Abstract
A 1D numerical model is constructed to investigate the impact of sedimentation and sea level changes on transport of Cl− in the aquifer–aquitard system in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The model simulates the evolution of the vertical Cl− concentration profiles during the Holocene. Sedimentation is modeled as a moving boundary problem. Chloride concentration profiles are reconstructed for nine boreholes, covering a wide area of the PRD, from northwest to southeast. Satisfactory agreement is obtained between simulated and measured Cl− concentration profiles. Diffusion solely is adequate to reproduce the vertical Cl− concentration profiles, which indicates that diffusion is the regionally dominant vertical transport mechanism across the aquitards in the PRD. The estimated effective diffusion coefficients of the aquitards range from 2.0 × 10–11 to 2.0 × 10–10 m2/s. The effective diffusion coefficients of the aquifers range from 3.0 × 10–11 to 4.0 × 10–10 m2/s. Advective transport tends to underestimate Cl− concentrations in the aquitard and overestimate Cl− concentrations in the basal aquifer. The results of this study will help understand the mechanisms of solute transport in the PRD and other deltas with similar geological and hydrogeological characteristics.
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