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A new numerical benchmark of a freshwater lens
Author(s) -
Stoeckl L.,
Walther M.,
Graf T.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2015wr017989
Subject(s) - saltwater intrusion , benchmark (surveying) , aquifer , lens (geology) , hydrogeology , variable (mathematics) , environmental science , seawater intrusion , hydrology (agriculture) , groundwater , computer science , geology , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , petroleum engineering , geodesy , mathematical analysis
A numerical benchmark for 2‐D variable‐density flow and solute transport in a freshwater lens is presented. The benchmark is based on results of laboratory experiments conducted by Stoeckl and Houben (2012) using a sand tank on the meter scale. This benchmark describes the formation and degradation of a freshwater lens over time as it can be found under real‐world islands. An error analysis gave the appropriate spatial and temporal discretization of 1 mm and 8.64 s, respectively. The calibrated parameter set was obtained using the parameter estimation tool PEST. Comparing density‐coupled and density‐uncoupled results showed that the freshwater‐saltwater interface position is strongly dependent on density differences. A benchmark that adequately represents saltwater intrusion and that includes realistic features of coastal aquifers or freshwater lenses was lacking. This new benchmark was thus developed and is demonstrated to be suitable to test variable‐density groundwater models applied to saltwater intrusion investigations.