SPECIAL ISSUE

Building a 3D geomodel for water resources management: casestudy in the Regional Park of the lower courses of Manzanaresand Jarama Rivers (Madrid, Spain)

Francisco Carreno Conde • Sandra Garcıa Martınez •

Javier Lillo Ramos • Raquel Fernandez Martınez •

Ariana Mabeth-Montoya Colonia

Received: 26 March 2013 / Accepted: 22 July 2013 / Published online: 13 August 2013

� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract Water resources management of protected sites

requires a powerful tool to analyze the process and changes

that are occurring in the environment. This paper describes

a 3D geomodel design of the Jarama River Detrital Aquifer

located in Madrid (Spain). That hydrogeological unit is

included in the ‘‘Parque Regional de los Cursos Bajos de

los Rıos Manzanares y Jarama’’ (Regional Park of the

Lower Courses of Manzanares and Jarama Rivers). The

goal of this work is to define a method by which a three-

dimensional (3D) model can be created with hydrogeologic

geometry real of main aquifer, to accomplish an adequate

management of the groundwater resources. All data used in

this study were integrated in a geographic database: geo-

logical and hydrogeological information, geological map

(1:25,000), eleven cross-sections, piezometric maps and a

digital elevation model. The constructed 3D model of the

Jarama Aquifer shows geometric features and spatial dis-

tribution and variations of geologic units. Thus, the 3D

model allows the assessment of volumes of each unit, the

depth and thickness variations of the main aquifer, and the

spatial and temporal variations of water tables. From the

3D model, the most suitable areas (in terms of groundwater

protection) for managed recharge and mining works have

been identified.

Keywords 3D hydrogeological model � GIS �Water resources management � Aquifer vulnerability �Jarama river detrital aquifer

Introduction

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques for the

study and analysis of complex geological bodies are

commonly used in hydrocarbon exploration and production

(Perrin et al. 2005), analysis of structural geology (Martelet

et al. 2004), reconstruction of geological surfaces (Fern-

andez et al. 2004), mining exploration (Le Carlier et al.

2009; Feltrin et al. 2009), environmental risk (Wycisk et al.

2009), or hydrogeological modeling for groundwater

resource management (Bonomi 2009; Gallerini and De

Donatis 2009). That is because with a 3D reconstruction it

can be obtained a consistent model that describes a detailed

succession of different layers with their geometrical rela-

tionships and spatial distribution, allowing the estimation

of the volume of each layer. Also, the 3D true represen-

tation allows a better understanding of the complex sub-

surface settings of different units (Nury et al. 2009).

Groundwater resource evaluation and management

require the adequate spatial representation of geological

and hydrogeological information including the regarding

rock layers and water table depth, to obtain depth and

piezometric maps, vertical cross-sections, geometric solu-

tions of the piezometric surface of the aquifers, closed

volumes and data estimation of groundwater reserves in the

aquifer of interest.

There is a clear relationship among the natural resour-

ces, ecosystems, uses of the territory (agriculture and

mining) and groundwater flow systems, as natural equi-

librium can undergo serious changes if an increase in the

F. C. Conde (&) � S. G. Martınez � J. L. Ramos �R. F. Martınez � A. Mabeth-Montoya Colonia

Dpto. de Biology and Geology, University of Rey Juan Carlos,

C/Tulipan s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain

e-mail: francisco.carreno@urjc.es

F. C. Conde � J. L. Ramos

Madrid Institute of Advanced Studies in Water Technologies

IMDEA Water, C/Punto Net 4, Alcala de Henares, 28805

Madrid, Spain

123

Environ Earth Sci (2014) 71:61–66

DOI 10.1007/s12665-013-2694-3

use intensity of resources occurs. For these reasons, anal-

ysis of changes occurring in the territory must be carried

out on a proper basis to make the adequate decisions

regarding the environment management. In this work, it is

shown that how cartographic, topographic, geological and

hydrogeological data can be integrated to generate a 3D

geomodel, giving as a result a powerful basis for ground-

water resources management.

Case study

The studied area is located in the province of Madrid

(Spain), specifically is included in the ‘‘Parque Regional en

torno a los ejes de los cursos bajos de los rıos Manzanares y

Jarama’’ (Regional Park of the Lower Courses of Man-

zanares and Jarama Rivers) and coincides with a site of

community importance (SCI) code SCI-ES-3110006

‘‘Vegas, cuestas y paramos del Sureste’’ (Fig. 1).

