Vitaly A. Zlotnik

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Trends

Author Order

Document Type

Co-Authors

M. Bayani Cardenas

The University of Texas at Austin

Troy E. Gilmore

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Nathan R. Rossman

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Aaron R. Mittelstet

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Glenn Ledder

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

D. Kip Solomon

University of Utah

C. Eric Humphrey

University of Utah

Brian R. Zurbuchen

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

John B. Ong

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Tiejun Wang

Tianjin University

Cooperative Institutions

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

United States Geological Survey

Los Alamos National Laboratory

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Texas at Austin

Weatherford College

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources

University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

North Carolina State University

University of Arizona

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Field

New insights into the drainage of inundated Arctic polygonal tundra using fundamental hydrologic principles

D. R. Harp Vitaly A. Zlotnik Charles J. Abolt Brent D. Newman A. L. Atchley

Abstract. The pathways and timing of drainage from inundated ice-wedge polygon centers in a warming climate have important implications for carbon flushing, advective heat transport, and transitions from carbon dioxide to methane dominated emissions. This research helps to understand this process by providing the first in-depth analysis of drainage from a single polygon based on fundamental hydrogeological principles. We use a recently developed analytical solution to evaluate the effects of polygon aspect ratios (radius to thawed depth) and hydraulic conductivity anisotropy (horizontal to vertical hydraulic conductivity) on drainage pathways and temporal depletion of ponded water heights of inundated ice-wedge polygon centers. By varying the polygon aspect ratio, we evaluate the effect of polygon size (width), inter-annual increases in active layer thickness, and seasonal increases in thaw depth on drainage. One of the primary insights from the model is that most inundated ice-wedge polygon drainage occurs along an annular region of the polygon center near the rims. This implies that inundated polygons are most intensely flushed by drainage in an annular region along their horizontal periphery, with implications for transport of nutrients (such as dissolved organic carbon) and advection of heat towards ice wedge tops. The model indicates that polygons with large aspect ratios and high anisotropy will have the most distributed drainage. Polygons with large aspect ratio and low anisotropy will have their drainage most focused near the their periphery and will drain most slowly. Polygons with small aspect ratio and high anisotropy will drain most quickly.

Ice wedge

Polygon (computer graphics)

10.5194/tc-2020-100

Cite

Citations (4)

Dynamic interpretation of slug tests in highly permeable aquifers

Water Resources Research (2002)

Brian R. Zurbuchen Vitaly A. Zlotnik James J. Butler

Considerable progress has been made in developing a theoretical framework for modeling slug test responses in formations with high hydraulic conductivity K . However, several questions of practical significance remain unresolved. Given the rapid and often oscillatory nature of test responses, the traditional hydrostatic relationship between the water level and the transducer‐measured head in the water column may not be appropriate. A general dynamic interpretation is proposed that describes the relationship between water level response and transducer‐measured head. This theory is utilized to develop a procedure for transforming model‐generated water level responses to transducer readings. The magnitude of the difference between the actual water level position and the apparent position based on the transducer measurement is a function of the acceleration and velocity of the water column, test geometry, and depth of the transducer. The dynamic approach explains the entire slug test response, including the often‐noted discrepancy between the actual initial water level displacement and that measured by a transducer in the water column. Failure to use this approach can lead to a significant underestimation of K when the transducer is a considerable distance below the static water level. Previous investigators have noted a dependence of test responses on the magnitude of the initial water level displacement and have developed various approximate methods for analyzing such data. These methods are re‐examined and their limitations clarified. Practical field guidelines are proposed on the basis of findings of this work. The soundness of the dynamic approach is demonstrated through a comparison of K profiles from a series of multilevel slug tests with those from dipole‐flow tests performed in the same wells.

Slug test

Hydrostatic equilibrium

10.1029/2001wr000354

Cite

Citations (80)

Drawdown and Stream Depletion Produced by Pumping in the Vicinity of a Partially Penetrating Stream

Ground Water (2001)

James J. Butler Vitaly A. Zlotnik Ming‐Shu Tsou

Commonly used analytical approaches for estimation of pumping-induced drawdown and stream depletion are based on a series of idealistic assumptions about the stream-aquifer system. A new solution has been developed for estimation of drawdown and stream depletion under conditions that are more representative of those in natural systems (finite width stream of shallow penetration adjoining an aquifer of limited lateral extent). This solution shows that the conventional assumption of a fully penetrating stream will lead to a significant overestimation of stream depletion (> 100%) in many practical applications. The degree of overestimation will depend on the value of the stream leakance parameter and the distance from the pumping well to the stream. Although leakance will increase with stream width, a very wide stream will not necessarily be well represented by a model of a fully penetrating stream. The impact of lateral boundaries depends upon the distance from the pumping well to the stream and the stream leakance parameter. In most cases, aquifer width must be on the order of hundreds of stream widths before the assumption of a laterally infinite aquifer is appropriate for stream-depletion calculations. An important assumption underlying this solution is that stream-channel penetration is negligible relative to aquifer thickness. However, an approximate extension to the case of nonnegligible penetration provides reasonable results for the range of relative penetrations found in most natural systems (up to 85%). Since this solution allows consideration of a much wider range of conditions than existing analytical approaches, it could prove to be a valuable new tool for water management design and water rights adjudication purposes.

