Simulation of Transient Groundwater Age Distribution in Space and Time, Wairarapa Valley, New Zealand
Abstract
The 3000 km2 Wairarapa Valley is an important agricultural region near Wellington, New Zealand. Improved management of land and water within the region requires understanding of the spatial and temporal variations of water age. This study combines the two main methods currently available for determination of water age: numerical groundwater models and hydrological tracers. A transient finite element groundwater flow and mass transport model was calibrated to match time series measurements of groundwater level and tritium concentration. The groundwater flow model incorporates spatio-temporal recharge, variable stream flow and levels, and variable pump rates. The time-marching Laplace transform Galerkin (TMLTG) technique was then used to evaluate the full spectrum of groundwater age (i.e. age distribution) at each model node and at each time step. To our knowledge this study is the first application of the TMLTG technique to a real-world example, made possible by the rich time-series dataset of tritium measurements that exists for the Wairarapa Valley. Results showed that travel time from the land surface through the aquifer system varies from a few years to several decades and is strongly dependent on location and time. Results also demonstrated important differences between the transient age distributions derived from the TMLTG technique compared to the much simpler steady-state lumped parameter models that are frequently applied to interpret age tracer data. Finally, results had direct application to land and water management, for example for identification of land areas where age distributions vary seasonally, affecting the security of groundwater supplies used for drinking water.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.H13F1415T
- Keywords:
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- 1832 HYDROLOGY Groundwater transport;
- 1847 HYDROLOGY Modeling;
- 1880 HYDROLOGY Water management;
- 1872 HYDROLOGY Time series analysis