Modeling an Aquifer: Numerical Solution to the Groundwater Flow Equation

TL;DR

This paper develops a finite difference numerical model to simulate groundwater flow in aquifers, considering isotropic and anisotropic media, and applies it to the Ayamonte-Huelva aquifer for initial analysis and potential resource management.

Contribution

It introduces a computational routine for solving groundwater flow equations in both isotropic and anisotropic media using finite difference methods, applied to real aquifer data.

Findings

Computed average discharge vectors for the aquifer.

Provided initial flux estimates for resource exploitation.

Calibrated the model with geophysical parameters.

Abstract

We present a model of groundwater dynamics under stationary flow and governed by Darcy's Law of water motion through porous media, we apply it to study a 2D aquifer with water table of constant slope comprised of an homogeneous and isotropic media, the more realistic case of an homogeneous anisotropic soil is also considered. Taking into account some geophysical parameters we develop a computational routine, in the Finite Difference Method, that solves the resulting elliptic partial equation, both in a homogeneous isotropic and homogeneous anisotropic media. After calibration of the numerical model, this routine is used to begin a study of the Ayamonte-Huelva aquifer in Spain, a modest analysis of the system is given, we compute the average discharge vector as well as its root mean square as a first predictive approximation of the flux in this system, providing us a signal of the location of best exploitation; long term goal is to develop a complete computational tool for the analysis of groundwater dynamics.