Original Papers
14 November 2023
Vol. 12 No. 4 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2022-692

Improved groundwater modeling by incorporating geological information from hydrogeological sections

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Geostatistics, facies, hydrogeological modeling
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Massimiliano Schiavo
massimiliano.schiavo@polimi.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3732-4327
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Politecnico di Milano; Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy.

Geological cross-sections are usually employed in the hydrogeological model conceptualization, but their usage may not be easily exploited in subsequent modeling phases. The spatial distribution of geological facies along a geological section’s track may significantly vary when using random facies fields, and these may not be faithful to the original conceptualization described by the geological section. The present work offers a novel framework for improving available hydrogeological models using geological sections as a more quantitative source of information, hence by taking into account of information coming from a geological section. Then, this information given by the change in the distribution of porosities is transferred from the section’s track to surrounding locations through a proper kriging procedure upon a chosen Correlation Scale (R), which is exponentially correlated in space. This procedure is tested by using porosity distributions upon several R, associating a conductivity value with each porosity one through empirical formulations, and informing several numerical models related to a real case study (an aquifer in the province of Lecco, Northern Italy). The proposed procedure enables to significantly outperform the former calibrated numerical model. Best-calibrated models show that the convenient R could be from 2 to 5 kilometers long, consistent with the width of the alluvial and fluvioglacial floodplain that characterizes the aquifer under examination.

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Improved groundwater modeling by incorporating geological information from hydrogeological sections. (2023). Acque Sotterranee - Italian Journal of Groundwater, 12(4), 9-17. https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2022-692
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