Identification of high-permeability and water-rich zones in a fractured karst water source area based on the hydraulic tomography method.

• High-permeability and water-rich zones were identified by the hydraulic tomography. • Strong groundwater runoff paths were inferred for the water source area. • The hydraulic tomography was improved with various prior information. • THT can better reveal larger-scale heterogeneity of aquifers compared to SSHT. • Hydraulic tomography holds valuable applications in groundwater exploitation plans. Determining the spatial hydraulic parameters of aquifers is of paramount importance for the development and utilization of groundwater in water source areas. However, most methods are unable to accurately characterize the heterogeneity of aquifers because of the influences of complex geology, hydrogeology, structure and insufficient information. Hydraulic tomography (HT) is an effective and robust method for hydraulic parameter inversion to characterize heterogeneity. In this study, a two-dimensional HT model was established to simulate hydraulic parameter fields for a fractured karst aquifer in the Zhangji water source area (Xuzhou city, China). Steady-state hydraulic tomography (SSHT) and transient hydraulic tomography (THT) with different prior information conditions were applied to determine the high-permeability area and water-rich zones, and to infer possible locations of karst conduits and strong runoff paths in the water source area. The results indicate that: (1) THT can better reveal larger-scale heterogeneous characteristics of hydraulic properties compared to SSHT. The hydraulic conductivity distribution estimated by THT correlates well with the geological conditions of the area, especially in identifying water-rich zones formed by faults and other formations. (2) When combined with geological conditions, HT possesses the ability to identify strong runoff paths in fractured karst aquifers. (3) Accurate prior information, which is more relevant to the head response information, is conducive to obtaining more acceptable HT results. (4) THT can simultaneously identify high-permeability and high-storage zones, and the analysis of the overlap of these two regions has the potential to predict underground water reservoirs, which is of the utmost importance for the development and utilization of groundwater resources in water source areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]