Modeling groundwater flow and contaminant transport (Q2377602)

This book presents the methodology and procedures for constructing complete mathematical models of two problems: first, groundwater flow, and second, groundwater contaminant transport, both in saturated and unsaturated zones. The book contains eleven chapters. The first chapter discusses the role of groundwater in the hydrological cycle, and presents aquifers as a part of water resource systems. The second chapter gives definitions and classification of aquifers and introduces the hydraulic approach. The third chapter reviews the groundwater balance of a region, in order to facilitate a more detailed study in the next chapters. The fourth and fifth chapters formulate the basic laws that govern the fluid flow in a saturated zone under isothermal conditions. In addition, appropriate initial and boundary conditions are specified. The sixth chapter discusses the modeling of the fluid flow in an unsaturated zone, whereas the seventh chapter develops a complete mathematical model of the transport of contaminants dissolved in the water that occupies the void space wholly or partly. The objective of the eight chapter is to provide the numerical techniques and computer programs to solve flow and transport problems in practice. The ninth chapter discusses the seawater intrusion, focusing on a model that combines flow and solute transport under variable density conditions. The tenth chapter examines the sources of uncertainty associated with the modeling. Finally, the eleventh chapter presents a brief introduction to groundwater resource management, based on mathematical optimization techniques that are commonly used in practice. The book could be of interest to researchers, scientists and professionals who face the need to build and solve models of flow and contaminant transport in the subsurface.