Simulation of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers: Some typical responses

Abstract

Seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers is generally three dimensional (3-D) in nature. In the literature, there is a general lack of reported results on 3-D simulations. This paper presents some typical example simulations of 3-D seawater intrusion process for a specified hypothetical study area. The simulation results presented in this paper are based on the density-dependent miscible flow and transport modelling approach for simulation of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. A nonlinear optimization-based simulation methodology was used in this study. Various steady state simulations are performed for a specified study area. Response evaluations consider the effects of vertical recharge on seawater intrusion, effects of boundary conditions, and effects of spatially varying pumping from the aquifer. The 3-D simulations demonstrate the viability of using a planned strategy of spatially varying withdrawals from the aquifer to manage seawater intrusion. It is demonstrated that series of pumps near the ocean-face boundary induce a hydraulic head distribution that can be effectively used for controlling seawater intrusion.