Variable density groundwater flow

From modelling to applications

authored by

C. T. Simmons, P. Bauer-Gottwein, T. Graf, W. Kinzelbach, H. Kooi, L. Li, V. Post, H. Prommer, R. Therrien, C. I. Voss, J. Ward, A. Werner

Abstract

Arid and semi-arid climates are mainly characterised as those areas where precipitation is less (and often considerably less) than potential evapotranspiration. These climate regions are ideal environments for salt to accumulate in natural soil and groundwater settings since evaporation and transpiration essentially remove freshwater from the system, leaving residual salts behind. Similarly, the characteristically low precipitation rates reduce the potential for salt to be diluted by rainfall. Thus arid and semi-arid regions make ideal ‘salt concentrator’ hydrologic environments. Indeed, salt flats, playas, sabkhas and saline lakes, for example, are ubiquitous features of arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world (Yechieli and Wood,2002). In such settings, variable density flow phenomena are expected to be important, especially where hypersaline brines overlie less dense groundwater at depth. In contrast, seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers is a global phenomenon that is not constrained to only arid and semi-arid regions of the globe and is inherently a variable density flow problem by its very nature. These two examples make it clear that variable density flow problems occur in, but importantly extend beyond, arid and semi-arid regions of the globe. The intention of this chapter is therefore not to limit ourselves to modelling arid zone hydrological systems, but rather to present a more general treatment of variable density groundwater flow and solute transport phenomena and modelling. The concepts presented in this chapter are therefore not climatologically constrained to arid or semi-arid zones of the world, although they do apply equally there.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Environmental Physics in Civil Engineering

External Organisation(s)

Flinders University
Technical University of Denmark
ETH Zurich
Vrije Universiteit
Hohai University
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Universite Laval
U.S. Geological Survey

Type

Contribution to book/anthology

Volume

9780521111294

Pages

87-118

No. of pages

32

Publication date

2010

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511760280.008 (Access: Closed)