DTS as a Hydrostratigraphic Characterization Tool

Home / Research / DTS as a Hydrostratigraphic Characterization Tool
Project Number:

WR09R006

Other Project Number:

2009WI312O

Funding Year:

2009

Contract Period:

7/1/2009 - 6/30/2010

Funding Source:

UWS

Investigator(s):
PIs:
  • Jean Bahr, UW-Madison
  • David Hart, WGNHS
Abstract:

Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) is a new economical method for the (nearly) continuous measurement of temperature in time and space along fiber optic cables. With its ability to produce rich data sets, DTS holds great potential to elucidate complex heterogeneous processes, and monitor changes at unprecedented levels of detail. We propose to use DTS to characterize several available wells of interest in Wisconsin and in the process, evaluate its use as a well-logging tool by comparison to other down-hole logging methods and data from past studies. Ideally, selected sites would have strong vertical gradients and differing hydrostratigraphies, allowing for the testing of this method under a range of conditions. Prospective sites include a deep municipal well in Oak Creek WI and several test wells in the Madison area, some of which are multi-aquifer, and others of which contain multi-level samplers. These wells were used in previous studies, providing a wealth of pre-existing data for comparison. Other potential sites include multi-aquifer wells in Iowa County, and a newly completed fractured-rock well in Brown County near Green Bay. In addition to these ambient measurements, we plan to conduct single-well thermal perturbation experiments, in which hot water would be injected into an instrumented well, and the dissipation of heat would be monitored at fine temporal (minutes) and spatial (~1m intervals) scales. The resulting temperature logs would indicate specific intervals of increased flow into or out of the well. These data sets would then be used to constrain coupled groundwater-flow/heat transport modeling, in order to quantify the processes behind these perturbations.

Project Reports: