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Application of 1D paleo‐fluvial process modelling at a basin scale to augment sparse borehole data: example of a Permian formation in the Galilee Basin, Australia
Author(s) -
Jiang Zhenjiao,
Mariethoz Gregoire,
Raiber Matthias,
Timms Wendy,
Cox Malcolm
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.10747
Subject(s) - geology , fluvial , structural basin , hydraulic conductivity , kriging , scale (ratio) , borehole , soil science , variogram , geomorphology , geostatistics , spatial variability , hydrology (agriculture) , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , soil water , statistics , cartography , geography
The heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity ( K ) in water‐bearing formations controls subsurface flow and solute transport processes. Geostatistical techniques are often employed to characterize the K distribution in space based on the correlation between K measurements. However, at the basin scale, there are often insufficient measurements for inferring the spatial correlation. This is a widespread problem that we address in this study using the example of the Betts Creek Beds (BCB) in the Galilee Basin, Australia. To address the lack of data, we use a 1D stochastic fluvial process‐based model (SFPM) to quantify the total sediment thickness, Z ( x ), and the sandstone proportion over the total thickness, P s ( x ), in the BCB. The semivariograms of Z ( x ) and P s ( x ) are then extracted and used in sequential Gaussian simulation to construct the 2D spatial distribution of Z ( x ) and P s ( x ). P s ( x ) can be converted to a K distribution based on classical averaging methods. The results demonstrate that the combination of SFPM and geostatistical simulation allows for the evaluation of upscaled K distribution with a limited number of K measurements. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.