Review: Simulation-optimization models for the management and monitoring of coastal aquifers

Abstract

The literature on the application of simulation-optimization approaches for management and monitoring of coastal aquifers is reviewed. Both sharp- and dispersive-interface modeling approaches have been applied in conjunction with optimization algorithms in the past to develop management solutions for saltwater intrusion. Simulation-optimization models based on sharp-interface approximation are often based on the Ghyben-Herzberg relationship and provide an efficient framework for preliminary designs of saltwater-intrusion management schemes. Models based on dispersive-interface numerical models have wider applicability but are challenged by the computational burden involved when applied in the simulation-optimization framework. The use of surrogate models to substitute the physically based model during optimization has been found to be successful in many cases. Scalability is still a challenge for the surrogate modeling approach as the computational advantage accrued is traded-off with the training time required for the surrogate models as the problem size increases. Few studies have attempted to solve stochastic coastal-aquifer management problems considering model prediction uncertainty. Approaches that have been reported in the wider groundwater management literature need to be extended and adapted to address the challenges posed by the stochastic coastal-aquifer management problem. Similarly, while abundant literature is available on simulation-optimization methods for the optimal design of groundwater monitoring networks, applications targeting coastal aquifer systems are rare. Methods to optimize compliance monitoring strategies for coastal aquifers need to be developed considering the importance of monitoring feedback information in improving the management strategies.