Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry of Springs in Mantua Valley and Vicinity, North-Central Utah
Chemical and tritium analyses of groundwater, precipitation and discharge records, fracture orientations, lineaments, and structural, stratigraphic, and topographic relationships have been used to describe the groundwater systems of Mantua Valley, north-central Utah. Groundwater flows through fractu...
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| Format: | Others |
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DigitalCommons@USU
1987
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| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5025 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6068&context=etd |
| Summary: | Chemical and tritium analyses of groundwater, precipitation and discharge records, fracture orientations, lineaments, and structural, stratigraphic, and topographic relationships have been used to describe the groundwater systems of Mantua Valley, north-central Utah. Groundwater flows through fractured Paleozoic quartzites and carbonate rocks and discharges from eleven perennial springs in Mantua Valley. Permeability in quartzites is the result of intense faulting and jointing. Groundwater in carbonate aquifers flows through fractures and/or fractures modified by solution and discharges as relatively large springs (up to 227 liters per second). Neogene normal faulting, rather than extensive karst processes, has produced valleys which are closed or nearly closed to surface-water drainage. Groundwater in the area has relatively low total dissolved solids, is warmer than the mean annual air temperature, and is of the calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type. Temperatures of the groundwater suggest circulation depths in excess of 10 to 185 meters. Intermittent turbidity and fluctuations in calcite and dolomite saturation indices and in groundwater temperatures suggest that springs may be supplied by mixtures of shallow and deeper groundwater flow. With the methods used here, a water budget analysis of the area indicates that recharge to the groundwater systems is approximately 49% of mean annual precipitation. Annual recharge and average discharge of the springs were used to calculate recharge areas, which range from 3.0 km2 to 18 km2. Tritium analyses of two of the springs suggest mean residence times of less than ten years. |
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