High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Forward Simulations of Flow Into Heterogeneous Unsaturated Media: Comparison of Simulated and Geophysical Data
Abstract
High-resolution subsurface flow and transport simulations using PorSalsa, a massively-parallel, two-phase, three-dimensional finite element flow code, are performed and compared to data from the Sandia-Tech Vadose Zone Facility (STVZ). The STVZ is a state-of-the-art infiltration facility where a variety of hydrologic sensors and geophysical imaging techniques are employed for monitoring water flow and salt tracer transport through highly heterogeneous fluvial sediments. Current research at the STVZ involves an assessment of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and cross-well ground penetrating radar (XGPR) measurement resolution as employed at the STVZ. We present and discuss results from high-resolution unsaturated flow simulations based on the STVZ infiltration test that play a vital role in this research. These simulations employ layered homogeneous and heterogeneous hydraulic property fields, where the hysteretic hydraulic properties have been measured on samples from the STVZ using standard laboratory techniques, and GSLIB is used to generate geostatistically correlated heterogeneous fields of porosity, permeability, and air entry values. We will discuss the effects of grid resolution, up-scaling techniques for the heterogeneous fields, and the impact of uncertainty in the measured properties on the simulations. We will also present and discuss the differences between the simulated results and measured field data from hydrologic/geophysical sensors.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004AGUFM.H33E0511B
- Keywords:
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- 1800 HYDROLOGY;
- 1875 Unsaturated zone;
- 1894 Instruments and techniques