Drawdown (hydrology)

10.1111/j.1745-6584.2001.tb02354.x

Cite

Citations (155)

Pumping‐Induced Drawdown and Stream Depletion in a Leaky Aquifer System

Ground Water (2006)

James J. Butler Xiaoyong Zhan Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Abstract The impact of ground water pumping on nearby streams is often estimated using analytic models of the interconnected stream‐aquifer system. A common assumption of these models is that the pumped aquifer is underlain by an impermeable formation. A new semianalytic solution for drawdown and stream depletion has been developed that does not require this assumption. This solution shows that pumping‐induced flow (leakage) through an underlying aquitard can be an important recharge mechanism in many stream‐aquifer systems. The relative importance of this source of recharge increases with the distance between the pumping well and the stream. The distance at which leakage becomes the primary component of the pumping‐induced recharge depends on the specific properties of the aquifer, aquitard, and streambed. Even when the aquitard is orders of magnitude less transmissive than the aquifer, leakage can be an important recharge mechanism because of the large surface area over which it occurs. Failure to consider aquitard leakage can lead to large overestimations of both the drawdown produced by pumping and the contribution of stream depletion to the pumping‐induced recharge. The ramifications for water resources management and water rights adjudication can be significant. A hypothetical example helps illustrate these points and demonstrates that more attention should be given to estimating the properties of aquitards underlying stream‐aquifer systems. The solution presented here should serve as a relatively simple but versatile tool for practical assessments of pumping‐induced stream‐aquifer interactions. However, this solution should not be used for such assessments without site‐specific data that indicate pumping has induced leakage through the aquitard.

Drawdown (hydrology)

Aquifer test

10.1111/j.1745-6584.2006.00272.x

Cite

Citations (71)

Understanding inundation and drainage patterns of ice-wedge polygons

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (2020)

D. R. Harp Vitaly A. Zlotnik Charles J. Abolt Elchin Jafarov A. L. Atchley

Ice wedge

Wedge (geometry)

Source

Cite

Citations (0)

Interpretation of Slug and Packer Tests in Anisotropic Aquifers

Ground Water (1994)

Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Abstract Slug and packer tests provide data for determining the local value of hydraulic conductivity in aquifers. However, most techniques commonly used for test interpretation disregard any anisotropy of the tested formation. Using dimensional analysis, an extension of available methods for interpretation of slug and packer tests to anisotropic conditions is developed. The technique is a transformation of the radial dimension via the well radius, and involves dividing the true well radius by the square root of the anisotropy ratio which must be specified a priori. This technique can be applied to formulae, computer programs, graphs, or tabulated data available for confined or unconfined isotropic conditions. It also reduces the number of computer computations. As an example, the technique is used to extend the Bouwer and Rice (1976) method, which was developed for isotropic conditions, to anisotropic conditions. A comparison of the Bouwer and Rice (1976) method corrected for anisotropy, with the Widdowson et al. (1990) method, yields horizontal hydraulic conductivities differing by 8% (in one typical case). Ignoring anisotropy for the same case results in a 44% underestimation of horizontal conductivity.

Slug test

Square root

10.1111/j.1745-6584.1994.tb00917.x

Cite

Citations (60)

Simulating lake and wetland areal coverage under future groundwater recharge projections: The Nebraska Sand Hills system

Journal of Hydrology (2019)

Nathan R. Rossman Vitaly A. Zlotnik Clinton M. Rowe

MODFLOW

Base flow

Groundwater model

Hydrological modelling

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.06.046

Cite

Citations (8)

Influence of aquifer heterogeneity and return flow on pumping test data interpretation

Journal of Hydrology (2004)

Stefan Kollet Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Piezometer

Drawdown (hydrology)

Slug test

Aquifer test

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.06.011

Cite

Citations (27)

Three‐dimensional model of modern channel bend deposits

Water Resources Research (2003)

M. Bayani Cardenas Vitaly A. Zlotnik

We present a three‐dimensional model of heterogeneous modern channel bend deposits developed through purely structure‐imitating interpolation (kriging) of hydraulic properties. This model, augmented with ground‐penetrating radar data and directional variograms, agrees with detailed observations in similar modern environments and leads to a process‐based interpretation of the presented hydraulic conductivity structure. Integration of all available information permitted delineation and characterization of the modern streambed as a distinct hydrostratigraphic unit without coring or outcrop studies. Our results imply that the modern streambed is commonly oversimplified in available analytical and numerical models of groundwater‐surface water interactions where it is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic and characterized by a constant width and thickness. This three‐dimensional approach that integrates concepts and principles developed in sedimentology, hydrogeology, geophysics, and geostatistics has potential implications on model development of stream‐aquifer systems.

Ground-Penetrating Radar

Coring

Outcrop

Geostatistics

Ooid

Groundwater model

10.1029/2002wr001383

Cite

Citations (147)

Analytical modeling of irrigation and land use effects on streamflow in semi-arid conditions

Journal of Hydrology (2015)

Jonathan P. Traylor Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Base flow

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.006

Cite

Citations (10)