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GLGY 401/601 Assignment #1 Due: September 29, 2006

Please write your answers neatly and pay attention to units.

1. Hydrologic cycle
Suppose an environmental interest group asked you about your opinion on exporting one billion
tons of water every year from Lake Ontario. As a hydrologist, you are concerned about the water
balance of the lake, and the question here is: Would the export of water have a major impact on
the water balance? You have the following information at your disposal.
- Average discharge is 7 103 m3/s in St. Lawrence River immediately below Lake Ontario
- Annual lake evaporation is given in Mortons map (Lecture Note 2-3).
- The area of Lake Ontario is 19,500 km2.
- Groundwater components are negligible in the water balance of Lake Ontario.
- The net amount of water currently pumped into and out of the lake is negligible.
- 1 t (metric ton) = 1000 kg
(a) List a few major components of Qin into Lake Ontario. List a few major components of Qout.
(b) Estimate Qout (m3/year). State all your assumptions.
(c) The water balance of Lake Ontario is at steady state on an long-term average. Estimate the
long-term average value of Qin.
(d) How does 109 t/year compare to Qin? Is it a major component?
(e) On average, the water consumption in populated areas is 400 L/person/day. How many people
would be served by 109 t/year?

2. Definition of porosity, water content, etc.

Warm climate and good irrigation water in Taber makes it an excellent place to grow corns. Bob
grows corn in Taber. To optimize the timing of irrigation, he frequently takes soil samples to
measure water content. Each soil sample is contained in a metal cylinder, which has an internal
volume of 150 cm3. The cylinder weighs 43 g. He weighed two samples and put them in an oven
to dry them and weighed them again. The weight of the samples including the metal cylinders
were;
Sample A : 321 g before drying, 275 g after drying
Sample B : 338 g before drying, 290 g after drying

(a) Calculate the volumetric water content () and the bulk dry density (b) of the two samples.
(b) Bob could not calculate the porosity (n) from the above information alone. However, he
learned in GLGY401 that the particle density (m) of most prairie soils is 2800 kg/m3. Using
this information, calculate the volume of solid particles (Vsolid) in each sample.
(c) Calculate the porosity, the void ratio (e) and the saturation ratio (Rs) of each sample.
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3. Compressibility of water and sediments
Mw
Consider a container full of saturated sand. A constant load is applied on the
top plate. A small amount (Mw) of water is injected into the system. The
added mass of water is stored in the system in two ways; porosity change
and density change.
(a) As water is injected the top plate will move upward. Using the water-
spring model, first explain what will happen to the spring, and then
explain what will happen to the pressure of water. (Hint: The spring
carries less load when it is stretched longer.)
(b) The pressure change (P) caused by injection is 2 104 Pa, the
compressibility of the saturated sand () is 4 10-8 Pa-1and of water ()
is 5 10-10 Pa-1. Estimate the changes in the void volume (Vvoid) of the
sand and the density of water (w). Assume that the volume of the
system (V) is 450 cm3 and density of water (w) is 1000 kg/m3 before the
injection.
(Hint: In the definition of and in Lecture Notes 4-9, approximate
dVvoid/dP by Vvoid/P and dw/dP by w/P).
(c) From the first equation in Lecture Notes 4-9, the relationship between the added mass and the
changes in porosity and density can be given by
Mw w Vvoid + Vnw
where n is the porosity of the saturated sand before the injection. The first term on the right
hand side represents the contribution of porosity and the second term represents that of
density. Assuming that n = 0.33, estimate Mw and compare the relative significance of the
two terms.
(d) What is the value of pressure-head change () corresponding to P = 2 104 Pa?

4. Specific storage
Consider a layer of sand having a thickness of 10 m and an areal extent of 10 km2. The and n of
the sand, and the property of water are the same as those in Problem 3. The sand layer is
completely sealed from the surrounding formation. Suppose an unknown volume Vp of water is
pumped from a well in the sand layer, causing the water pressure in the sand to drop by 60 kPa.

(a) Calculate the specific storage (Ss) of the sand. Vp

Use the SI unit.
(b) Calculate the total volume (V) of the sand. Use
the SI unit.
(c) Calculate the value of pressure-head change
() corresponding to P = -60kPa. 10 m
(d) Calculate the total mass (Mw) of the pumped
water and convert it to volume (Vp).