A Multi-Scale Approach in Hydraulic Characterization of a Metamorphic Aquifer: What Can Be Inferred about the Groundwater Abstraction Possibilities

Water

Antonella Baiocchi¹  Walter Dragoni²  Francesca Lotti¹  Simone M. Piacentini²  Vincenzo Piscopo¹ 

[1] Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo 01100, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Perugia 06100, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: hard-rock aquifers;    hydraulic properties;    aquifer heterogeneity;    numerical modeling;    Italy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w7094638

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Hard-rock aquifers, which constitute a water supply source in many countries, are highly heterogeneous and defining a realistic model of an aquifer can be extremely complex. The objective of this study was to hydraulically characterize a metamorphic aquifer in a representative area of Italy and to identify the most appropriate approach for tapping of groundwater in this challenging environment. The results of surface fracture surveys, injection tests, pumping tests, and a simplified numerical model were compared. From the surface fracture survey, a model of the rock mass characterized by a well-developed discontinuity network and by a high frequency of discontinuities resulted. The injection tests showed the extreme heterogeneity and the lower hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass in comparison with the results of the pumping tests. The independent estimate of the hydraulic parameter resulting from numerical model highlighted a range of values higher than those resulting from the pumping tests. The study demonstrated that the continuum medium approach can be used in the case of hard-rock aquifers with a dense network of discontinuities. The multi-scale approach is recommended for investigating hydraulic heterogeneity and significantly helps to identify the most promising areas for well locations and their characteristics in relation to the style of fracturing.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.