Estimating groundwater recharge from time series measurements of subsurface temperature

Efforts for better understanding of the interaction between groundwater recharge and thermal regime of the subsurface medium is gaining momentum for its diverse applications in water resources. A numerical model is developed to simulate temperature variations of the subsurface under time varying groundwater recharge. The model utilizes MacCormack scheme for finite difference approximation of the partial differential equation describing the conductive and advective heat transport. For the estimation of recharge rate, optimization of the model is realized by searching for the unknown parameters which minimize the root-mean-square error between simulated and measured temperatures. Simulation results for 22-year time series data of temperature measurements reveal that the proposed model can accurately simulate subsurface temperature variations resulting from the redistribution of the heat due to the movement of water and it can also estimate temporal variations of recharge. Seasonal variations of recharge and a linear relationship between precipitation and recharge are clearly reflected in the simulated results.