ABSTRACT
Groundwater flow and heat transport studies at the Idaho National Laboratory
Thermal energy, like a solute, is transported with groundwater as well as by diffusion in porous media. Temperature data, which are widely available and inexpensive to collect, thus represent a valuable, low-cost, source of information about water movement in the subsurface,. Previous studies at the INL have used temperature data to infer groundwater flow directions in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer and to help define the bottom of the aquifer. Here we describe recent studies that use temperature data to estimate recharge through the vadose zone, to determine the magnitude of specific discharge, and - most recently - as a target for calibration of a 3-D groundwater flow model. Results demonstrate that temperature data have great potential for further exploitation in groundwater studies in the Snake River Plain.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO
MS Hydrology 1997 and PhD Earth and Environmental Science-Hydrology 2002 from New Mexico Tech
2002 - present Staff scientist with the INL Geoscience Research Program