1. MFIT 1.0.0: Multi-Flow Inversion of Tracer breakthrough curves in fractured and karst aquifers
- Author
-
Jacques Bodin
- Subjects
geography ,education.field_of_study ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Sinkhole ,Population ,lcsh:QE1-996.5 ,0207 environmental engineering ,Aquifer ,Soil science ,02 engineering and technology ,General Medicine ,Karst ,01 natural sciences ,lcsh:Geology ,Nonlinear system ,TRACER ,020701 environmental engineering ,education ,Groundwater ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Water well - Abstract
More than half of the Earth's population depends largely or entirely on fractured or karst aquifers for their drinking water supply. Both the characterization and modeling of these groundwater reservoirs are therefore of worldwide concern. Artificial tracer testing is a widely used method for the characterization of solute (including contaminant) transport in groundwater. Tracer experiments consist of a two-step procedure: (1) introducing a conservative tracer-labeled solution into an aquifer, usually through a sinkhole or a well, and (2) measuring the concentration breakthrough curve (BTC) response(s) at one or several downstream monitoring locations, usually spring(s) or pumping well(s). However, the modeling and interpretation of tracer test responses can be a challenging task in some cases, notably when the BTCs exhibit multiple local peaks and/or extensive backward tailing. MFIT (Multi-Flow Inversion of Tracer breakthrough curves) is a new open-source Windows-based computer package for the analytical modeling of tracer BTCs. This software integrates four transport models that are all capable of simulating single- or multiple-peak and/or heavy-tailed BTCs. The four transport models are encapsulated in a general multiflow modeling framework, which assumes that the spatial heterogeneity of an aquifer can be approximated by a combination of independent one-dimensional channels. Two of the MFIT transport models are believed to be new, as they combine the multiflow approach and the double-porosity concept, which is applied at the scale of the individual channels. Another salient feature of MFIT is its compatibility and interface with the advanced optimization tools of the PEST suite of programs. Hence, MFIT is the first BTC fitting tool that allows for regularized inversion and nonlinear analysis of the postcalibration uncertainty of model parameters.
- Published
- 2020