Regional similarities in the distribution of well yield from crystalline rocks in Fennoscandia

Abstract

Well yields from Precambrian and Palaeozoic bedrock in Norway, Sweden and Finland exhibit very similar and approximately log-normal distributions: all three data sets exhibit a median yield of 600-700 L hr-1, despite the differences in climate and lithology. This similarity is tentatively reflected on a larger geographical scale by a meta-analysis of the international data sets on crystalline rock aquifers from other recently glaciated areas (i.e., without a thick regolith of weathered rock). An heuristic treatment of the Fennoscandian data sets suggests that this median yield is consistent with the following bulk properties of shallow (to c. 70-80 m depth) crystalline bedrock: transmissivity of 0.56 \u00B1 0.30 m2 d-1 (6.4 \u00B1 3.4 x 10-6 m2 s-1) and hydraulic conductivity of around 1.1 (\u00B1 0.6) x 10-7 m s-1.