Geological heterogeneity: Goal-oriented simplification of structure and characterization needs

Savoy, Heather; Kalbacher, Thomas; Dietrich, Peter; Rubin, Yoram

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.08.017

Title: Geological heterogeneity: Goal-oriented simplification of structure and characterization needs

Journal Article · 01 September 2017 · Advances in Water Resources

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.08.017 · OSTI ID:1462037

Savoy, Heather ^[1]; Kalbacher, Thomas ^[2]; Dietrich, Peter ^[3]; Rubin, Yoram ^[1]

University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany)
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany); Univ. of Tubingen (Germany)

Geological heterogeneity, i.e. the spatial variability of discrete hydrogeological units, is investigated in an aquifer analog of glacio-fluvial sediments to determine how such a geological structure can be simplified for characterization needs. Here, the aquifer analog consists of ten hydrofacies whereas the scarcity of measurements in typical field studies precludes such detailed spatial models of hydraulic properties. Of particular interest is the role of connectivity of the hydrofacies structure, along with its effect on the connectivity of mass transport, in site characterization for predicting early arrival times. Transport through three realizations of the aquifer analog is modeled with numerical particle tracking to ascertain the fast flow channel through which early arriving particles travel. Three simplification schemes of two-facies models are considered to represent the aquifer analogs, and the velocity within the fast flow channel is used to estimate the apparent hydraulic conductivity of the new facies. The facies models in which the discontinuous patches of high hydraulic conductivity are separated from the rest of the domain yield the closest match in early arrival times compared to the aquifer analog, but assuming a continuous high hydraulic conductivity channel connecting these patches yields underestimated early arrivals times within the range of variability between the realizations, which implies that the three simplification schemes could be advised but pose different implications for field measurement campaigns. Overall, the results suggest that the result of transport connectivity, i.e. early arrival times, within realistic geological heterogeneity can be conserved even when the underlying structural connectivity is modified.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; EAR-1011336

OSTI ID:: 1462037

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1549905

Journal Information:: Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 109, Issue C; ISSN 0309-1708

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Geological heterogeneity: Goal-oriented simplification of structure and characterization needs

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