5 Time dependence
1.2.6 Some limiting values
1.3 Conceptualizing groundwater systems
1.4 The continuum approach
1.5 The groundwater flow equation
1.5.1 Conservation of mass
1.5.2 The storage term
1.5.3 Various forms of the groundwater flow
equation
Problems

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2 Hydromechanical coupling
2.1 Hydromechanical equations
2.1.1 Elastic strain
2.1.2 Effective stress
2.1.3 Constitutive law for poroelasticity
2.1.4 Force equilibrium and the equations of
poroelastic deformation
2.1.5 The groundwater flow equation for
poroelastic media

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Contents

2.1.6

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

Coupling flow and deformation in

poroelastic media
Inelastic deformation and finite strain
2.2.1 Deformation in geologic processes
2.2.2 Additional complexities of geologic
deformation
Uncertainty in hydromechanical descriptions
2.3.1 Uncertain constitutive laws for deformation
2.3.2 Uncertain boundary and initial conditions
Pragmatism in analysis: useful simplifications
2.4.1 Purely vertical strain
2.4.2 Numerical tricks and extensions of
poroelasticity
2.4.3 Porosity and stress gradients as indicators of
long-term strain
Understanding hydromechanical phenomena
Problems

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Solute transport
3.1 Governing equations
3.1.1 Molecular diffusion
3.1.2 Advection
3.1.3 Mechanical dispersion
3.1.4 Mass-balance equation
3.1.5 Chemical reactions
3.1.6 Initial and boundary conditions
3.2 Numerical solution techniques
3.3 Density-driven
flow
3.4 Multicomponent diffusion
3.5 Multicomponent reactive transport
3.5.1 Rate-based reactions
3.5.2 Surface reactions
3.5.3 Homogeneous reactions
3.5.4 Heterogeneous reactions
3.5.5 Solution algorithms
3.6 Ultrafiltration
3.7 The role of microbes
Problems

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Heat transport
4.1 Governing equations
4.1.1 Pressure and enthalpy as dependent
variables

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Contents

4.1.2
4.1.3

4.2
4.3
4.4

4.5

4.6
4.7
4.8

Statements of mass and energy conservation

A form of Darcy's law for two-phase flow of
compressible
fluids
4.1.4 Conductive heat
flux
4.1.5 One-dimensional forms of the governing
equations
4.1.6 Extending the governing equations to three
dimensions
4.1.7 Assumptions
4.1.8 Fluid properties
4.1.9 Numerical solution
Initial and boundary conditions
Temperature-based formulations
One-dimensional groundwater
flow
4.4.1 Steady vertical
flow
4.4.2 Flow in a confined aquifer or fault zone
Dimensionless numbers
4.5.1 Nusselt number
4.5.2 Peclet number
4.5.3 Rayleigh number
Buoyancy-driven
flow
Heat pipes
Conversion of gravitational potential energy to heat
Problems

Regional-scale flow and transport

5.1 Regional groundwater
flow
5.2 Anomalous fluid pressures
5.2.1 Geologic forcing
5.2.2 Elevated fluid pressures
5.2.3 Hydraulic fracturing
5.2.4 The Gulf Coast
5.3 Regional-scale solute transport
5.3.1 Groundwater age
5.3.2 Large-scale dispersion
5.3.3 Evolution of regional groundwater
chemistry
5.4 Regional-scale heat transfer
5.4.1 The conductive regime in sedimentary
basins
5.4.2 Thermal effects of groundwater flow in
sedimentary basins
5.4.3 Some case studies of sedimentary basins

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Contents

5.4.4
5.4.5

An example from volcanic terrane

The stress - heat flow paradox of the San
Andreas fault
Problems

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6 Ore deposits
6.1 Mississippi Valley type deposits
6.1.1 Evidence for regional-scale brine migration
6.1.2 The role of brines
6.1.3 Controls on ore deposition
6.1.4 Driving forces for
fluid
flow
6.1.5 Unresolved issues with United States MVTs
6.1.6 The Irish "MVTs"
6.2 Other stratiform base-metal deposits
6.3 Sediment-hosted uranium
6.3.1 Redox control of uranium solubility
6.3.2 Tabular uranium deposits
6.3.3 Unconformity-type uranium deposits
6.4 Mineralization through in situ diagenesis
6.4.1 Supergene enrichment of porphyry copper
6.4.2 Colombian emeralds
Problems

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7 Hydrocarbons
7.1 Thermal maturation
7.1.1 The oil window
7.1.2 Groundwater flow and the thermal regime
7.2 Migration
7.2.1 Capillary effects
7.2.2 Primary migration
7.2.3 Secondary migration
7.3 Entrapment
7.4 Governing equations for immiscible multiphase
flow
7.5 Case studies
7.5.1 The Uinta basin
7.5.2 The Los Angeles basin
7.6 Pressure regimes in hydrocarbon basins
7.7 Hydrocarbon resources
Problems

