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Analysis of solute transport with a hyperbolic scale‐dependent dispersion model
Author(s) -
Mishra S.,
Parker J. C.
Publication year - 1990
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.3360040105
Subject(s) - tracer , dispersion (optics) , scale (ratio) , nonlinear system , mechanics , soil science , geology , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics
An empirical hyperbolic scale‐dependent dispersion model, which predicts a linear growth of dispersivity close to the origin and the attainment of an asymptotic dispersivity at large distances, is presented for deterministic modelling of field‐scale solute transport and the analysis of solute transport experiments. A simple relationship is derived between local dispersivity, which is used in numerical simulations of solute transport, and effective dispersivity, which is estimated from the analysis of tracer breakthrough curves. The scale‐dependent dispersion model is used to interpret a field tracer experiment by nonlinear least‐squares inversion of a numerical solution for unsaturated transport. Simultaneous inversion of concentration‐time data from several sampling locations indicates a linear growth of the dispersion process over the scale of the experiment. These findings are consistent with the results of an earlier analysis based on the use of a constant dispersion coefficient model at each of the sampling depths.