Elco Luijendijk

• Professor (Associate) at University of Bergen

Predictions of groundwater fluctuations in space and time are important for sustainable water resource management. Infiltration variability on monthly to decadal timescales leads to fluctuations in the water tables and thus groundwater resources. However, connections between global‐scale climate variability and infiltration patterns and groundwater...

Terrestrial groundwater travels through subterranean estuaries before reaching the sea. Groundwater‐derived nutrients drive coastal water quality, primary production, and eutrophication. We determined how dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) are transformed within subterranea...

Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of surface water is important for water resource management, flood risk assessment, monitoring ecosystem health, constraining estimates of biogeochemical cycles and understanding our climate. While global-scale spatiotemporal change detection of surface water has significantly improved in recent ye...

Sustainable groundwater use relies on adequate rates of groundwater recharge, which are expected to change with climate change. However, climate impacts on recharge remain uncertain due to a paucity of measurements of recharge trends globally. Here we leverage the relationship between climatic aridity and long-term recharge measurements at 5,237 lo...

The Himalaya, Kohistan, and Karakoram ranges comprise Proterozoic to Cenozoic crystalline complexes exposed in northern Pakistan. Numerous hot springs in the area indicate high subsurface temperatures, prompting a need to evaluate the local contribution of radiogenic heat to the general orogenic-related elevated geothermal gradients. The current st...

Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of surface water is important for water resource management, flood risk assessment, monitoring ecosystem health, constraining estimates of biogeochemical cycles and understanding our climate. While global scale spatial-temporal change detection of surface water has significantly improved in recent...

Quantitative uncertainty analysis, 2-D and 3-D modeling of the subsurface, as well as their visualization form the basis for decision making in exploration, nuclear waste storage and seismic hazard assessment. Methods such as cross-section balancing are well established and yield plausible kinematic scenarios. However, they are based on geological...

The German site selection procedure for a high-level nuclear waste repository is entering a stage in which preliminary safety assessments have to be conducted and the release of radionuclides has to be estimated for a large number of potential sites. Here, we present TransPyREnd, a 1D finite-differences code for modeling the transport of radionucli...

Reconstructing the evolution of foreland basins that experienced late exhumation is challenging due to an incomplete sedimentary record. Thermochronometry has been applied successfully to reconstruct basin evolution, but the method is subject to uncertainties. For the Swiss Molasse Basin, a wide range of exhumation magnitude and timing has been pro...

Groundwater is an invaluable global resource, but its long-term viability as a resource for consumption, agriculture, and ecosystems depends on precipitation recharging aquifers. How much precipitation recharges groundwaters varies enormously across Earth's surface, yet recharge rates often remain uncertain. Here we use a global synthesis of field-...

The Himalayan orogenic belt of North Pakistan exposes numerous and in part voluminous granitoid rocks enriched in radiogenic elements. Elevated surface heat flow evidenced by hot springs has been partly attributed to shallow radiogenic heat production in these rocks, as well as on the rapid exhumation and potentially frictional/strain heating. Our...

The extent to which groundwater flow affects drainage density and erosion has long been debated but is still uncertain. Here, I present a new hybrid analytical and numerical model that simulates groundwater flow, overland flow, hillslope erosion and stream incision. The model is used to explore the relation between groundwater flow and the incision...

The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) is responsible for the search for a site with the best possible safety for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Germany. The site selection procedure is regulated in a law that was adopted by the German Federal Parliament (Repository Site Selection Act – StandAG, 2017, last updated...

Groundwater is an invaluable global resource, but its long-term viability as a resource for consumption, agriculture, and ecosystems depends on precipitation recharging aquifers (Alley et al., 2002; Gleeson et al., 2012). How much precipitation recharges groundwaters varies enormously across Earth's surface (Scanlon et al., 2006; Moeck et al., 2020...

The extent to which groundwater flow affects drainage density and erosion has long been debated, but is still uncertain. Here, I present a new hybrid analytical and numerical model that simulates groundwater flow, overland flow, hillslope erosion and stream incision. The model is used to explore the relation between groundwater flow and the incisio...

The extent to which groundwater flow affects drainage density and erosion has long been debated, but is still uncertain. Here, I present a new hybrid analytical and numerical model that simulates groundwater flow, overland flow, hillslope erosion and stream incision. The model is used to explore the relation between groundwater flow and the incisio...

Thermochronology data is key for quantifying the exhumation history and dynamics of mountain belts. Here we present a new analytical solution for the steady-state exhumation of an orogenic wedge that undergoes transport along a basal detachment, uniform internal deformation, basal and frontal accretion. The solution predicts an increase in exhumati...

Plain Language Summary Groundwater that originates as rainfall may reach considerable depths in mountain belts. Groundwater can also transport heat and affect subsurface temperatures in mountain belts. However, the amount of groundwater that circulates to deeper levels and the extent to which it affects subsurface temperatures is largely unknown. H...

Temperature exerts a first order control on rock strength, principally via thermally activated creep deformation and on the distribution at depth of the brittle-ductile transition zone. The latter can be regarded as the lower bound to the seismogenic zone, thereby controlling the spatial distribution of seismicity within a lithospheric plate. As su...

Temperature exerts a first order control on rock strength, principally via thermally activated creep deformation and on the distribution at depth of the brittle-ductile transition zone. The latter can be regarded as the lower bound to the seismogenic zone, thereby controlling the spatial distribution of seismicity within a lithospheric plate. As su...

The extent of deep groundwater flow in mountain belts and its thermal effects are uncertain. Here, we use a new database of discharge, temperature and composition of thermal springs in the Alps to estimate the extent of deep groundwater flow and its contribution to the groundwater and heat budget. The results indicate that springs are fed exclusive...

The flow of fresh groundwater may provide substantial inputs of nutrients and solutes to the oceans. However, the extent to which hydrogeological parameters control groundwater flow to the world’s oceans has not been quantified systematically. Here we present a spatially resolved global model of coastal groundwater discharge to show that the contri...

Geothermal energy is an important and sustainable resource that has more potential than is currently utilized. Whether or not a deep geothermal resource can be exploited, mostly depends on, besides temperature, the utilizable reservoir volume over time, which in turn largely depends on petrophysical parameters. We show, using over 1000 (n=1027) 4-D...

Low-temperature thermochronology can provide records of the thermal history of the upper crust and can be a valuable tool to quantify the history of hydrothermal systems. However, existing model codes of heat flow around hydrothermal systems do not include low-temperature thermochronometer age predictions. Here I present a new model code that simul...

We present a reconstruction of episodic fluid flow over the past ~250 k.y. along the Malpais normal fault, which hosts the Beowawe hydrothermal system (Nevada, USA), using a novel combination of the apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometer and a model of the thermal effects of fluid flow. Samples show partial resetting of the AHe thermochronometer...

Geothermal energy is an important and sustainable resource that has more potential than is currently utilized. Whether or not a deep geothermal resource can be exploited, depends on, besides temperature, mostly the utilizable reservoir volume over time, which in turn largely depends on petrophysical parameters. We show, using a large series (n = 10...

In fractured reservoirs characterized by low matrix permeability, fracture networks control the main fluid flow paths. However, in layered reservoirs, the vertical extension of fractures is often restricted to single layers. In this study, we explored the effect of changing marl/shale thickness on fracture extension using comprehensive field data a...

Continental- to global-scale hydrologic models increasingly include representations of the Earth’s groundwater system. A key question is how to evaluate the realism and performance quality of such large-scale groundwater models given limitations in data availability. We argue for a transparent approach to system conceptualization, which would enabl...

The flow of fresh groundwater towards the world oceans may provide substantial inputs of critical nutrients and solutes to the oceans. Here we present the first spatially resolved global model of coastal groundwater discharge to show that, in contrast to most previous estimates, the contribution of fresh groundwater accounts for only 0.2% of the fr...

We present a 250 ka record of episodic fluid flow along the Malpais fault which hosts the Beowawe hydrothermal system, Nevada, USA. The history of fluid flow was quantified using a novel combination of the apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometer and a model of the thermal effects of fluid flow. Samples show partial resetting of the AHe thermochro...

