Kouli_etal_2008_Groundwater modelling_BOOK.pdf - Pantelis ...

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Luka F. König and Jonas L. Weiss
knowledge and quantitative/qualitative characterization of aquifers. Thus, modeling and
planning of the GW through the use of modern technologies and approaches have become of
high priority towards this direction. This book provides leading-edge research on this field.
Groundwater (GW) is one of the most valuable natural resources and for that reason, the
GW protection and management is vital for human evolution, socio-economic development
and ecological diversity. During the last decades, the continuously increasing need of water
has led to a rapidly growing awareness in the field of GW management. At the same time
over exploitation and pollution of water resources are threatening the ecosystems. The
combination of these two problems which have acquired worldwide dimensions has forced
many scientists working in relative fields to search new, multidisciplinary approaches to
address them. Effective management and protection of groundwater resources require detail
knowledge and quantitative/qualitative characterization of aquifers. Thus, modeling and
planning of the GW through the use of modern technologies and approaches have become of
high priority towards this direction.
Despite advances in modeling tools and geoenvironmental and chemical methods, aquifer
characterization remains an extremely difficult problem due to spatial heterogeneity, temporal
variability and coupling between chemical, physical, and biological processes. Solution to this
problem involves multidimensional data integration. The concept of data fusion involves the
merging of multiple data types to develop more reliable predictive models and to address
basic and applied scientific questions concerning GW modeling.
With the advent of powerful computers and the advances in geoenvironmetal methods
and space technology, efficient techniques for water management have evolved. Remote
sensing (RS), geographic information system (GIS), innovative geophysical methods
(electrical, electromagnetic and seismic) and GW flow simulation codes are such techniques
of great significance. These techniques, with the aid of chemical analyses, have
fundamentally reassigned the ways to manage natural resources in general and water
resources in particular.
The combined application of geophysical methods and chemical analysis of soil and
water samples can provide detailed information about aquifer hydraulic parameters and
possible contamination of the GW with the highest possible resolution. This information fully
integrated with other data derived either from RS (such as land use, land cover, tectonic,
bedrock feature) or existing data in map / time series / tabular form (e.g. hydrometeorological,
borehole data) in a GIS environment can be used for GW modeling after the
application of a simulation code (such as MODFLOW). After the model has run, the results
of the simulation (estimation of GW potential and prediction of aquifer response to
groundwater pumping and recharge and the flow path analysis) can be exported into a GIS for
post processing (PP). The PP step allows for data layers to be developed and displayed in map
forms, allowing easy examination and interpretation of the results in their spatial context.
Finally, for each data layer, a weight relative to its importance can be defined and a decision
support system (DSS) for groundwater management can be evolved.
The overall results in Chapter 1, demonstrate that the application of GIS in conjunction
with the aforementioned geoenvironmental technologies and chemical analysis provide a
powerful tool to study groundwater resources and design a suitable exploration and
management plan.
Air Sparging (AS) is a remediation technique for groundwater based on the injection of
pressurized air under the water table to strip the volatile organic pollutants from the saturated