Advances in basinal-scale groundwater modeling in China

This paper attempts to introduce the main works and achievements about basinal-scale groundwater flow modeling in China. Since 1970s groundwater modeling has being in used in evaluating groundwater resource and relevant environmental issues in China. In the early stage, the application of groundwater model is with limited computer know-how, even though the theories and methods were correctly formulated, most of applications are on the groundwater within a small area. From year 1999, investigations of groundwater resources and related environmental issues have been performed and organized by China Geological Survey, and GIS-based databases and groundwater flow models have been developed in main basins and plains in the Northern China in order to evaluate and exploit the groundwater resources based on environmental geology constrains of the area. GMS, FEFLOW and Visual MODFLOW are used to construct the geological model and numerical models of groundwater system for these plains and basins. Having studied the theories and methodologies of groundwater modeling for the past 10 years, seepage-pipe flow model was proposed to simulate well flow and monitoring well, and groundwater flow in porous-fissured-caved media, and artesian well and spring flux. A PGMS (Polygon grid finite-difference groundwater modeling system) has been developed and used for basinal-scale groundwater modeling.