This paper presents a geostatistical approach to multi-directional aquifer
stimulation in order to better identify the transmissivity field. Hydraulic
head measurements, taken at a few locations but under a number of differen
t steady-state flow conditions, are used to estimate the transmissivity. We
ll installation is generally the most costly aspect of obtaining hydraulic
head measurements. Therefore, it is advantageous to obtain as many informat
ive measurements from each sampling location as possible. This can be achie
ved by hydraulically stimulating the aquifer through pumping, in order to s
et-up a variety of flow conditions. We illustrate the method by applying it
to a synthetic aquifer. The simulations provide evidence that a few sampli
ng locations may provide enough information to estimate the transmissivity
field. Furthermore, the innovation of, or new information provided by, each
measurement can be examined by looking at the corresponding spline and sen
sitivity matrix. Estimates from multi-directional stimulation are found to
be clearly superior to estimates using data taken under one flow condition.
We describe the geostatistical methodology for using data from multi-direc
tional simulations and address computational issues.