The area comprises 194 km2 and is cut-off by 26 km of

the course of the Jarama River running NNE–SSW and

4.5 km of the course of its influent, the Manzanares River.

The Quaternary fluvial deposits of the Jarama River consist

of gravels, sands, and muds, that are resting on Tertiary

sedimentary rocks. The fluvial deposits conform the so-

called Jarama Aquifer, a high-permeability aquifer that is

hydraulically connected to the river.

Continental Tertiary sedimentary rocks are outcropping

in both sides of the fluvial valley. They define four sedi-

mentary units belonging to the Madrid Basin Tertiary

succession (Silva et al. 1988; Perez-Gonzalez 1971):

– Gypsum massive beds, clays and gypsum marls (Mid-

dle Miocene). These materials are overlaid by the

Jarama quaternary deposits, and they define the lower

boundary of the aquifer because of their low

permeability.

– Marls, limestones, and dolostones (Middle Miocene).

These materials are overlaying the gypsum unit,

outcropping in both sides of the valley.

– Conglomerates, sandstones, and claystones related to

an Upper Miocene fluvial basin. This unit is only

outcropping in the left bank slopes.

– Limestones and marly limestones aged Upper Mio-

cene–Pliocene. They constitute a perched aquifer.

Fig. 1 Location map of the

study area and geologic units

considered for the 3D model.

Location of VES (vertical

electrical soundings) profiles is

also shown

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The Jarama detrital aquifer is an unconfined aquifer with

the groundwater level close to ground surface, at depth of

0.25–6 m. The hydraulic parameters calculated by Bardajı

et al. (1990) from pumping test data yielded high to very

high-permeability values, transmissivity values ranging

632–3,300 m2/d and a storativity of 0.07. These features,

along with the hydraulic connection to the river, give as a

result the high vulnerability for the aquifer. Moreover, an

intense quarrying activity has been developed from more

than 20 years, consisting of gravels and sands extraction

affecting the lower terraces of the river. During that period,

the mining works took place in a large number of sites, but

nowadays only six of them are active (Asociacion Nacional

de Empresarios Fabricantes de Aridos 2010). In many sites,

the extraction of material was carried out below the water

table and artificial ponds were generated. Regarding water

abstraction, there are 316 wells located in the aquifer,

which obtain 21.09 hm3/year of water for the neighbor-

hood villages. Thus, the Jarama aquifer is an essential

resource for the water supply in the area. In this frame-

work, it is required to reconcile the protection of the

environment with the quarrying activity in area, so as to

ensure sustainable utilization of mineral resources with no

endangered water resource. For that, or in others words to

accomplish an adequate management of the resources, it is

paramount to define the real geometry of the aquifer. This

is the main goal of the present work.

Data and methodology

All data used in this study were stored in a geographic data

base (GDB) edited in ArcGIS 9.2 for the management of

geological and hydrogeological information. A 3D Core

Builder (3DCB) extension for ArcView 3.x. (O’Neall

1999) with 3D Analyst was used for making 3D lithology

cylinders (i.g. virtual boreholes) and 3D Analyst extension

for ArcGIS 9.2 allowed true surface interpolations. Arc-

Scene application integrated with ArcGIS was selected for

3D visualization because it allows a view of the Geo-

graphic Information System (GIS) data in three

dimensions.

The main data source for this work is the ‘‘Estudio para

la ordenacion de la actividad extractiva en el tramo bajo del

rıo Jarama’’ (‘‘Study for managing the extraction activity in

the lower Jarama river’’) (Bardajı et al. 1990) that provided

a geological map (1:25,000), eleven cross-sections

obtained from vertical electrical soundings (VES) inter-

pretation and piezometric maps of the Jarama River

Detrital Aquifer. In addition, a Digital Elevation Model

(DEM) was obtained for surface topography of 25 m res-

olution and four boreholes from Tajo Hydrographical

Confederation database. The used orthoimages (2000 year)

had a spatial resolution of 0.5 m, as it was required for

methodology development.

The procedure for producing a 3D model can be sum-

marized as follows:

1. Construction and implementation of a GIS with the

tools and functionalities needed to manage the data

(maps, databases, images, 3D viewers) used in this

work.

2. Generation of a GDB that includes all relevant

information for its subsequent integration to the GIS.

The maps 1:25,000 used in this study, including

lithological, piezometric and VES location maps, were

georeferred by 10–15 checkpoints to assure a valid

root mean square error (RMS), always lower than 1.

