Upgrading aquifer test interpretations with numerical axisymmetric flow models using MODFLOW in the Doñana area (Spain)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.123.1.004Keywords:
Doñana, hydraulic conductivity, MODFLOW, numerical modelling, pumping testAbstract
Though axisymmetric modelling is not widely used it can be incorporated into MODFLOW by “tricking” the grids with a log-scaling method to simulate the radial flow to a well and to upgrade hydraulic properties. Furthermore, it may reduce computer runtimes considerably by decreasing the number of dimensions. The Almonte-Marismas aquifer is a heterogeneous multi-layer aquifer underlying the Doñana area, one of the most important wetlands in Europe. The characterization of hydraulic conductivity is of great importance, because this factor is included in the regional groundwater model, the main water-management support tool in the area. Classical interpretations of existing pumping tests have never taken into account anisotropy, heterogeneity and large head gradients. Thus, to improve the characterization of hydraulic conductivity in the groundwater model, five former pumping tests, located in different hydrogeological areas, have been modelled numerically to represent radial flow in different parts of the aquifer. These numerical simulations have proved to be suitable for reproducing groundwater flow during a pumping test, to corroborate hypotheses concerning unconfined or semi-confined aquifers and even to estimate different hydraulic conductivity values for each lithological layer drilled, which constitutes the main improvement of this model in comparison with classical methods. A comparison of the results shows that the values of the numerical model are similar to those obtained by classical analytic techniques but are always lower for the most permeable layer. It is also clear that the less complex the lithological distribution the more accurate the estimations of hydraulic conductivity.
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