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Groundwater Flow and Transport Models

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 14035

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Hydraulic Structures, Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 181/A, 43124 Parma (PR), Italy
Interests: small-scale hydraulic problems; mathematical models of flooding; deterministic flow and transport models in groundwater; stochastic models of transport in groundwater; solution of inverse problems in groundwater; impacts of climate change on water resources; surrogate models for groundwater

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Guest Editor
Polytechnic of Turin, Turin, Italy
Interests: groundwater; geostatistics; river levees; inverse problems; mini/micro hydro; water in buildings

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
Interests: groundwater; parameter identification; groundwater hydrology; contaminant transport; inverse problems; contaminated sites; flow and transport modelling; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy
Interests: inverse problems in surface hydrology; hydraulics and groundwater modeling; impacts of climate change on meteorological variables and water resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundwater is a valuable resource for water supply, irrigation, industry, but also for the environment as a whole. It is endangered by overexploitation, pollution, and climate change. The need to analyze the effect of anthropogenic and climatic forcing requires the development of accurate and reliable numerical models, with a reasonably fast execution speed.

This Special Issue focuses on recent advances and possible developments in modeling of flow and transport in groundwater. We invite researchers to present contributions dealing with the most different approaches for groundwater modeling possibly carried out with the use of parallel computing, new numerical techniques, surrogate models, and neural networks.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Saturated/unsaturated flow;
  • Seawater intrusion;
  • Identification of flow and transport parameters through inverse approaches;
  • Estimation of the contaminant source location and its release in time;
  • Modeling remediation actions of aquifers contaminated by point sources, by diffuse spreading, even by NAPL contaminants;
  •  Validation of groundwater simulation models through experimental data.

Prof. Dr. Maria Giovanna Tanda
Prof. Dr. Ilaria Butera
Prof. Dr. Andrea Zanini
Prof. Dr. Marco D’Oria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater
  • groundwater modeling
  • transport in groundwater
  • inverse problems in groundwater
  • seawater intrusion
  • groundwater surrogate models
  • groundwater neural network
  • saturated/unsaturated models
  • groundwater pollution
  • pollutant source characterization

