Advanced search
Add to list

A methodology for the reconstruction of palaeogroundwater regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial.

Ann Zwertvaegher (UGent) , Peter Finke (UGent) and Luc Lebbe (UGent)
(2009)
Author
Organization
Abstract
During the last three decades intense archaeological prospection has taken place in the region of Sandy Flanders (Belgium). This has led to the production of archaeological distribution maps, which show a distinct pattern regarding the temporal and spatial distribution of these archaeological sites. Besides human factors, environmental conditions such as topography, hydrology, climate, soil and vegetation need to be examined in order to determine and explain the occupational history of the region. In this area with shallow groundwater tables, environmental processes such as pedogenesis and vegetation development are strongly influenced by the groundwater table dynamics. Since the palynological record only provides scattered information on palaeo-groundwater depths, a groundwater modeling is necessary in order to obtain full-cover maps of the groundwater regime. Therefore, we propose a new methodology for palaeo-groundwater modeling over large temporal extents (15000 years), which is based on the modflow-model MOCDENS3D. In a first stage, we simulate groundwater heads over the area for time-windows of 30 years (i.e. a climatic period). For each time-window a topographical and drainage pattern reconstruction is regarded together with the climatic data for that specific period. Intervals between the time-windows vary in length, depending on the amount of time between large topographical changes in the study area. This first stage allows the calculation of a spatially full-cover set of monthly palaeo-groundwater tables for different time-windows. In order to obtain a continuous set of the groundwater heads for the entire temporal extent of this investigation, mathematical spatio-temporal methods will be applied to interpolate between the simulated palaeo-groundwater heads of each time-window. This will be done in a second stage of this investigation. Ultimately, the model will be calibrated with a set of phreatic groundwater depths derived from palynological analysis.
Keywords
archaeology, environmental reconstruction, Soil science, Geohydrology

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Zwertvaegher, Ann, et al. A Methodology for the Reconstruction of Palaeogroundwater Regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial. 2009.
APA
Zwertvaegher, A., Finke, P., & Lebbe, L. (2009). A methodology for the reconstruction of palaeogroundwater regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial. Presented at the Geoarchaeology 2009: Landscape to laboratory and back again, Sheffield.
Chicago author-date
Zwertvaegher, Ann, Peter Finke, and Luc Lebbe. 2009. “A Methodology for the Reconstruction of Palaeogroundwater Regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial.” In .
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Zwertvaegher, Ann, Peter Finke, and Luc Lebbe. 2009. “A Methodology for the Reconstruction of Palaeogroundwater Regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial.” In .
Vancouver
1.
Zwertvaegher A, Finke P, Lebbe L. A methodology for the reconstruction of palaeogroundwater regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial. In 2009.
IEEE
[1]
A. Zwertvaegher, P. Finke, and L. Lebbe, “A methodology for the reconstruction of palaeogroundwater regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial.,” presented at the Geoarchaeology 2009: Landscape to laboratory and back again, Sheffield, 2009.
@inproceedings{704728,
  abstract     = {{During the last three decades intense archaeological prospection has taken place in the region of Sandy Flanders (Belgium). This has led to the production of archaeological distribution maps, which show a distinct pattern regarding the temporal and spatial distribution of these archaeological sites. Besides human factors, environmental conditions such as topography, hydrology, climate, soil and vegetation need to be examined in order to determine and explain the occupational history of the region. In this area with shallow groundwater tables, environmental processes such as pedogenesis and vegetation development are strongly influenced by the groundwater table dynamics. Since the palynological record only provides scattered information on palaeo-groundwater depths, a groundwater modeling is necessary in order to obtain full-cover maps of the groundwater regime. Therefore, we propose a new methodology for palaeo-groundwater modeling over large temporal extents (15000 years), which is based on the modflow-model MOCDENS3D. In a first stage, we simulate groundwater heads over the area for time-windows of 30 years (i.e. a climatic period). For each time-window a topographical and drainage pattern reconstruction is regarded together with the climatic data for that specific period. Intervals between the time-windows vary in length, depending on the amount of time between large topographical changes in the study area. This first stage allows the calculation of a spatially full-cover set of monthly palaeo-groundwater tables for different time-windows. In order to obtain a continuous set of the groundwater heads for the entire temporal extent of this investigation, mathematical spatio-temporal methods will be applied to interpolate between the simulated palaeo-groundwater heads of each time-window. This will be done in a second stage of this investigation. Ultimately, the model will be calibrated with a set of phreatic groundwater depths derived from palynological analysis.}},
  author       = {{Zwertvaegher, Ann and Finke, Peter and Lebbe, Luc}},
  keywords     = {{archaeology,environmental reconstruction,Soil science,Geohydrology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Sheffield}},
  title        = {{A methodology for the reconstruction of palaeogroundwater regimes in Sandy Flanders throughout the Holocene and the Late Glacial.}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}