Quantifying Changes Of Effective Springshed Area And Net Recharge Through Recession Analysis Of Spring Flow

Keywords

groundwater head; net recharge; Silver Springs; spring pool altitude; spring recession; springshed area

Abstract

The average flow of Silver Springs, one of the largest magnitude springs in Central Florida, declined 32% from 2000 to 2012. The average groundwater head in the springshed declined 0.14 m, and the spring pool altitude increased 0.24 m during the same period. This paper presents a novel explanation of the spring flow recession curve for Silver Springs using the Torricelli model, which uses the groundwater head at a sentinel well, the spring pool altitude and the net recharge to groundwater. The effective springshed area and net recharge (defined as recharge minus groundwater pumping and evapotranspiration) were estimated based on the observed recession slopes for spring flow, groundwater head and spring pool altitude. The results indicate that the effective springshed area continuously declined since 1989 and the net recharge declined since the 1970s with a significant drop in 2002. Subsequent to 2002, the net recharge increased modestly but not to the levels prior to the 1990s. The reduction in net recharge was caused by changes in hydroclimatic conditions including precipitation and air temperature, along with groundwater withdrawals, which contributed to the declined spring flow. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Publication Date

12-30-2016

Publication Title

Hydrological Processes

Volume

30

Issue

26

Number of Pages

5053-5062

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10970

Socpus ID

84983801449 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84983801449

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS