This course will review groundwater system behavior in cold regions, including the influence of seasonally frozen ground and permafrost occurrence on flow and contaminant transport. Fundamental processes will be discussed including surface energy balances, coupled heat and fluid transport, solute effects on freezing, and numerical implementation of freeze-thaw processes in hydro(geo)logical models. These processes will be applied to a range of topics including groundwater recharge, drinking water supply, surface water-groundwater interaction, and permafrost thaw, with an emphasis on evaluating system behavior under climate change. (3.0 credits: term course delivered in one 12-week semester, 3 hours/week) PREREQUISITE: This course is designed for learners who have previously taken a course on hydrology or hydrogeology and have a basic understanding of partial differential equations.
This course will review groundwater system behavior in cold regions, including the influence of seasonally frozen ground and permafrost occurrence on flow and contaminant transport. Fundamental processes will be discussed including surface energy balances, coupled heat and fluid transport, solute effects on freezing, and numerical implementation of freeze-thaw processes in hydro(geo)logical models. These processes will be applied to a range of topics including groundwater recharge, drinking water supply, surface water-groundwater interaction, and permafrost thaw, with an emphasis on evaluating system behavior under climate change. (3.0 credits: term course delivered in one 12-week semester, 3 hours/week) PREREQUISITE: This course is designed for learners who have previously taken a course on hydrology or hydrogeology and have a basic understanding of partial differential equations.
