Combined influence of weir construction and sea-level rise on freshwater resources of a coastal aquifer in northern Germany

verfasst von

Jie Yang, Thomas Graf, Thomas Ptak

Abstract

A significant volume of an aquifer along the coastline in the German Bight is salinized by seawater intrusion. The mean sea-level rise (MSLR) is expected to continue in the future due to global climatic change, subsequently degrading the fresh groundwater resources. To impede further salinization in the future, a solution is proposed based on weir construction in an existing canal hydraulically connected to the aquifer. The effect is twofold: (1) the elevated groundwater level can upgrade present fresh groundwater resources by shifting the saltwater–freshwater interface position further seaward, or by inhibiting its landward movement, and (2) the inland water level can be elevated, expanding surface water ponds. A fully coupled three-dimensional numerical surface-subsurface model (a modified HydroGeoSphere code) was used to simulate the effects of variable weir construction heights under different MSLR rates, and to quantify the gain of aquifer freshwater volume and loss of usable land due to surface ponding. Construction of a higher weir increases the desalinized aquifer volume and decreases the newly salinized aquifer volume under future MSLR. A minimum height of a weir was determined under a certain MSLR rate to maintain the present freshwater resource. Both weir construction and MSLR can cause the loss of land usage. Computed loss-gain ratio curves can be utilized to determine the optimal weir height, meeting the economic requirements of coastal land management under future MSLR.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Strömungsmechanik und Umweltphysik im Bauwesen

Externe Organisation(en)

Hohai University
Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Hydrogeology journal

Band

27

Seiten

2695-2705

Anzahl der Seiten

11

ISSN

1431-2174

Publikationsdatum

13.11.2019

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Gewässerkunde und -technologie, Erdkunde und Planetologie (sonstige)

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 6 – Sauberes Wasser und sanitäre Einrichtungen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-019-02009-9 (Zugang: Geschlossen)