Effect of hydraulic conductivity on seawater fresh water interface motion in coastal aquifers

Abstract

The motion of seawater-freshwater interface was studied for the linearly varying hydraulic conductivity in coastal confined aquifers. The problem under consideration included a series of freshwater injection wells located at a certain distance parallel to the coast. The hydraulic conductivity was assumed to be decreasing linearly from the coast towards inland. The motion of the interface was monitored for different gradients of the hydraulic conductivity and compared with the homogeneous case. The results indicated up to 12% lag in the repulsion of the interface depending on the injection rate as compared to the homogeneous case. Log-normal distribution was also considered for the hydraulic conductivity and a specific example is presented for illustrative purposes. 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.