Principal Investigators

1. Prof. Dr. Peter Dietrich, University of Tübingen, Environmental and Engineering Geophysics
2. Dr. Carsten Leven, University of Tübingen, Hydrogeology
3. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Olaf A. Cirpka, University of Tübingen, Hydrogeology

Funding Institution and Period

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 2023-2026

River valleys often accommodate alluvial aquifers which have important environmental filter functions. For example, they control groundwater runoff and the transfer and turnover of contaminants in the subsurface. The way how alluvial aquifers behave hydrogeologically depends on the presence of major geological features. And the fluxes of water and solutes within the aquifers are also strongly influenced by the amount of water and solutes passing the aquifer margins.

The goal of this project is to reveal the hydrogeological drivers that determine these water and solute fluxes at margins of an alluvial aquifer and to assess their relative importance to the overall water balance and the solute turnover within the alluvial aquifer.

The research will be conducted in the Ammer valley close to Tübingen (Southwest Germany).

Fig. 1: Geological map of the study area within the Ammer catchment (small inset) with the most important aquifer margins controlling water and solute fluxes.

References

S. Martin, S. Klingler, P. Dietrich, C. Leven, O.A. Cirpka: Structural controls on the hydrogeological functioning of a floodplain. Hydrogeol. J. 28(8): 2675-2696, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s10040-020-02225-8.

S. Klingler, S. Martin, O.A. Cirpka, P. Dietrich, C. Leven: Kombination geophysikalischer und hydrogeologischer Methoden zur gezielten Erkundung feinkörniger Talfüllungen. Grundwasser 26(4): 379-394, 2021, doi: 10.1007/s00767-021-00494-y.