Multi-scenario numerical modeling applied to groundwater contamination: the Popoli Gorges complex aquifer case study (Central Italy)


Submitted: 15 November 2018
Accepted: 12 December 2018
Published: 20 December 2018
Abstract Views: 1073
PDF: 709
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

In this research, a multi-scenario numerical modeling was implemented to assess the effects of changes to abstraction patterns in the Sant'Angelo well-field (central Italy) and their implications on the aquifer hydrodynamic and the advective transport of contaminants. Once implemented and calibrated the steady-state numerical model by means of MODFLOW-2005, the well-field turning off scenario was modelled. In addition, the numerical results were analyzed by means of the post-processors ZONEBUDGET and MODPATH, to assess respectively the contribution of each hydrogeological feature to the total budget and the advective transport of contaminant particles. Comparing the two steady-state numerical models and the relative particle tracking analyses, the well-field turning off, although no longer acting as a hydraulic barrier, increased the residence time of contaminant particles and limited their mobility in the aquifer. Furthermore, the general decrease in groundwater abstractions also caused a higher increase in river flow, favoring contaminants' dilution in surface water.


Di Curzio, D., Rusi, S., & Semeraro, R. (2018). Multi-scenario numerical modeling applied to groundwater contamination: the Popoli Gorges complex aquifer case study (Central Italy). Acque Sotterranee - Italian Journal of Groundwater, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2018-361

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations