THE HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE TABRIZ AREA, IRAN By Asghar Asghari Moghaddam Heris A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geological Sciences University College London 1991 ProQuest Number: 10610881 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10610881 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 TO MY MOTHER, MY CHILDREN AND TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER ABSTRACT The present project area lies in East Azarbijan in the north-west part of Iran, and comprises the Tabriz Plain (about 3000 km2) and part of the surrounding mountain area (about 4500 km2). Climatically, the Tabriz area has hot and dry summers and cold winters with average precipitation ranging from 200mm in the lowland to 500mm in the higher mountain area. Three main aquifers supply drinking, domestic, industrial and most part of the agricultural water to Tabriz City and its surrounding urban and rural areas. They are (1) the unconfrned Sahand Plio-Pleistocene volcanic and volcano-sedimentary Alluvial Tuff aquifer which lies to the south and south-west of Tabriz, (2) the unconfined alluvial fans that lie in the northern and southern parts of the Plain, and (3) the multi-layered aquifer system which lies in the central part of the Plain. The average thickness of these aquifers are about 200m, 50m and 60m respectively. Long-term declines of ground water level are indicated in some parts of the alluvial fans and reverse flow of ground water, in the heavily pumping area in the south-west of the Plain, has produced saline water intrusion into the fresh water aquifer. Constant-rate and step-drawdown pumping test data available from different parts of the area, have been analysed by analytical as well as numerical methods to determine the aquifer properties and well characteristics. The resultant values of transmissivity for the Plain and alluvial tuff aquifers range from 500 m2/d to 3500 m2/d, and 240 m2/d to 1000 m2/d, respectively. Due to the lack of observation well data, direct values of storage coefficient could not be determined for the Plain aquifer. However, the values deduced from the numerical method for the confined aquifer of this area ranges between 2.2xl0'3 and 2.0xl0'5. Values for the alluvial tuff aquifer range from 2.7x10 * to 1.1x10 *. The step-drawdown test data have been analysed by a number of methods. The well loss factor (C) and aquifer loss factor (B) range from l.OxlO7 to 1.1x10s d2m5 and 4.66xl0"3 to 4.14xl04 dm2, respectively. With respect to geological conditions and ground water quality, the area was divided into three hydrochemical zones i.e., alluvial tuff, northern part of the Plain, and southern and central parts of the Plain. The values of TDS in the ground water of these zones range from 150 to 500 mg/1, 200 to 1200 mg/1, and 1000 to 5000 mg/1, respectively. Bicarbonate type water dominates the alluvial tuff aquifer and higher elevation parts of the northern parts of the Plain. The southern and central parts of the Plain represents a chloride type ground water in some places especially around the River Aji Chay and the area between Tabriz and Soufian. The alluvial tuff water is rich in Ca and Na whereas, the northern part of the Plain is rich in Ca and Mg which reflect the differences in water bearing-layers in the area. The total amount of annual recharge to ground water is estimated to be about 782xl06 m3 and discharge about 763X106 m3. Therefore, the present rate of withdrawal indicates that ground water in the area is in an old age state of development and requires careful assessment, protection and management. Hence, a numerical regional ground water model was used to try to understand the hydrogeological behaviour of aquifers and water resource management goals in the area. i Acknowledgments The author extends his sincere thanks to his supervisor Professor G. P. Jones for his constructive discussions, guidance, encouragement and support throughout the period of this work. The author also wishes to acknowledge the University of Tabriz, Ministry of Culture and Higher Education for their financial grants, and the Azarbijan Regional Water Authority (ARWA) for supplying the existing relevant data. I would like to thank Mr. M. Shahmahammadi, A. Alinezhad and A. Ahmadi for their kindness help during the collecting data and field visit. Special thanks are due to Mrs. Susan White for her whole-hearted co­ operation, particularly her skilful computing help, which has played a vital role during the computer analysis of much of the data. Also many thanks are due to Mrs. Jane Dottridge for her useful discussions and guidance in modelling and for reading the whole of the manuscript. All academic and departmental staff who extended their support deserve special thanks, particularly, Janet Baker and Colin Stuart for their help during the preparation of some of the drawings. I am grateful to all my family and friends who helped me one way or another during my studies. I apologise for not naming everyone here, but you know who you are. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Mrs. Aghdas Shokohi for her patience and encouragement throughout the study time. CONTENTS page A bstract............................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... ii Contents ............................................................................................................. iii List of figures ................................................................................................... vi List of tables ...................................................................................................... xii List of appendices ............................................................................................ xv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose and S cope ..................................................................................... 2 1.2 Size and Location of the Study Area ....................................................... 2 1.3 Soil Types and Characteristics .................................................................. 4 1.4 Vegetation and Land Use ......................................................................... 5 1.5 Previous W ork ............................................................................................ 5 1.6 Types and Sources of Data ....................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2 HYDROLOGY 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Main Geomorphological U n its .................................................................. 9 2.2.1 Tabriz Plain.................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Northern Mountains ....................................................................... 10 2.2.3 The Sahand Mountain ........................................................... 11 2.3 Drainage B asins .......................................................................................... 11 2.4 Clim ate........................................................................................................ 13 2.4.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 13 2.4.2 Precipitation ................................................................................ 14 2.4.3 Temperature, Wind andRelative Humidity ................................ 21 2.4.4 Evaporation and Transpiration .................................................... 21 2.5 River Discharge .......................................................................................... 28 2.5.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 28 2.5.2 Sources and Components of River Discharge .......................... 31 2.5.3 Hydrograph A nalysis .................................................................. 31 2.5.4 Factors Affecting Baseflow ........................................................... 34 2.5.5 Flow Duration Curve Analysis ..................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3 GEOLOGY 3.1 Geological Setting ........................................................................................ 43 3.2 Litho-Stratigraphy ......................................................................................... 44 3.3 Geological Structure ..................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 4 HYDROGEOLOGY 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 51 iii 4.2 Aquifer Systems .......................................................................................... 51 4.2.1 Types of Aquifer ........................................................................... 51 4.2.2 Boundaries and Thicknesses of Aquifers