33 Recent Advances in Hydrogeology (Posters)

Sunday, 19 October 2014
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Exhibition Hall C

EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AND GRAIN-SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF GLACIAL-FLUVIAL DEPOSITS, PUGET LOWLAND, WASHINGTON

Paper number: 33-16
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

Geologists have explored the relationship between saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) measured from laboratory permeameters and grain-size distributions for over a century. However, results from this study show that data comprising in-situ material properties is needed to better correlate Ks and grain-size distribution. Therefore, a relationship between Ks and grain-size distribution was analyzed for sites underlain by glacial-fluvial deposits in the Puget Lowland in Washington State. Using linear regression, comprising pairs of pilot infiltration tests and grain-size analyses, Ks predictions showed a significant reduction in uncertainty and a strong correlation between Ks and grain-size distribution, in contrast to a widely applied analysis in western Washington (Ecology, 2012). The method developed in this study distinguishes between glacially over consolidated and normally consolidated material for determination of Ks for glacial-fluvial deposits in the Puget Lowland.