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Parameter estimation through groundwater tracer tests
Author(s) -
Rainwater Kenneth A.,
Wise William R.,
Charbeneau Randall J.
Publication year - 1987
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 - 10.1029/wr023i010p01901
Subject(s) - tracer , streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines , groundwater , nonlinear system , effluent , advection , groundwater model , groundwater flow , estimation theory , flow (mathematics) , environmental science , mathematical model , field (mathematics) , hydrology (agriculture) , soil science , biological system , mechanics , computer science , environmental engineering , engineering , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , aquifer , algorithm , statistics , physics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , nuclear physics , thermodynamics , biology
In situ estimation of parameters in chemical models describing groundwater pollutant transport and fate is considered. During tracer tests, the observed breakthrough of a conservative species yields information characterizing the hydraulic behavior of a multiple‐well system. A streamline advective solute transport model incorporating the chemical model of interest is scaled so that it applies to all streamlines in the flow system. The hydraulic and chemical data are coupled through a combination integral which calculates the production well effluent concentration of a reactive tracer as a function of time. This mathematical model is combined with the measured effluent data and a nonlinear estimation procedure to estimate the parameters in the chemical models. The procedure is tested in controlled laboratory experiments. A later paper will present a field application.