Advancing the Understanding of Hydrologic Connectivity between Kettle Holes and Adjoining Groundwater System using a Hybrid Modelling Approach
Final Report Abstract
During the Wisconsin glaciation in North America and the Weichsel glaciation in Northcentral Europe, glaciers left behind depressions called kettle holes in Europe and prairie potholes in North America. These features are important for hydrology and ecology but are often overlooked in water management, particularly in understanding their connection to groundwater. To address this, we developed a hybrid model using stable water isotopes, water chemistry analysis, and an integrated hydrological model. We monitored 12 water chemistry parameters, and stable water isotopes in 39 kettle holes over 17 months, while our monitoring has been done for 5 pilot kettle holes and 7 Quillow river sites over 40 months in northeastern Brandenburg, Germany. We installed a weather station and piezometers to measure kettle holes’ water level and groundwater head hourly. Our findings showed that flow from a kettle hole towards the adjacent groundwater domain can reverse in certain conditions where the shallow aquifer possesses low hydraulic conductivity. We also used machine learning to compare the water chemistry of kettle holes and that of the surrounding river network (Quillow River). We identified distinct clusters, suggesting possible hydrological connections between kettle holes and the surrounding river network. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings.
Publications
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Are Kettle Holes across Agricultural Landscapes a Potential Medium for Redistribution of Solutes towards their Nearby River Network? LuWQ2022, Land Use and Water Quality: Agriculture and the Environment, Maastricht, the Netherlands, 12-15 September 2022
Taie Semiromi, M., Merz, C., Steidl, J. & Hayashi, M.
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Assessment of Possible Hydrologic Connection Between Kettle Holes and the Quillow River across the Northeast of Brandenburg State, Germany, presented at FH-DGGV-Tagung „Grundwasser - Klima – Gesellschaft”, Jena, Germany, 23–26 March 2022.
Taie Semiromi, M., Merz, C., Steidl, J. & Hayashi, M.
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Identification of the Hydrological System of Kettle Holes of Northeastern Brandenburg, Germany based on their Geochemical Characteristics.
Taie, Semiromi Majid; Steidl, Jörg; Hayashi, Masaki; van Meerveld, Ilja & Merz, Christoph
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Groundwater flow reversal between small water bodies and their adjoining aquifers: A numerical experiment. Hydrological Processes, 37(5).
Steidl, Jörg; Gliege, Steffen; Semiromi, Majid Taie & Lischeid, Gunnar