3. Modelling of the surfaces of the lithological–hydro-

geological units of interest. To elaborate a valid and

realistic 3D model, the following criteria were

considered:

– Boundaries of the lithological units have been

outlined from the geological map, and they have

been revised by interpretation of orthoimages.

– The geological units of the model have been

considered with slight horizontal or subhorizontal

dips close to zero.

– Regarding Quaternary materials, only the lower

river terraces and river channels of the two major

rivers have been digitized, as there is a lack of

detailed data about spatial variability of their size

and/or material thickness of the tributaries river

channels.

– Alluvial fans and glacis deposits have not been

taken into account, given their small average

thickness, out of the 3D model representation

scale.

– Ponds generated from extractive activities have not

been considered due the lack of depth and real

extension data, being rebuilt the limit of the lower

terraces from the original topography.

– Data from eleven VES cross-sections with a total

length of 35.9 km and located transversally to the

Jarama course were incorporated in the model.

They included depth of the lower boundary unit,

thickness of the Quaternary materials and depth of

the water table. Thus, the values of thickness and

depths of profile points spaced every 50 m were

incorporated to the GIS, according to the model

resolution. From this information, it interpolated

the surface that defines the contact between the

aquifer and the lower impermeable unit.

– Geological boundaries were converted to polygon

geometries with attributes that represent the spatial

distribution of lithological–hydrogeological units.

Environ Earth Sci (2014) 71:61–66 63

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The eleven cross-sections distributed along the

study area and spaced 100 m were converted in

virtual 3D boreholes.

– Construction of surfaces of the considered litho-

logical–hydrogeological units was based on a new

point layer with 79,295 elements spaced 50 m.

Thus, the study area was regularly discretized to

obtain virtual 3D lithological boreholes. Each

borehole contains depth data of the upper and

lower surfaces of the units.

– In the case of the Aquifer unit, the upper surface

depth corresponds to the DEM value at that point

and the lower surface depth corresponds to the

depth of the contact between the lower imperme-

able layer and aquifer; therefore, the design of this

surface is crucial in the model. However, the

gypsum unit displays an irregular pattern and its

upper boundary cannot be only obtained from the

geologic map. Alternatively, depths of that bound-

ary were extracted from the VES cross-sections

data.

– The uppermost part of the gypsum formation

corresponds to the calculated surface and the

lowermost limit was established at 450 m.

– The 3D model is based on a constructive method so

that each model surface is processed independently

from the 3D borehole data, assuming that all layers

are characterized by a horizontal disposition and

constant thickness. Interpolation method was

inverse distance weighting (IDW).

4. Construction of piezometric surfaces for different

periods (August 1973, March 1989, September

1989). The isopiezometric curves were converted to

a point layer to build the piezometric surfaces of the

unconfined Jarama Aquifer by IDW interpolation.

5. Model 3D validation. The geologic surfaces must be

interlocked to validate the results. A careful checking

of geological settings, virtual 3D boreholes and surface

topography was performed to detect inconsistencies in

the conceptual geological model and the data sources.

Thus, the revised 3D model contains an individual

representation of each formation, and a complete 3D

model of the Jarama Aquifer is generated when they

are overlaid.

Four layers in the 3D model of the Jarama Aquifer were

considered, defined by lithological and hydrogeological

criteria with and environmental significance: layer 1 is

composed by gypsum of Middle Miocene age, occurring

along both margins of Jarama River; layer 2 consists of

marls, conglomerates and limestone deposits of Middle to

Upper Miocene age occurring in the western section of the

Jarama Valley; layer 3 is composed by gravels and alluvial

deposits of Quaternary age; and layer 4 is made up by

limestone, marls, conglomerates and terrace deposits of

Quaternary age. This study is focused on layer 3 and layer

1. Layer 1 consists of gypsum and is considered the

basement of the Jarama aquifer system, defining a very low

permeable formation and a natural barrier that confines and

prevents a possible transport or dispersion of a potential

contaminant plume. The defined upper boundary surface of

the layer 1 is similar to that outlined in the VES cross-

sections and its lateral continuity is coherent with the

surface in the geological map. Layer 3 is composed by

gravels and is considered the main aquifer; therefore, it is

very important to know their geometry and spatial

boundaries for groundwater management, especially, if this

unit is affected by extractive industries (gravels) whose

management should be sustainable by law.

Results and discussion

The 3D model of the Jarama Aquifer shows the spatial

distribution, geometric features and variability of geologic

units, and their relationship with the land surface (Fig. 2).

The design allows the display of all units as a detailed

succession of layers or alternatively, the model allows

working with each formation independently (Fig. 3).

