Comparison of a karst groundwater model with and without discrete conduit flow

Karst aquifers exhibit a dual flow system characterized by interacting conduit and matrix domains. This study evaluated the coupled continuum pipe-flow framework for modeling karst groundwater flow in the Madison aquifer of western South Dakota (USA). Coupled conduit and matrix flow was simulated wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrogeology journal 2013-11, Vol.21 (7), p.1555-1566
Main Authors: Saller, Stephen P., Ronayne, Michael J., Long, Andrew J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Aquifers
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
Conduits
Continuums
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental tracers
Flow system
Fluid flow
Geology
Geophysics/Geodesy
Groundwater flow
Hydraulics
Hydrogeology
Hydrologic modeling
Hydrology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Karst
Numerical analysis
Observation wells
Porous media
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
Water Quality/Water Pollution
Water springs
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Summary:Karst aquifers exhibit a dual flow system characterized by interacting conduit and matrix domains. This study evaluated the coupled continuum pipe-flow framework for modeling karst groundwater flow in the Madison aquifer of western South Dakota (USA). Coupled conduit and matrix flow was simulated within a regional finite-difference model over a 10-year transient period. An existing equivalent porous medium (EPM) model was modified to include major conduit networks whose locations were constrained by dye-tracing data and environmental tracer analysis. Model calibration data included measured hydraulic heads at observation wells and estimates of discharge at four karst springs. Relative to the EPM model, the match to observation well hydraulic heads was substantially improved with the addition of conduits. The inclusion of conduit flow allowed for a simpler hydraulic conductivity distribution in the matrix continuum. Two of the high-conductivity zones in the EPM model, which were required to indirectly simulate the effects of conduits, were eliminated from the new model. This work demonstrates the utility of the coupled continuum pipe-flow method and illustrates how karst aquifer model parameterization is dependent on the physical processes that are simulated.
ISSN:1431-2174
1435-0157
DOI:10.1007/s10040-013-1036-6