Scale problems in assessment of hydrogeological parameters of groundwater flow models
Journal Title: Geologos - Year 2015, Vol 21, Issue 3
Abstract
An overview is presented of scale problems in groundwater flow, with emphasis on upscaling of hydraulic conductivity, being a brief summary of the conventional upscaling approach with some attention paid to recently emerged approaches. The focus is on essential aspects which may be an advantage in comparison to the occasionally extremely extensive summaries presented in the literature. In the present paper the concept of scale is introduced as an indispensable part of system analysis applied to hydrogeology. The concept is illustrated with a simple hydrogeological system for which definitions of four major ingredients of scale are presented: (i) spatial extent and geometry of hydrogeological system, (ii) spatial continuity and granularity of both natural and man-made objects within the system, (iii) duration of the system and (iv) continuity /granularity of natural and man-related variables of groundwater flow system. Scales used in hydrogeology are categorised into five classes: micro-scale – scale of pores, meso-scale – scale of laboratory sample, macro-scale – scale of typical blocks in numerical models of groundwater flow, local-scale – scale of an aquifer/aquitard and regional-scale – scale of series of aquifers and aquitards. Variables, parameters and groundwater flow equations for the three lowest scales, i.e., pore-scale, sample-scale and (numerical) block-scale, are discussed in detail, with the aim to justify physically deterministic procedures of upscaling from finer to coarser scales (stochastic issues of upscaling are not discussed here). Since the procedure of transition from sample-scale to block-scale is physically well based, it is a good candidate for upscaling block-scale models to local-scale models and likewise for upscaling local-scale models to regional-scale models. Also the latest results in downscaling from block-scale to sample scale are briefly referred to.
Authors and Affiliations
Grzegorz Sinicyn, Marek Nawalany
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP167932
- DOI 10.1515/logos-2015-0012
- Views 156
- Downloads 0
Factors controlling sedimentation in the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley during the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation: an overview
During the Pleistocene the Scandinavian ice sheet drained huge quantities of sediment-laden meltwaters. These meltwaters supplied ice-marginal valleys that formed parallel to the front of the ice sheet. Not without signi...
Hazardous radioactivity levels and heavy mineral concentrations in beach sediments of Lake Peipsi, northeastern Estonia
The present study discusses results of heavy mineral analyses and radioactivity of beach sediments of Lake Peipsi. Such analyses are commonly done globally, but had not yet been conducted for the fourth largest lake in E...
Soft-sediment deformation structures in cores from lacustrine slurry deposits of the Late Triassic Yanchang Fm. (central China)
The fine-grained autochthonous sedimentation in the deep part of a Late Triassic lake was frequently interrupted by gravity-induced mass flows. Some of these mass flows were so rich in water that they must have represent...
An overview of lithotype associations of Miocene lignite seams exploited in Poland
Currently, three stratigraphically distinct lignite seams of Early to Middle Miocene age are exploited in Poland, namely the third Ścinawa lignite seam (ŚLS-3), the second Lusatian lignite seam (LLS-2) and the first Mid-...
Neogene seismites and seismic volcanic rocks in the Linqu area, Shandong Province, E China
The Yishu Fault Zone runs through the centre of Shandong Province (E China); it is a deep-seated large fault system that still is active. Two volcanic faulted basins (the Shanwang and Linqu Basins) in the Linqu area, wes...