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1935 KiB  
Article
Backward Location and Travel Time Probabilities for Pollutants Moving in Three-Dimensional Aquifers: Governing Equations and Scale Effect
by Chaloemporn Ponprasit, Yong Zhang and Wei Wei
Water 2022, 14(4), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040624 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1898
Abstract
Backward probabilities have been used for decades to track hydrologic targets such as pollutants in water, but the convenient deviation and scale effect of backward probabilities remain unknown. This study derived backward probabilities for groundwater pollutants and evaluated their scale effect in heterogeneous [...] Read more.
Backward probabilities have been used for decades to track hydrologic targets such as pollutants in water, but the convenient deviation and scale effect of backward probabilities remain unknown. This study derived backward probabilities for groundwater pollutants and evaluated their scale effect in heterogeneous aquifers. Three particle-moving methods, including the backward-in-time discrete random-walk (DRW), the backward-in-time continuous time random-walk (CTRW), and the particle mass balance, were proposed to derive the governing equation of backward location and travel time probabilities of contaminants. The resultant governing equations verified Kolmogorov’s backward equation and extended it to transient flow fields and aquifers with spatially varying porosity values. An improved backward-in-time random walk particle tracking technique was then applied to approximate the backward probabilities. Next, the scale effect of backward probabilities of contamination was analyzed quantitatively. Numerical results showed that the backward probabilities were sensitive to the vertical location and length of screened intervals in a three-dimensional heterogeneous alluvial aquifer, whereas the variation in borehole diameters did not influence the backward probabilities. The scale effect of backward probabilities was due to different flow paths reaching individual intervals under strong influences of subsurface hydrodynamics and heterogeneity distributions, even when the well screen was as short as ~2 m and surrounded by highly permeable sediments. Further analysis indicated that if the scale effect was ignored, significant errors may appear in applications of backward probabilities of groundwater contamination. This study, therefore, provides convenient methods to build backward probability models and sheds light on applications relying on backward probabilities with a scale effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Flow and Transport Models)
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13 pages, 2790 KiB  
Article
Development of a Distributed Mathematical Model and Control System for Reducing Pollution Risk in Mineral Water Aquifer Systems
by Alexander V. Martirosyan, Yury V. Ilyushin and Olga V. Afanaseva
Water 2022, 14(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020151 - 7 Jan 2022
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 3455
Abstract
The article is devoted to the problem of the growing need of the mineral water fields’ exploitation process automation. The implementation of control systems and mathematical modeling methods can significantly reduce the fields’ structural integrity violation and pollution of aquifers risks. This research [...] Read more.
The article is devoted to the problem of the growing need of the mineral water fields’ exploitation process automation. The implementation of control systems and mathematical modeling methods can significantly reduce the fields’ structural integrity violation and pollution of aquifers risks. This research is especially relevant for the fields with difficult conditions of mineral waters occurrence, since the insufficient accuracy of determining the fields’ operating mode parameters can lead to a severe incident. The article describes a distributed mathematical model developed from the geo-filtration equation. Based on this model, a new method for assessing the mutual influence of the fields, the production of which is carried out from one aquifer, is presented. For a more detailed study of the operating mode parameters influence on the object a physical model of the reservoir was developed. The using of Arduino sensors and the developed software allows us to construct a 3D graph of the input action and its response at the different points of the object as temperature distribution. The simulation results make it possible to use the proposed model for the automatic control system synthesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Flow and Transport Models)
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22 pages, 33086 KiB  
Article
Mapping Interflow Potential and the Validation of Index-Overlay Weightings by Using Coupled Surface Water and Groundwater Flow Model
by Chuen-Fa Ni, Quoc-Dung Tran, I-Hsien Lee, Minh-Hoang Truong and Shaohua Marko Hsu
Water 2021, 13(17), 2452; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172452 - 6 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4203
Abstract
Interflow is an important water source contributing to river flow. It directly influences the near-surface water cycles for water resource management. This study focuses on assessing the interflow potential and quantifying the interflow in the downstream area along the Kaoping River in southern [...] Read more.
Interflow is an important water source contributing to river flow. It directly influences the near-surface water cycles for water resource management. This study focuses on assessing the interflow potential and quantifying the interflow in the downstream area along the Kaoping River in southern Taiwan. The interflow potential is first determined based on the modified index-overlay model, which employs the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to calculate the ratings and weightings of the selected factors. The groundwater and surface water flow (GSFLOW) numerical model is then used to link the index-overlay model to quantify the interflow potential for practical applications. This study uses the Monte Carlo simulations to assess the influence of rainfall-induced variations on the interflow uncertainty in the study area. Results show that the high potential interflow zones are located in the high to middle elevation regions along the Kaoping River. Numerical simulations of the GSFLOW model show an interflow variation pattern that is similar to the interflow potential results obtained from the index-overlay model. The average interflow rates are approximately 3.5 × 104 (m3/d) in the high elevation zones and 2.0 × 104 (m3/d) near the coastal zones. The rainfall uncertainty strongly influences interflow rates in the wet seasons, especially the peaks of the storms or heavy rainfall events. Interflow rates are relatively stable in the dry seasons, indicating that interflow is a reliable water resource in the study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Flow and Transport Models)
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20 pages, 7025 KiB  
Article
Effects of Decaying Hydraulic Conductivity on the Groundwater Flow Processes in a Managed Aquifer Recharge Area in an Alluvial Fan
by Peipeng Wu, Lijuan Zhang, Bin Chang and Shuhong Wang
Water 2021, 13(12), 1649; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13121649 - 11 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3106
Abstract
Groundwater artificial recharge and medium characteristics represent the major factors in controlling the groundwater flow processes in managed aquifer recharge areas. According to the depositional features of alluvial fans, an analogous homogeneous phreatic sand tank aquifer and the corresponding inhomogeneous scale numerical models [...] Read more.
Groundwater artificial recharge and medium characteristics represent the major factors in controlling the groundwater flow processes in managed aquifer recharge areas. According to the depositional features of alluvial fans, an analogous homogeneous phreatic sand tank aquifer and the corresponding inhomogeneous scale numerical models were established to investigate the groundwater flow under the combined influence of artificial recharge (human activities) and decaying hydraulic conductivity (medium characteristics). In this study, groundwater flow through a managed aquifer recharge area in an alluvial fan was analyzed under the conditions of decaying hydraulic conductivity (K) with depth or length from apex to apron. The results showed that groundwater flow processes induced by artificial recharge were significantly controlled by the increasing decay exponents of K. The decaying K with depth or length in alluvial fan areas expanded the degree of influence of artificial recharge on groundwater flow. With the increase of decay exponents, the flow directions gradually changed from a horizontal to vertical direction. Groundwater age and spatial variability could also be increased by the increasing decay exponents. The residence time distributions (RTDs) of ambient groundwater and artificially recharged water exhibited logarithmic, exponential, and power law behavior. Penetration depth and travel times of ambient groundwater flow could be affected by artificial recharge and decay exponents. Furthermore, with the increase of decay exponents, the thickness of the artificially recharged water lens and travel times of artificially recharged water were increased. These findings have important implications for the performance of managed aquifer recharge in alluvial fan areas as well as the importance of considering the gradual decrease of K with depth and length. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Flow and Transport Models)
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