Low-temperature thermochronology can provide records of the thermal history of the upper crust and can be a valuable tool to quantify the history of hydrothermal systems. However, existing model codes of heat flow around hydrothermal systems do not include low-temperature thermochronology. Here I present a new model code that simulates thermal hist...

In the version of this Article originally published, the wrong article was listed as ref. 33; it should have been “Oki, T. & Kanae, S. Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science 313, 1068–1072 (2006).” This has been corrected in the online versions of the Article.

Key words: asymmetric extension pannonian basin serbomacedonian massif thermochronology Studies on recent tectonic setting of the Pannonian Basin argue for the internal deformation of principal tectonic units constituting the basement of the basin, rather than motion along the boundaries of large-scale fully rigid blocks (Bada et al.

Brines are commonly found at depth in sedimentary basins. Many of these brines are known to be connate waters that have persisted since the early Paleozoic Era. Yet questions remain about their distribution and mechanisms for retention at depth in the Earth's crust. Here we demonstrate that there is insufficient topography to drive these dense flui...

The extent of groundwater flow in the subsurface is strongly controlled by low permeability strata. The presence of low permeability layers (e.g. clay layers) affects regional groundwater flow, resulting in different flow patterns and temperatures in sedimentary basins. This contribution explores the role clay layers play on restricting groundwater...

The turnover of groundwater through recharge drives many processes throughout Earth's surface and subsurface. Yet groundwater turnover rates and their relationship to regional climate and geology remain largely unknown. We estimated that over 200 × 106 km3 of groundwater has recharged since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which is 10 times the volu...

The vulnerability of groundwater to contamination is closely related to its age. Groundwaters that infiltrated prior to the Holocene have been documented in many aquifers and are widely assumed to be unaffected by modern contamination. However, the global prevalence of these ‘fossil’ groundwaters and their vulnerability to modern-era pollutants rem...

The permeability of sediments is a major control on groundwater flow and the associated redistribution of heat and solutes in sedimentary basins. While porosity-permeability relationships of pure clays and pure sands have been relatively well established at the laboratory scale, the permeability of natural sediments remains highly uncertain. This c...

The permeability of crystalline rocks is generally assumed to decrease with depth due to increasing overburden stress. While experiments have confirmed the dependence of permeability on stress, field measurements of crystalline permeability have not previously yielded an unambiguous and universal relation between permeability and depth in the shall...

Groundwater is important for energy and food security, human health and ecosystems. The time since groundwater was recharged-or groundwater age-can be important for diverse geologic processes, such as chemical weathering, ocean eutrophication and climate change. However, measured groundwater ages range from months to millions of years. The global v...

The hydrologic response to seismic waves is thought to be due to either deep-seated fracture closure/dilation or shallower crustal permeability changes. This chapter considers seismicity-induced fault-permeability changes and their effects on hot-spring/geyser isotopic composition over timescales of 103 years within the Beowawe geothermal system, N...

The pollen 14C age and oxygen isotopic composition of siliceous sinter deposits from the former Beowawe geyser field reveal evidence of two hydrothermal discharge events that followed relatively low-magnitude (<M5) earthquakes of Holocene and late Pleistocene age along the Malpais fault zone in Whirlwind Valley, Nevada, USA. The observed 20‰ trend...

In the Netherlands the present-day thermal gradient in the shallow subsurface (i.e. the upper few 100 m), is around 20°C km–1, whereas at depths between 0.5 and 3 km it is ∼33°C km–1. This large contrast in the gradient between shallow and deeper parts of the subsurface occurs throughout the country and cannot be explained by either systematic ther...

The permeability of crystalline rocks is generally assumed to decrease with depth due to increasing overburden stress. While experiments have confirmed the dependence of permeability on stress, field measurements of crystalline permeability have not previously yielded an unambiguous and universal relation between permeability and depth in the shall...

