Effects of atmospheric pressure changes in test pumping of
boreholes?
What are the effects of Atmospheric pressure changes in test pumping of boreholes i.e during CRT. How can they be corrected?
2 Answers
In an unconfined aquifer there may be water level variation in response to increasing or decreasing pressure during the test. In a confined aquifer there is more likely to be a muted response, if any. Depending on the circumstances and the equipment you are using there are a few options. This is a bit of a cheat but to save time I would do a search for 'correcting for barametric pressure changes during pump test' and see if any of the options apply to your set up. Alternatively you could post some more details about the duration of the test, what equipment you have, and what the most important information is that you need from the test.
Even quicker answer, if you're not looking to derive exact aquifer properties, is not not be overly worried by fluctuations in pressure. Or, run the test during calm weather! Someone might shoot me down for that, but hey ho. If you are super concerned and this needs to be spot on I would really consider engaging a hydrogeolgist, to be sure on the test set up, and the data interpretation. Hydrogeologists without boarders could be an option.
The borehole will or should be vented and so the barometric pressure in the borehole will be the same as at the discharge and so I would not expect to see any changes. In any case the likely range of barometric pressure say 50 mbar would be 500 mm of water and so relatively small compared to the lift of a borehole pump.
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