Field Test of the Superconducting Gravimeter as a Hydrologic Sensor

Clark R. Wilson (1) , Bridget R. Scanlon (1) , John Sharp (1) , Laurent Longuevergne (1) , Hongqiu Wu (1)

1 JSG - Jackson School of Geosciences

We report on a field test of a transportable version of a superconducting gravimeter (SG) intended for groundwater storage monitoring. The test was conducted over a 6-month period at a site adjacent to a well in the recharge zone of the karstic Edwards Aquifer, a major groundwater resource in central Texas. The purpose of the study was to assess requirements for unattended operation of the SG in a field setting and to obtain a gravimetric estimate of aquifer specific yield. The experiment confirmed successful operation of the SG, but water level changes were small (<0.3 m) leading to uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Barometric pressure changes were the dominant cause of both water level variations and non-tidal gravity changes. The specific yield estimate (0.26) is larger than most published values and dependent mainly on low frequency variations in residual gravity and water level time series.

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

Clark R. Wilson, Bridget R. Scanlon, John Sharp, Laurent Longuevergne, Hongqiu Wu. Field Test of the Superconducting Gravimeter as a Hydrologic Sensor. Groundwater, 2012, 50 (3), pp.442-449. ⟨10.1111/j.1745-6584.2011.00864.x⟩. ⟨insu-00702687⟩