The permeability of sediments is a major control on groundwater flow and the associated redistribution of heat and solutes in sedimentary basins. While porosity–permeability relationships of pure clays and pure sands have been relatively well established at the laboratory scale, the permeability of natural sediments remains highly uncertain. Here w...

The age of groundwater, the time since the water recharged the subsurface, is a fundamental characteristic of groundwater that impacts diverse geologic processes and practical applications. The distribution of groundwater age depends on many factors including permeability, recharge rate, aquifer geometry, and topography. Seminal work simulated topo...

The aim of this thesis is to improve knowledge on the thermal effects of groundwater flow in sedimentary basins on geological timescales. To study the link between past and present-day subsurface temperatures and flow systems this thesis focuses on detailed data analysis and model studies of a single sedimentary basin, the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Roer Va...

Heat flow and thermochronological studies frequently document thermal effects that are ascribed to deep groundwater flow. However, the high uncertainty and heterogeneity of subsurface permeability have hampered model studies of the thermal effect of groundwater flow. We incorporate groundwater salinity data and new permeability upscaling algorithms...

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), the flow of fresh or saline groundwater to an ocean, may be a significant contributor to the water and chemical budgets of the world oceans. SGD consists of fresh, terrestrial groundwater driven by hydraulic gradients, the focus of this research, and re-circulated seawater driven by tidal pumping, wave set-up,...

Apatite fission track thermochronology is a powerful tool for the reconstruction of the thermal and geological evolution of sedimentary basins. However, reconstructing basin evolution using thermochronological data is complicated by the fact that sediments also record the thermal history of their source areas. Moreover, samples frequently contain g...

Numerous heat flow and thermochronological studies have documented suspected thermal effects of deep groundwater flow. However, the high uncertainty and heterogeneity of subsurface permeability hampers model studies of the thermal effect of groundwater flow. New subsurface temperature data from the Roer Valley Graben, a Cenozoic rift basin in the s...

Knowledge of the thermal state of sedimentary basins is often limited by the lack of quality subsurface temperature data and uncertainty of processes (crustal and local scale) controlling those temperatures. A new data set is presented of temperatures taken between 0.5 km and 4.0 km depth from the Roer Valley Graben, the northwestern branch of the...

Apatite fission track thermochronology is a powerful analytical tool used to investigate thermal history and reconstruct geological history of sedimentary basins; especially where parts of the geological record are missing due to erosion. We have used a combined approach of burial history models and apatite fission track analysis to reconstruct the...

We performed a detailed analysis of the thermal state of the Cenozoic Roer Valley Graben, the north–western branch of the European Cenozoic Rift System, based on a new set of temperature data. We developed a numerical technique for correcting bottom hole temperatures, including an evaluation of the uncertainty of thermal parameters. Comparison with...

The calibration of numerical groundwater models is often constrained by a scarcity of water level data that pre-date the development of groundwater resources. This is especially a problem in the dry areas of the developing world where groundwater systems are frequently overexploited and information on pre-development groundwater levels is usually l...

As numerous studies have demonstrated, groundwater flow can have a significant impact on subsurface temperatures, and therefore also on exhumation histories derived from thermochronological studies. Our research aims to quantify this influence by including fluid flow in numerical models for the thermal behaviour of the crust and sediments, and vali...

Information on the thermal state of the upper crust is a prerequisite for establishing deep geothermal systems. By far the most abundant source of information on deep subsurface temperatures are bottom hole temperatures (BHT), which are routinely taken shortly after drilling in hydrocarbon exploration wells. Sequences of three or more BHTs are then...

In many cases, the development of groundwater resources to boost agricultural production in dry areas has led to a continuous decline in groundwater levels; this has called into question the sustainability of such exploitation. In developing countries, limited budgets and scarce hydrological data often do not allow groundwater resources to be asses...

1 Regional tectonic setting of the Roer Valley Graben (RVRS) (From Michon et al. 2003) Fig. 2 Location of cross section and map of the depth of the base of Cenozoic deposits. Ca Tr J CH Pg Ng Fig. 3 Cross-section A-B. See Figure 2 for location of the section and Table 1 for formation codes and description. Table 1. Formation codes, stratigraphic ag...