Response Analysis of Multi-Layered Volcanic Aquifers in Jeju Island to the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

Seismic waves caused by earthquakes can lead to the movement of fresh groundwater and saltwater in coastal aquifers. The groundwater level, temperature, and electrical conductivity in coastal monitoring wells on the volcanic island of Jeju all responded to the 2011 M 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. As a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Byeongho Won, Se-Yeong Hamm, Kue-Young Kim, Kyoochul Ha, Jehyun Shin, Seho Hwang, Soo-Hyoung Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/5/942
Description
Summary:Seismic waves caused by earthquakes can lead to the movement of fresh groundwater and saltwater in coastal aquifers. The groundwater level, temperature, and electrical conductivity in coastal monitoring wells on the volcanic island of Jeju all responded to the 2011 M 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. As a result of the earthquake, groundwater temperature and electrical conductivity patterns demonstrated freshwater outflow and saltwater inflow through the monitoring wells in multi-layered coastal aquifers. The seismicity also affected the behavior of ocean tides occurring at depth along the multi-layered coastal aquifers. These observations prove that the use of multi-depth systems for monitoring groundwater level, temperature, and electrical conductivity are more effective than single monitoring systems for understanding the exact behavior of multi-layered aquifers as well as efficiently detecting earthquake-induced or anthropogenic impacts on aquifers in coastal, karstic, or volcanic areas.
ISSN:2073-4441