Ward Sanford
Ward Sanford is a Research Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Dr. Ward Sanford received a B.S. from Purdue University in Geology in 1983 and a PhD in Hydrogeology from Penn State University in 1987. He has been with the USGS Water Resources Discipline's National Research Program full time since 1987. He has been active in research on problems of regional groundwater flow and transport throughout the United States and the world. Field areas have included West Texas, Central New Mexico, Virginia, Thailand, Hungary, Central America, and the United Arab Emirates. He has been a consultant to the U. S. State Department and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He received the Geological Society of America Young Scientist Award (Donath Medal) in 1995 and the National Ground Water Association John Hem Award in 2000. He is coauthor of the widely used graduate level textbook entitled "Groundwater in Geologic Processes". He is a senior fellow of the Geological Society of America, and a member of the American Geophysical Union, the National Ground Water Association, and the International Association of Hydrogeologists.
Science and Products
Hydrology of the coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Geothermal convection: a mechanism for dolomitization at Enewetak Atoll?
Numerical modelling of geothermal and reflux circulation in Enewetak Atoll: Implications for dolomitization
Numerical analysis of seawater circulation in carbonate platforms: I. Geothermal convection
Constant-concentration boundary condition: Lessons from the HYDROCOIN variable-density groundwater benchmark problem
Correcting for diffusion in carbon-14 dating of ground water
Assessment of a ground water flow model of the Bangkok Basin, Thailand, using carbon-14-based ages and paleohydrology
Eolian transport, saline lake basins, and groundwater solutes
Paleohydrologic record from lake brine on the southern High Plains, Texas
Groundwater transport of crater-lake brine at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica
Large lake basins of the southern High Plains: Ground-water control of their origin?
Brine evolution and mineral deposition in hydrologically open evaporite basins
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Hydrology of the coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Water fluxes were estimated and a water budget developed for the land surface and a surficial 10-m-deep section of the coastal sabkhas that extend from the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, west to the border with Saudi Arabia. The fluxes were estimated on the basis of water levels and hydraulic conductivities measured in wells and evaporation rates measured with a humidity chamber. In contAuthorsWard E. Sanford, Warren W. WoodGeothermal convection: a mechanism for dolomitization at Enewetak Atoll?
Geothermal convection in carbonate platforms could drive massive dolomitization by supplying mass transport of magnesium over long periods and at temperatures high enough to overcome kinetic limitations. Reactive-transport simulations based on Enewetak Atoll show dolomitization in a thin band at a permeability contrast near the base of the platform, which is consistent with field observations of dAuthorsA.M. Wilson, W. Sanford, F. Whitaker, P. SmartNumerical modelling of geothermal and reflux circulation in Enewetak Atoll: Implications for dolomitization
Two types of regional-scale seawater circulation have been proposed to explain the formation of Enewetak Atoll dolomites: geothermal and reflux circulation. We have used a finite element groundwater flow model to examine the pattern, magnitude and dynamic interaction of these two different circulation mechanisms in Enewetak Atoll. Geothermal circulation is concentrated around the atoll-margin wherAuthorsG. Jones, F. Whitaker, P. Smart, W. SanfordNumerical analysis of seawater circulation in carbonate platforms: I. Geothermal convection
Differences in fluid density between cold ocean water and warm ground water can drive the circulation of seawater through carbonate platforms. The circulating water can be the major source of dissolved constituents for diagenetic reactions such as dolomitization. This study was undertaken to investigate the conditions under which such circulation can occur and to determine which factors control boAuthorsWard E. Sanford, F. F. Whitaker, P. L. Smart, G. JonesConstant-concentration boundary condition: Lessons from the HYDROCOIN variable-density groundwater benchmark problem
In a solute-transport model, if a constant-concentration boundary condition is applied at a node in an active flow field, a solute flux can occur by both advective and dispersive processes. The potential for advective release is demonstrated by reexamining the Hydrologic Code Intercomparison (HYDROCOIN) project case 5 problem, which represents a salt dome overlain by a shallow groundwater system.AuthorsLeonard F. Konikow, W. E. Sanford, P.J. CampbellCorrecting for diffusion in carbon-14 dating of ground water
It has generally been recognized that molecular diffusion can be a significant process affecting the transport of carbon-14 in the subsurface when occurring either from a permeable aquifer into a confining layer or from a fracture into a rock matrix. An analytical solution that is valid for steady-state radionuclide transport through fractured rock is shown to be applicable to many multilayered aqAuthorsW. E. SanfordAssessment of a ground water flow model of the Bangkok Basin, Thailand, using carbon-14-based ages and paleohydrology
A study was undertaken to understand the groundwater flow conditions in the Bangkok Basin, Thailand, by comparing 14C-based and simulated groundwater ages. 14C measurements were made on about 50 water samples taken from wells throughout the basin. Simulated ages were obtained using 1) backward-pathline tracking based on the well locations, and 2) results from a three-dimensional groundwater flow mAuthorsW. E. Sanford, S. BuapengEolian transport, saline lake basins, and groundwater solutes
Eolian processes associated with saline lakes are shown to be important in determining solute concentration in groundwater in arid and semiarid areas. Steady state mass balance analyses of chloride in the groundwater at Double Lakes, a saline lake basin in the southern High Plains of Texas, United States, suggest that approximately 4.5 × 105 kg of chloride is removed from the relatively small (4.7AuthorsWarren W. Wood, Ward E. SanfordPaleohydrologic record from lake brine on the southern High Plains, Texas
The timing of changes in the stage and salinity of Double Lakes of Lynn County, Texas, was estimated using dissolved-chloride profiles across an underlying shale layer. Lake conditions over the past 30 to 50 ka can be inferred from the chloride profiles by using the advective velocity of the pore water through the shale and an appropriate coefficient of molecular diffusion. The profiles suggest thAuthorsWard E. Sanford, Warren W. WoodGroundwater transport of crater-lake brine at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica
Poa´s Volcano is an active stratovolcano in Costa Rica that has a lake in its active crater. The crater lake has high temperatures (50–90 °C), high acidity (pH ≈ 0.0), and a high dissolved-solids content (100 g/kg). The volcano has numerous freshwater springs on its flanks, but a few on the northwestern flank are highly acidic (pH = 1.6–2.5) and have high dissolved-solids concentrations (2–22 g/kgAuthorsWard E. Sanford, Leonard F. Konikow, Gary L. Rowe, Susan L. BrantleyLarge lake basins of the southern High Plains: Ground-water control of their origin?
The origin of the ∼40-50 topographically large lake basins on the southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico has been an enigma. Previous workers have considered deflation or evaporite dissolution at depth and subsequent collapse as the most probable mechanisms. However, the eolian hypotheses have been unable to provide convincing arguments as to how the wind selectively erodes the thick, deflatAuthorsW.W. Wood, W. E. Sanford, C.C. ReevesBrine evolution and mineral deposition in hydrologically open evaporite basins
A lumped-parameter, solute mass-balance model is developed to define the role of water outflow from a well-mixed basin. A mass-balance model is analyzed with a geochemical model designed for waters with high ionic strengths. Two typical waters, seawater and a Na-HCO3 ground water, are analyzed to illustrate the control that the leakage ratio (or hydrologic openness of the basin) has on brine evoluAuthorsW. E. Sanford, W.W. Wood - News