A dual-domain mass transfer approach for modeling solute transport in heterogeneous aquifers: Application to the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site
Ce. Feehley et al., A dual-domain mass transfer approach for modeling solute transport in heterogeneous aquifers: Application to the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site, WATER RES R, 36(9), 2000, pp. 2501-2515
A large-scale natural-gradient tracer test in a highly heterogeneous aquife
r at the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site on the Columbus Air Force B
ase in Mississippi is simulated using three-dimensional hydraulic conductiv
ity distributions derived from borehole flowmeter test data. Two methods of
hydraulic conductivity interpolation, ordinary kriging and conditional geo
statistical simulation based on fractional Brownian motion (fBm), are used
to construct the hydraulic conductivity distributions needed by the numeric
al model. Calculated and observed mass distributions are compared to evalua
te the effectiveness of the dual-domain mass transfer approach relative to
the single-domain advection-dispersion approach. The results show that the
classical Fickian advection-dispersion model can reproduce reasonably well
the observed tritium plume above a certain concentration limit but fails to
reproduce the extensive spreading of the tracer at diluted concentrations
as observed in the field. The alternative dual-domain mass transfer model i
s able to represent the rapid, anomalous spreading significantly better whi
le retaining high concentrations near the injection point. This study demon
strates that the dual-domain mass transfer approach may offer a practical s
olution to modeling solute transport in highly heterogeneous aquifers where
small-scale preferential flow pathways cannot be fully and explicitly repr
esented by the spatial discretization of the numerical model.