Monitoring of groundwater in a limestone island aquifer using ambient seismic noise

Abstract

The limestone islands of Malta face high levels of water stress due to low rainfall over a small land area and a high population density. We investigate an innovative, cost-effective approach to groundwater monitoring in an island environment by computing auto- and cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise recorded on short-period and broadband seismic stations. While borehole readings give accurate site-specific water level data of the groundwater across the islands, this technique provides a more regional approach to quantitative groundwater monitoring. We perform the moving window cross-spectral method to determine temporal changes in seismic velocity (δv/v). Comparison of the δv/v with groundwater levels from boreholes and precipitation shows comparable patterns. We find that the variations of the δv/v from auto-correlations are more pronounced than the cross-correlation, and that short-period seismic stations are also sensitive. The δv/v signal deteriorates at longer interstation distances, presumably because paths traverse complex geology. We conclude that changes in the groundwater level found beneath very small islands, even as small as 3 km2, can be detected seismically. Low-cost, easy-to-deploy seismic stations can thus act as an additional tool for groundwater monitoring, especially in places with limited natural water reservoirs, like rivers and lakes, and infrastructure.