title: Field test of the superconducting gravimeter as a hydrologic sensor.
abstract: We report on a field test of a transportable version of a superconducting gravimeter (SG) intended for groundwater storage monitoring. The test was conducted over a 6-month period at a site adjacent to a well in the recharge zone of the karstic Edwards Aquifer, a major groundwater resource in central Texas. The purpose of the study was to assess requirements for unattended operation of the SG in a field setting and to obtain a gravimetric estimate of aquifer specific yield. The experiment confirmed successful operation of the SG, but water level changes were small (<0.3 m) leading to uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Barometric pressure changes were the dominant cause of both water level variations and non-tidal gravity changes. The specific yield estimate (0.26) is larger than most published values and dependent mainly on low frequency variations in residual gravity and water level time series.
authors: Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas-Austin, TX 78712, USA. crwilson@jsg.utexas.edu
authors: Clark R
authors: CR
authors: Wilson
authors: Bridget
authors: B
authors: Scanlon
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Sharp
authors: Laurent
authors: L
authors: Longuevergne
authors: Hongqiu
authors: H
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D006112:Gravitation; D060587:Groundwater; D013781:Texas; D014872:Water Movements