Distributed!temperature!sensing!(DTS)!as!a!hydrostratigraphic!characterization!tool

Subsurface heterogeneity in hydraulic properties and processes is a fundamental challenge in hydrogeology. Most hydrogeologic problems are complicated by uncertainty in permeability, which is often difficult or impossible to fully characterize. The usefulness of heat as a tracer has been limited by thermometry that only records temporal changes in temperature at a single fixed or moving point. Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is a powerful new method that allows for the nearly continuous measurement of temperature in time and space along fiber-optic cables. The fine spatial and temporal monitoring ability of DTS is creating new and unprecedented opportunities to study hydraulic heterogeneity at a wide range of scales. Despite numerous recent applications of DTS applications in surface water investigations, down-hole uses in hydrogeology have been limited. Recent studies on the Sandstone Aquifer system of Wisconsin have shown preferential flow through laterally continuous bedding plane
fractures to be a defining characteristic of sandstone units that were traditionally assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic. The implication of these findings is that more detailed characterization efforts are necessary to adequately assess flow and transport problems in these units.

Raw project data is available by contacting [e-mail]