ELIZABETH BREITMEYER
Characterizing hydrostratigraphic communication between unconsolidated sediment aquifers of the East Flathead, Montana
Increasing agricultural and domestic water demand is placing cumulative stress on intermontane aquifer systems. Water use policy makers require tools to simulate future water use conditions accounting for changes in land use. The accurate characterization of hydrostratigraphy is a critical piece of information needed to develop groundwater models. Non-invasive geophysical surveys can provide additional information regarding the subsurface conditions at a fraction of the cost of traditional well drilling operations and provide data integrated over a broader survey area. Determining the effectiveness of electromagnetic surveys in the delineation continuity and overarching geometry of aquifer systems could benefit the accuracy of the hydrostratigraphy used to conduct groundwater modeling scenarios. Water use policy will benefit from more accurate groundwater model scenarios obtained through effective imaging of the subsurface being modeled.
Elizabeth Breitmeyer is a graduate student working on a multidisciplinary modelling project at Montana Technological University in Butte, Montana. Her project is testing the efficacy of electromagnetics in the characterization of hydrostratigraphic connectivity of the various aquifers of the Flathead Valley. The focus of her studies is coupling models of changes in electrical properties from geophysical imaging investigations with groundwater models of her project area.