TY - JOUR
T1 - Fault-controlled springs
T2 - A review
AU - Keegan-Treloar, Robin
AU - Irvine, Dylan J.
AU - Solórzano-Rivas, S. Cristina
AU - Werner, Adrian D.
AU - Banks, Eddie W.
AU - Currell, Matthew J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Robin Keegan-Treloar is supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program. Dylan Irvine, Adrian Werner, S. Cristina Solórzano-Rivas, Matthew Currell and Eddie Banks are supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (project number LP190100713 ). We thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments helped improve the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Springs sustain groundwater-dependent ecosystems and provide freshwater for human use. Springs often occur because faults modify groundwater flow pathways leading to discharge from aquifers with sufficiently high pressure. This study reviews the key characteristics and physical processes, field investigation techniques, modelling approaches and management strategies for fault-controlled spring systems. Field investigation techniques suitable for quantifying spring discharge and fault characteristics are often restricted by high values of spring ecosystems, requiring mainly non-invasive techniques. Numerical models of fault-controlled spring systems can be divided into local-scale, process-based models that allow the damage zone and fault core to be distinguished, and regional-scale models that usually adopt highly simplified representations of both the fault and the spring. Water resources management relating to fault-controlled spring systems often involves ad hoc applications of trigger levels, even though more sophisticated management strategies are available. Major gaps in the understanding of fault-controlled spring systems create substantial risks of degradation from human activities, arising from limited data and process understanding, and simplified representations in models. Thus, further studies are needed to improve the understanding of hydrogeological processes, including through detailed field studies, physics-based modelling, and by quantifying the effects of groundwater withdrawals on spring discharge.
AB - Springs sustain groundwater-dependent ecosystems and provide freshwater for human use. Springs often occur because faults modify groundwater flow pathways leading to discharge from aquifers with sufficiently high pressure. This study reviews the key characteristics and physical processes, field investigation techniques, modelling approaches and management strategies for fault-controlled spring systems. Field investigation techniques suitable for quantifying spring discharge and fault characteristics are often restricted by high values of spring ecosystems, requiring mainly non-invasive techniques. Numerical models of fault-controlled spring systems can be divided into local-scale, process-based models that allow the damage zone and fault core to be distinguished, and regional-scale models that usually adopt highly simplified representations of both the fault and the spring. Water resources management relating to fault-controlled spring systems often involves ad hoc applications of trigger levels, even though more sophisticated management strategies are available. Major gaps in the understanding of fault-controlled spring systems create substantial risks of degradation from human activities, arising from limited data and process understanding, and simplified representations in models. Thus, further studies are needed to improve the understanding of hydrogeological processes, including through detailed field studies, physics-based modelling, and by quantifying the effects of groundwater withdrawals on spring discharge.
KW - Discrete fracture network
KW - Geological structure
KW - Groundwater management
KW - Groundwater-dependent ecosystems
KW - Numerical modelling
KW - Preferential flow
KW - Spring discharge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130517610&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104058
DO - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104058
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85130517610
SN - 0012-8252
VL - 230
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - Earth-Science Reviews
JF - Earth-Science Reviews
M1 - 104058
ER -