Analytical solutions for steady flow in variably anisotropic aquifers characterized using implicit geological models

Abstract:

A series solution approach is applied to simulate steady topography-driven flow in a two-dimensional aquifer cross section. The approach is applicable to multi-layer aquifer systems where the aquifer layer interfaces are represented by arbitrary curves, the magnitude of the hydraulic conductivity in the principal directions is homogeneous, but the anisotropy within each layer is spatially variable and aligned with the gradient of the geologic potential, i.e., aligned with the layering. The approach, based upon novel application of series-based conformal mapping, is applied to both anticline and syncline systems and errors are assessed. The impact of anisotropy aligned with the geologic media layering is demonstrated for some simple test cases.