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A Caution on the Regulatory Use of Numerical Solute Transport Models
Author(s) -
Dougherty David E.,
Bagtzoglou Amvrossios C.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1993.tb00874.x
Subject(s) - dimensionless quantity , action (physics) , numerical modeling , porous medium , contamination , numerical models , numerical analysis , computer simulation , fraction (chemistry) , environmental science , computer science , mechanics , chemistry , mathematics , porosity , geology , statistics , physics , simulation , geotechnical engineering , mathematical analysis , chromatography , ecology , quantum mechanics , biology
Numerical models of solute transport in water‐saturated porous media are routinely used to make regulatory and design decisions. For many contaminants, decisions are based on concentrations of 5 parts per billion (ppb) or less. This “action level“ is usually a small fraction (<0.01) of the concentrations near a source of contamination. Two one‐dimensional example problems are used to demonstrate that modeling errors using classical numerical methods are largest where concentrations are lowest. This implies that in regions of low dimensionless concentration, that is near the action level, large relative errors can be expected. Hence, decisions based on numerical model solutions at low concentrations must be taken cautiously. Modern numerical methods for the solution of transport equations provide better behavior, in this sense, than classical methods.