Technical note: Disentangling the groundwater response to Earth and atmospheric tides to improve subsurface characterisation

Abstract

The groundwater response to Earth tides and atmospheric pressure changes can be used to understand subsurface processes and estimate hydraulic and hydro-mechanical properties. We develop a generalised frequency domain approach to disentangle the impacts of Earth and atmospheric tides on groundwater level responses. By considering the complex harmonic properties of the signal, we improve upon a previous method for quantifying barometric efficiency (BE), while simultaneously assessing system confinement and estimating hydraulic conductivity and specific storage. We demonstrate and validate this novel approach using an example barometric and groundwater pressure record with strong Earth tide influences. Our method enables improved and rapid assessment of subsurface processes and properties using standard pressure measurements.