Abstract
Seawater intrusion caused by groundwater over-exploitation from coastal aquifers poses a severe problem in many regions. Formulation of proper pumping strategy using a simulation model can assure sustainable supply of fresh water from the coastal aquifers. The focus of the present study is on the development of a numerical model based on Meshfree (MFree) method to study the seawater intrusion problem. For the simulation of seawater intrusion problem, widely used models are based on Finite Difference (FDM) and Finite Element (FEM) Methods, which demand well defined grids/meshes and considerable pre-processing efforts. Here, MFree Point Collocation Method (PCM) based on the Radial Basis Function (RBF) is proposed for the simulation. Diffusive interface approach with density-dependent dispersion and solution of flow and solute transport is adopted. These equations are solved using PCM with appropriate boundary conditions. The developed model has been verified with Henry’s problem, and found to be satisfactory. Further the model has been applied to another established problem and an attempt is made to examine the influence of important system parameters including pumping and recharge on the seawater intrusion. The PCM based MFree model is found computationally efficient as preprocessing is avoided when compared to other numerical methods.
Highlights
Coastal aquifers are a widely relied source of fresh water supply to the population residing in the coastal areas in many parts of the world
A simulation model based on Point Collocation Method (PCM) MFree method is developed for a confined coastal aquifer
The sensitivity study shows that a decreasing piezometric head gradient and increasing depth of the aquifer has more pronounced effect on the encroachment of seawater intrusion into the landward side when compared to the variation in the transverse dispersivity or the ratio of principle hydraulic conductivity tensors
Summary
Coastal aquifers are a widely relied source of fresh water supply to the population residing in the coastal areas in many parts of the world. Intrusion of seawater into coastal aquifers poses a serious challenge in the utilization of groundwater [1] It occurs as an outcome of more groundwater being pumped from coastal aquifers in excess of that which can be replenished causing the decline of piezometric head. This results in the encroachment of seawater into the fresh water aquifer [2]. In the MFree method, the system of algebraic equations for the entire problem domain is solved using convenient nodes thereby avoiding a predefined mesh. In the present study a Point Collocation Method (PCM) based MFree model is developed for a two dimensional confined aquifer seawater intrusion problem and applied for two distinct synthetic seawater intrusion problems. The presently results are compared with solutions from well-established research problems
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