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Equivalent porous media (EPM) simulation of groundwater hydraulics and contaminant transport in Karst aquifers

Ghasemizadeh, Reza; Yu, Xue; Butscher, Christoph 1; Hellweger, Ferdi; Padilla, Ingrid; Alshawabkeh, Akram
1 Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften (AGW), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

Karst aquifers have a high degree of heterogeneity and anisotropy in their geologic and hydrogeologic properties which makes predicting their behavior difficult. This paper evaluates the application of the Equivalent Porous Media (EPM) approach to simulate groundwater hydraulics and contaminant transport in karst aquifers using an example from the North Coast limestone aquifer system in Puerto Rico. The goal is to evaluate if the EPM approach, which approximates the karst features with a conceptualized, equivalent continuous medium, is feasible for an actual project, based on available data and the study scale and purpose. Existing National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data and previous hydrogeological U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) studies were used to define the model input parameters. Hydraulic conductivity and specific yield were estimated using measured groundwater heads over the study area and further calibrated against continuous water level data of three USGS observation wells. The water-table fluctuation results indicate that the model can practically reflect the steady-state groundwater hydraulics (normalized RMSE of 12.4%) and long-term variability (normalized RMSE of 3.0%) at regional and intermediate scales and can be applied to predict future water table behavior under different hydrogeological conditions. ... mehr


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000059885
Originalveröffentlichung
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138954
Scopus
Zitationen: 40
Web of Science
Zitationen: 40
Dimensions
Zitationen: 43
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften (AGW)
KIT-Zentrum Klima und Umwelt (ZKU)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2015
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 1932-6203
urn:nbn:de:swb:90-598857
KITopen-ID: 1000059885
Erschienen in PLoS one
Verlag Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Band 10
Heft 9
Seiten Art. Nr. : e138954
Nachgewiesen in Dimensions
Web of Science
Scopus
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