Using Periodic Pumping to Characterize Aquifers: Field and Modeling Advantages
Using Periodic Pumping to Characterize Aquifers: Field and Modeling Advantages
Presented on Monday, December 3, 2018
Pumping tests and slug tests are commonly implemented as reliable methods for estimating field-scale aquifer parameters (transmissivity or hydraulic conductivity), and when resources are available for multiple such tests, they provide a method for interrogating aquifer heterogeneity. A less-commonly used strategy is the implementation of periodic pumping tests, in which the head or flow rate in a well is oscillated at a set period. In this presentation, we discuss 3 aspects of oscillatory tests relevant to field practitioners: 1) Reliable and low-cost methods for implementing periodic pumping tests in the field; 2) Strategies and guidelines for the analysis of obtained pressure data, which consists of sinusoidal pressure changes with obtained amplitude and phases; and 3) Methods for recognizing and interpreting the effects of aquifer heterogeneity on oscillatory pumping tests, which can be especially apparent during multi-frequency testing. Results of robust analyses will be demonstrated from field applications in noisy, non-ideal environments.
Michael Cardiff, Ph.D.
Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Michael Cardiff received his M.S. (2005) and Ph.D. (2010) from Stanford University, working with Professor Peter Kitanidis. He is interested in field, laboratory, and numerical methods for testing aquifer characterization schemes, including tomographic methods and use of geophysical and hydraulic information.
Michael Fort
HydroResolutions, Socorro, NM
Michael Fort has more than 20 years of experience in field and laboratory testing, data analysis, modeling and instrumentation for the geosciences. He has worked extensively in the area of site characterization and performance assessment of potential nuclear waste repositories in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom performing and interpreting hydraulic tests, doing performance assessment modeling and developing information management systems. Fort is currently a principal of HydroResolutions LLC.
Claire Sayler
S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Bethesda, MD
Graduate of UW-Madison, employed at SSPA, Bethesda
YaoQuan Zhou, Ph.D.
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Graduate of UW-Madison, and Postdoc at the Ohio State University