Abstract
Effect of Variable-Density and Constant-Density Representations of Flow on Simulating Terrestrial Groundwater Discharge into a Coastal Lagoon
Highlights
Elevated concentrations of dissolved solids in groundwater that occurs in saline environments generate spatial density gradients that affect the groundwater flow patterns
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is comprised of multiple components; terrestrial groundwater discharge (TGWD), which originates from fresh groundwater recharge that penetrates the aquifer, constitutes one of the most important SGD components as it represents a pathway of land-based pollutants
TGWD received in Indian River Lagoon (IRL) MODFLOW (m3/day/m) 1.96×10–4 1.88×10–4 1.95×10–4 1.95×10–4 4.34×10–5 3.57×10–4 5.02×10–4 4.95×10–4
Summary
Elevated concentrations of dissolved solids in groundwater that occurs in saline environments generate spatial density gradients that affect the groundwater flow patterns Those density effects introduce additional complexity to the mathematical and numerical simulation of variable-density groundwater flow compared to constant-density systems [Paniconi et al, 2001]. SGD is comprised of multiple components; terrestrial groundwater discharge (TGWD), which originates from fresh groundwater recharge that penetrates the aquifer, constitutes one of the most important SGD components as it represents a pathway of land-based pollutants Numerical modeling of those flow regimes, where flow physics are driven by fluid density, typically incorporates the equations of flow and transport to represent the association between fluid density and salt concentration. In the situations where density gradients are small or negligible, a constant-density flow model using MODFLOW may be sufficient to simulate the groundwater flow
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