A device for measuring seepage flux in lakes and estuaries1

Abstract

Seepage flux can be measured and samples of groundwater flowing into lakes and estuaries collected by enclosing an area of bottom with a cylinder vented to a plastic bag. The method has the advantage of not requiring measurements of permeability of bottom sediments. Seepage velocities from −0.1–2.58 µ m s −1 were measured in Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes and in Nova Scotia and North Carolina estuaries. Where seepage inflow was rapid (0.4–0.8 s −1 ), water collected with the seepage meter was chemically similar to water from wells on the same flow path, and the distribution and chemistry of the seepage concurred with a theoretical flow net. The rate and direction of seepage flux were correlated with water surface elevation during a tidal cycle.