Title: Push-pull tracer tests: Their information content and use for characterizing non-Fickian, mobile-immobile behavior: INFORMATION CONTENT OF PUSH-PULL TESTS

Abstract

Path reversibility and radial symmetry are often assumed in push-pull tracer test analysis. In reality, heterogeneous flow fields mean that both assumptions are idealizations. In this paper, to understand their impact, we perform a parametric study which quantifies the scattering effects of ambient flow, local-scale dispersion, and velocity field heterogeneity on push-pull breakthrough curves and compares them to the effects of mobile-immobile mass transfer (MIMT) processes including sorption and diffusion into secondary porosity. We identify specific circumstances in which MIMT overwhelmingly determines the breakthrough curve, which may then be considered uninformative about drift and local-scale dispersion. Assuming path reversibility, we develop a continuous-time-random-walk-based interpretation framework which is flow-field-agnostic and well suited to quantifying MIMT. Adopting this perspective, we show that the radial flow assumption is often harmless: to the extent that solute paths are reversible, the breakthrough curve is uninformative about velocity field heterogeneity. Our interpretation method determines a mapping function (i.e., subordinator) from travel time in the absence of MIMT to travel time in its presence. A mathematical theory allowing this function to be directly “plugged into” an existing Laplace-domain transport model to incorporate MIMT is presented and demonstrated. Algorithms implementing the calibration are presented and applied to interpretationmore » of data from a push-pull test performed in a heterogeneous environment. A successful four-parameter fit is obtained, of comparable fidelity to one obtained using a million-node 3-D numerical model. In conclusion, we demonstrate analytically and numerically how push-pull tests quantifying MIMT are sensitive to remobilization, but not immobilization, kinetics.« less

Authors:

Hansen, Scott K.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8022-0123"

Berkowitz, Brian  ^[2];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-3078-1859"

Vesselinov, Velimir V. ^[3]; O'Malley, Daniel ^[3]; Karra, Satish ^[3]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Computational Earth Sciences Group (EES-16), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos New Mexico USA; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot Israel
2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot Israel
3. Computational Earth Sciences Group (EES-16), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos New Mexico USA

Publication Date:

Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016

Research Org.:

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:

1338755

Report Number(s):

LA-UR-16-20526
Journal ID: ISSN 0043-1397

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC52-06NA25396; 11145687

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Water Resources Research

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 52; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 0043-1397

Publisher:

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Mathematics; Planetary Sciences