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A Model of Ground Water Discharge from an Unconfined Coastal Aquifer
Author(s) -
Robinson Michael A.,
Gallagher Daniel L.
Publication year - 1999
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.1745-6584.1999.tb00960.x
Subject(s) - intertidal zone , aquifer , shore , geology , groundwater , water table , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , oceanography
A two‐dimensional, field scale, finite‐element ground water model was developed to simulate the ground water discharge process within an unconfined coastal aquifer. Model development was based on the density dependent fluid flow approach with water table and dynamic tidal boundary conditions. The performance of the model was compared against data collected from the Columbia Aquifer on the eastern shore of Virginia. The dynamic tidal boundary conditions were necessary to reproduce the surficial mixing zone observed within the ground water intertidal zone of the aquifer. The model was able to reproduce field data on the movement of the near‐shore water table, ground water salt concentrations, and ground water discharge rates and patterns. The model was not able to replicate the short‐term fluctuation in salt concentration observed within the surficial mixing zone. The inability to account for the wave action of the tides within the intertidal zone is believed to be responsible for this difficulty. The development of the model provided a new method to investigate ground water discharge to coastal systems.