Haline Convection within a Fresh-Saline Water Interface in a Stratified Coastal Aquifer Induced by Tide
1
Institute of Earth Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
2
Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem 9692100, Israel
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Micòl Mastrocicco
Water 2021, 13(13), 1780; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131780
Received: 21 April 2021 / Revised: 23 June 2021 / Accepted: 24 June 2021 / Published: 27 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Intrusion into Coastal Aquifers)
Sea-tide effects on the fresh-saline water interface (FSI) in a stratified coastal aquifer are examined through laboratory experiments. The physical model, a two-dimensional rectangular flow tank, is filled with layered aquifers and aquitards. The aquifers serve as the main entrances/exits of water to/from the system through significant horizontal flows, creating unstable conditions of heavier saline water above lighter freshwater for short periods of time. Several processes create mixing; this instability results in haline convection, creating downward fingering, stable rising of horizontal saltwater front, and unstable upward fingerings of flushing freshwater. The time lag between the sea tide fluctuations and the emergence of adequate fresh- and saltwater is higher in a stratified system compared to a homogeneous system. Furthermore, longer tide cycles lead to the enlargement of the FSI’s toe horizontal movement range. The combination of tidal forcing with a layering aquifer structure leads to a wider FSI by creating a significant salt- and freshwater mixing inside each layer, vertical flows between the layers, and saltwater bodies at isolated areas. Haline convection within the FSI might be the reason for the wider fresh-saline interfaces that are found in field studies.
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Doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4633465
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MDPI and ACS Style
Ben-Zur, E.; Gvirtzman, H.; Shalev, E. Haline Convection within a Fresh-Saline Water Interface in a Stratified Coastal Aquifer Induced by Tide. Water 2021, 13, 1780. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131780
AMA Style
Ben-Zur E, Gvirtzman H, Shalev E. Haline Convection within a Fresh-Saline Water Interface in a Stratified Coastal Aquifer Induced by Tide. Water. 2021; 13(13):1780. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131780
Chicago/Turabian StyleBen-Zur, Elad, Haim Gvirtzman, and Eyal Shalev. 2021. "Haline Convection within a Fresh-Saline Water Interface in a Stratified Coastal Aquifer Induced by Tide" Water 13, no. 13: 1780. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131780
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