UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

GROUNDWATER RESEARCH GROUP

Director - Professor K.W.F. Howard
Dept. Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ontario, M1C 1A4, CANADA
Tel: 416/287 7233
Fax: 416/287 7279
e-mail: gwater@utsc.utoronto.ca

Research Facilities and Equipment

The groundwater research group is based on the Scarborough Campus but interacts strongly and effectively with the Department of Geology and Institute for Environmental Studies on the St. George Campus. The group has developed considerably in recent years and has become well equipped for a wide range of field and laboratory oriented research (Research Papers).

Field equipment includes:

* a 4-wheel drive Suburban truck;

* a Mineral Logging Systems (MLS) MX35 geophysical and fluid well logging system designed for geological, hydrogeological and mineral applications to a depth of 1000m (sondes include short and long normal E-logs, single point resistance, S.P., gamma, slim-line gamma, gamma-gamma, caliper, fluid temperature, and fluid resistivity); equipment is fully digitized and is supported with VIEWLOG software.

* a trailer-mounted power auger;

* soil augers flow meters;

* water level tapes, borehole samplers, pumps and sample filtration equipment;

* portable conductance, pH and specific ion meters;

* pressure transducers and multi-channel data loggers;
 

The laboratory research facilities include full access to TRACES the newest state-of-the-art analytical facility for use on the UTSC campus. It contains all the modern analytical instruments required for a leading edge chemical, biological and physical science department.
 
For hydrophysical and contaminant flow experiments the hydrogeological laboratory supports an aquifer simulation tank with manometers and peristaltic pumps, soil columns, and a range of soil permeameters.

To support the research operation the group maintains a facility for numerical modelling and GIS analysis. The facility is fully equipped with scanners, digitizers and laser printers. The system is fully linked to the internet. Laptop computers are available for field work.

Most of the machines are Windows based and run a wide range of software including MS OFFICE PROFESSIONAL 2016, ADOBE ACROBAT XI, AISUWRS UGROW (includes standalone finite element groundwater flow model), DHI-WASY FEFLOW 6 FM3 (DHI-WASY), Visual MODFLOW Professional 2010.1 with SEAWAT4.0, AQTESOLV, ArcGIS 9.3, SWS AquaChem 5.1, SPSS Statistics 17.0, SWS Hydro GeoAnalyst 2010.1, DHI Mike-software.

Graduate students since 1990 include:

1988-92: Scott MacRitchie (M.Sc.) , Dept. Geology/I.E.S.
"Temperature logging of a shallow fractured groundwater flow system"

1988-93: Mark Jensen (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"Groundwater response to head fluctuations in the Adam Beck Control Reservoir, Niagara Falls"

1989-92: Elizabeth Mullings (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"The use of hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes to characterize and determine the source and hydrodynamics of the saline groundwaters of the Clarendon Basin Jamaica"

1990-93: Steve Livingstone (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"Groundwater contaminant model of chemical mass loading and discharge into the Great Lakes Basin"

1990-91: Joe Arengi (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"POLLUTE analysis of contaminant transport from a proposed landfill at Whitevale, Ontario" (Course masters - thesis course only)

1991- : Richard Taylor (Ph.D.) . Dept. Geology.
"Hydrogeology of the Regolith overlying the Crystalline Basement Complex of Uganda"

1991-94 : Rick Gerber (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"Recharge Mechanisms and Water Balance for the Oak Ridges Moraine"

1991-94: Philip Smart (M.Sc.) . Dept. Geology.
"A three-dimensional groundwater flow model for the Oak Ridges Moraine"

1994-98:   Rick Gerber (Ph.D.) Dept. Geology.
 "Mechanisms of recharge through low permeability aquitards"

1998-00:   Geoffrey Mowatt (M.Sc.) Dept. Geology.
 "The Yonge Street Aquifer"

1999-04: Tecia White (M.Sc.) Primary Supervisor. Dept. Geology.
“The hydrogeologic function of ORM Kettle Lakes”

*2000-04: Stephen DiBiase (M.Sc.) Primary Supervisor. Dept. Geology.
“Constraints on recharge management using artificial infiltration technologies”

1999-02: Isabelle Drouin-Brisebois (M.Sc.) Primary Supervisor. Dept. Geology.
“The urban water balance”

2001-07 : Mandana Meriano (Ph.D.) Primary Supervisor (co with Eyles) . Dept. Geology.
“Groundwater- Surface water interaction in Frenchman’s Bay Watershed, Ontario: Implications for urban recharge, contaminant storage and migration”

2002-08: Jennifer MacDonald (MSc.) Primary Supervisor). Dept. Geology.
“Nova Scotia Aquifer Yields”

2005-07: Herb Maier (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
“Model simulations of transient flow behaviour in the hyporheic zone”

2007-08 : Anne Griffith (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
“Groundwater flow model and impact assessment of the Absheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan”

2009- : Herb Maier (Ph.D.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
“Brine plume origin and behaviour in Alberta”

2011 : Ana Zaknic-Catovic (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
“Model simulation of the remediation program proposed for Rockfort Quarry”

2011 : Mathew Webb (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Hydrogeology. Univ. Birmingham
“Effects of climate change on seawater incursion in coastal aquifers”

2013: Ben Kapfenberger (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTS
“Scientific validity of Canada’s WHPA/SPA regulations.

2015: Munthir Al-Moslem  (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
“Assessment of groundwater contamination in an agricultural area (AlHasa, East Province, Saudi Arabia)”

2016: Natalie Semcesen  (MSc.) Primary Supervisor. Environmental Science UTSC
  “Impacts of the downspout disconnection program on groundwater in Toronto

2017: Chengcheng Li, (Ph.D.) China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) Co-Supervisor
“Application of GIS to urban recharge assessment.

2017: Qinshan Ma, (Ph.D.) Hohai University, Nanjing, China. Co-Supervisor.
“The influence of porous media deformation on contaminant transport.

2017: Lianghua Lu, (Ph.D.) Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Co-Supervisor.  “Chemical modeling and the transport of chemicals in the subsurface.”