The results are correct and coherent with the general

geological knowledge for the area; however, the local

spatial variations of the Tertiary and Quaternary sediments

or topographic variations due to human activities could not

be included in the model to obtain a more accurate envi-

ronmental setting. In 3D modelling, a key point is that a

‘‘true’’ model depends on density and availability of

information according to scale (Wycisk et al. 2009). As

more data are included, models are more realistic (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 Representation of the real 3D model of the studied area

showing boreholes cross-sections and a layer contact surface. Each

considered layer is differentiated by a colour: Layer 1 brown; Layer 2

yellow; Layer 3 orange; and Layer 4 gray

64 Environ Earth Sci (2014) 71:61–66

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In the model, the unconfined Jarama Aquifer volume is

estimated around 9,250 hm3 with a maximum water stor-

age of 1,250 hm3. The created isopach map shows a

thickness variation of the main aquifer from 1 to 56 m,

with the maximum depths located to the northeastern and

southeastern parts of the study area hm3 (Fig. 4a).

Analysis of the piezometric models obtained from 1973

to 1989 shows a light increase of the water table depth

(mean of 0.39 m), being the estimated volume increase of

27 hm3 (Fig. 4b) (2.15 % of the aquifer storage). The

maximum increase is located along the aquifer and the

main decrease is located at the northwestern and the

southern parts of the aquifer.

The 3D model allows the definition of those zones

where managed aquifer recharge by infiltration may be

better applied or alternatively, those zones where water

abstraction could less affect the natural hydrological

regime and water quality. As an example, if aquifer

recharge is based on the reuse of treated wastewater, the

best zones would be those with highest aquifer thickness

(higher reserve potential) and deepest water table (less

vulnerability). In addition, the 3D model allows the iden-

tification of those areas carrying on mining activities with a

lower environmental impact (e.g. those with highest

thickness and deepest water table). However, it must be

taken into account that those sectors with the highest water

variation probably are already affected by an intensive

groundwater extraction.

However, there are strong limitations in this 3D model,

mainly arising from the lack of detailed geological infor-

mation (e.g. lateral variation of sedimentary units) and

hydrological data (e.g. hydraulic parameters) as well as

detailed information of mining works, including excavation

geometry and filling deposits. Thus, the constructed 3D

model has to be considered as a simplification of the

geological and hydrogeological systems of the study zone.

It is a valuable tool for environmental management, but it

has to be kept in mind that the model requires being refined

to obtain more realistic conclusions for making decisions.

Conclusions

A 3D model of Jarama Aquifer has been constructed using

GIS techniques for a better understanding of the complex

subsurface settings as the model enhances the visual

interpretation of the sedimentary layers that form the

aquifer.

The 3D model is based on a constructive method that

uses a variety of geological, hydrogeological and topo-

graphic data compiled from geologic maps, boreholes,

Fig. 3 Visualization of the 3D main Jarama aquifer system model

(layer 3 gravels) with the Manzanares and Jarama courses

Fig. 4 a Isopach map showing

thickness variation of the main

aquifer from 1 to 56 m. b Water

table variation from 1973 to

1989

Environ Earth Sci (2014) 71:61–66 65

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cross-sections, DTM and outcrops whose integration

allows the assessment of the geometry and spatial vari-

ability and the volume of the sedimentary layers and water

storages.

The piezometric surface is generally near to the surface

zones and in most of the cases there exist a hydraulic

connection among the aquifer, the river and the ponds. The

intersection between the main aquifer isopach and piezo-

metric models can help to identify areas with higher risks

derived from an intense groundwater exploitation rate,

extractive mining activity or groundwater contamination,

which is paramount for the management and conservation

of the regional natural park. In addition, the model can also

be used to analyze the different scenarios for natural

recharge, to identify areas for managed recharge, and to use

for planning of water and environmental resources. The 3D

model is a valuable tool for the assessment of aquifer

vulnerability and water storage variation, due to water

abstraction as caused by mining extraction of solid

material.

The Jarama Aquifer 3D model represents a key tool to

estimate the natural resources, environmental risk and

potential negative impact derived for anthropogenic

activities. It is required for a correct management of the

regional park, allowing the application of regulations to

mitigate the negative effects of human activities.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Marıa Bascones and

Luis Toribio from the Directorate General for the Environment,

Department of Water Quality of the Community of Madrid for his

support and the information. They also wish to thank Mercedes

Echegaray (Hydrographic Confederation of Tagus River) for this

comments and suggestions.

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