Influence of source thickness on steady-state plume length

Abstract

The impact of source thickness on steady-state plume length is studied using modifications of the analytical expressions provided in Liedl et al. (2005, 2011) for 2D and 3D scenarios. For comparison, 2D and 3D numerical experiments were performed, and the following three important conclusions were obtained: first, the modified expressions overestimate the plume length only up to a factor of 2 when the source thickness (Ms) is at least 50 % of the aquifer depth (M). Second, overestimates do not exceed plume length by a factor of 10 (2D scenario) or 5 (3D scenario) for 25 % 50 %. As far as the numerical experiments are concerned, it is important to note that the employed finite element approach was applied to the transformed transport equation provided in both Liedl et al. works. This transformation, which can also be applied to more complex scenarios than those studied here, eliminates reaction terms from the model equations and therefore largely facilitates numerical computations.