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8 Geothermal processes
8.1 Crustal heat
8.1.1 Measurement

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flow

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Contents

8.1.2 Lateral and vertical variations

8.1.3 Perturbations due to groundwater flow
8.2 Magmatic-hydrothermal systems
8.2.1 Magmatic heat sources
8.2.2 Heat transfer from magma to groundwater
8.2.3 Fluid circulation near magma bodies
8.2.4 Permeabilities in near-magma environments
8.2.5 Magnitude and time-variation of
hydrothermal discharge
8.3 Fluid flow and heat transport near the critical point
8.3.1 One-dimensional pressure-enthalpy paths
8.3.2 Two-dimensional convection
8.4 Multiphase processes
8.4.1 Phase separation
8.4.2 Vapor-dominated zones
8.4.3 Pressure transmission
8.4.4 Boiling point - depth curves
8.5 Hot springs
8.6 Geysers
8.7 Geothermal resources
8.8 Hydrothermal ore deposits
Problems

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Earthquakes
9.1 Effective stress
9.2 Coulomb's law of failure
9.3 Induced seismicity
9.3.1 The Rocky Mountain arsenal
9.3.2 Rangely, Colorado
9.3.3 The Lacq gas field
9.4 Fluid pressures and tectonism
9.4.1 Hubbert and Rubey
9.4.2 Irwin and Barnes model for the San Andreas
9.4.3 Byerlee and Rice models for the San
Andreas
9.4.4 Earthquake swarms driven by deep, natural
fluid sources
9.5 Seismicity modulated by shallow hydrology
9.6 Earthquake-induced hydrologic phenomena
9.6.1 Well behavior
9.6.2 Geysering
9.6.3 Streamflow changes

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Contents

9.7

Stress, earthquakes, and crustal permeability

Problems

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10 Evaporites
10.1 Evaporite formation
10.1.1 The marine evaporite problem
10.1.2 Groundwater i nflow
10.1.3 CaCl2 brines
10.1.4 Magnesium depletion
10.1.5 Continental evaporites
10.1.6 Sabkhas
10.1.7 Groundwater outflow
10.2 Evaporite burial and dissolution
10.3 Diapiric rise of evaporites
10.3.1 Variable-density convection
10.3.2 Caprock formation
Problems

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11 Compaction and diagenesis

11.1 Compaction
11.1.1 Vertical loading and elevated fluid
pressures
11.1.2 Delayed compaction
11.1.3 Erosional unloading
11.1.4 Tectonic compression
11.1.5 Variations in fluid pressure
11.2 Diagenesis
11.2.1 Reaction-flow coupling
11.2.2 Diagenesis of siliciclastic sequences
11.2.3 Mechanochemical processes
11.2.4 Mineral banding
Problems

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12 Metamorphism
12.1 The role of fluids in metamorphism
12.1.1 Evidence for voluminous fluid fluxes
12.1.2 Sources of fluid
12.1.3 Fluid dynamics
12.2 Crustal-scale permeability estimates
12.2.1 Constraints from first-order calculations
12.2.2 A permeability-depth curve based on
metamorphic data
12.2.3 Implications for the brittle-ductile
transition

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Contents

12.2.4 Implications for fault behavior

12.3 Heat and solute transport during metamorphism
12.4 A model of crustal-scale hydrology
12.5 Metamorphic environments
12.5.1 Contact metamorphism
12.5.2 Regional-contact metamorphism
(magmatic arcs)
12.5.3 Regional metamorphism
(continent-continent collision)
12.5.4 High-pressure metamorphic belts
(subduction zones)
Problems
13 Subsea hydrogeology
13.1 Subsea versus subaerial hydrogeology
13.2 Subsea permeability structure
13.3 Density-driven subsea flow
13.4 Hydrothermal circulation near the mid-ocean
ridge
13.4.1 Importance to the Earth's thermal
budget
13.4.2 Influence on ocean chemistry
13.4.3 Properties of H2O-NaCl fluids
13.4.4 Quantitative description of MOR
systems
13.5 Off-axis circulation and the role of seamounts
13.6 Gas hydrates
13.7 Accretionary prisms and subduction zones
13.8 Nearshore hydrogeology
13.8.1 Dolomitization of carbonate platforms
13.8.2 Mixing-zone dissolution in carbonate
platforms
13.8.3 Offshore groundwater flow and heat
transport
13.9 Subduction, metamorphism, and the world ocean
Problems
References
Index

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