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Examples of Groundwater Modelling in Environmental Assessment Studies
Author(s) -
ASHLEY R. P.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.1994.tb01160.x
Subject(s) - hydrogeology , groundwater , computer science , software , conceptual model , groundwater model , systems engineering , civil engineering , environmental science , engineering , groundwater flow , aquifer , database , geotechnical engineering , programming language
The development of groundwater modelling techniques is reviewed, from analogue and early digital models to current commercial software packages. The parallel development of the application of groundwater modelling as a tool for evaluating the impact of developments and structures on hydrogeological systems is also examined. Formerly, new model programs were written for each application, requiring that the user had programming skills as well as hydrogeological expertise, and model development periods were measured in months or years. Now, a knowledge of the program details is not necessarily a prerequisite for a satisfactory model, which may be designed, constructed, calibrated and used in days or weeks. However, a thorough understanding of the conceptual model underlying a software package, and of the numerical methods used to generate the output, is as important as ever. Examples are given in the paper of the exploitation of commercial packages to produce rapid assessments of the impact on groundwater of proposed mineral workings and similar developments.