HR: 09:25h
AN: H31F-06 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Can a Ground Water Flow Model be Validated?
AU: * Yeh, T J
EM: yeh@hwr.arizona.edu
AF: The University of Arizona, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, John Harshbarger Building 1133 E. James Roger Drive, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
AU: Xiang, J
EM: xjw@email.arizona.edu
AF: The University of Arizona, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, John Harshbarger Building 1133 E. James Roger Drive, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
AU: Khaleel, R
EM: Raziuddin_Khaleel@rl.gov
AF: Fluor Government Group, P.O. Box 1050, Richland, WA 99352, United States
AB: Multi-scale spatial and temporal variability of inflow and outflow of groundwater basins are well-known facts. Multi- scale aquifer heterogeneity is a reality. Traditional in-situ borehole characterization and monitoring methods can cover only a fraction of a groundwater basin. Consequently, our knowledge of a groundwater basin is limited and uncertain. Our lack of knowledge and information about groundwater basins has led to grossly misleading predictions of groundwater flow and contaminant migration. Validity of our subsurface model as such has been seriously questioned, as has our ability to predict flow and solute migration in aquifers. Groundwater resources management virtually becomes a matter of political debate without much scientific basis. Recent advances in hydrologic and geophysical tomographic survey technologies have brought forth cost- effective means to characterize aquifer spatial heterogeneity. This paper discusses an application of hydraulic tomographic survey to characterization of heterogeneous sandboxes. It demonstrates that detailed characterization can lead to satisfactory predictions, using a ground water flow model, of drawdown evolution induced by pumping tests. We thereby advocate high-resolution characterization and monitoring of the subsurface such that reliable assessment and proper management of our groundwater resources is possible.
DE: 0550 Model verification and validation
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1846 Model calibration (3333)
DE: 1869 Stochastic hydrology
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly