Effects of Airflow Induced by Rainfall on Shallow Groundwater Table Fluctuations

An investigation of groundwater table fluctuations induced by rainfall should consider interactions between the liquid and gas phases in soils. In this study, a water-air two-phase flow model was initially verified by simulating an infiltration experiment. It was then employed to model the interactions between liquid and gas phases regarding actions of airflow on the groundwater table and the fluctuations of the phreatic level and water level in the well induced by rainfall. The effects of airflo7w caused by rainfall on phreatic level fluctuations were also studied quantitatively by comparing the results obtained using the proposed model with those obtained from a water single-phase flow model. The simulation results show that in addition to actual recharge, compressed airflow in unsaturated zones causes the phreatic level to increase, but the rise in the phreatic level is lower than that in the pore-air pressure head in unsaturated zones due to the mitigation of capillary fringe. The existence of airflow enhances the phreatic level rise during and after rainfall. In addition, the water level in the well, pushed by the phreatic level fluctuations, varies similarly to the phreatic level, but it experiences somewhat delayed and slightly attenuated. The Lisse effect precisely reflects the phreatic level fluctuations before actual recharge. Furthermore, the fluctuations in the phreatic level and water level in the well and the contributions of airflow to phreatic level fluctuations are affected by many factors: rain intensity, initial moisture, overlying aquitard, groundwater table depths, and screen depths of the well.