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Christian D Langevin

Publications and source records attributed to Christian D Langevin.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Stochastic ground water flow simulation with a fracture zone continuum model.

A method is presented for incorporating the hydraulic effects of vertical fracture zones into two-dimensional cell-based continuum models of ground water flow and particle tracking. High hydraulic conductivity features are used in the model to represent fracture zones. For fracture zones that are not coincident with model rows or columns, an adjustment is required for the hydraulic conductivity value entered into the model cells to compensate for the longer flowpath through the model grid. A similar adjustment is also required for simulated travel times through model cells. A travel time error of less than 8% can occur for particles moving through fractures with certain orientations. The fracture zone continuum model uses stochastically generated fracture zone networks and Monte Carlo analysis to quantify uncertainties with simulated advective travel times. An approach is also presented for converting an equivalent continuum model into a fracture zone continuum model by establishing the contribution of matrix block transmissivity to the bulk transmissivity of the aquifer. The methods are used for a case study in west-central Florida to quantify advective travel times from a potential wetland rehydration site to a municipal supply wellfield. Uncertainties in advective travel times are assumed to result from the presence of vertical fracture zones, commonly observed on aerial photographs as photolineaments.

Models, Theoretical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Simulation of submarine ground water discharge to a marine estuary: Biscayne Bay, Florida.

Variable density ground water flow models are rarely used to estimate submarine ground water discharge because of limitations in computer speed, data availability, and availability of a simulation tool that can minimize numerical dispersion. This paper presents an application of the SEAWAT code, which is a combined version of MODFLOW and MT3D, to estimate rates of submarine ground water discharge to a coastal marine estuary. Discharge rates were estimated for Biscayne Bay, Florida, for the period from January 1989 to September 1998 using a three-dimensional, variable density ground water flow and transport model. Hydrologic stresses in the 10-layer model include recharge, evapotranspiration, ground water withdrawals from municipal wellfields, interactions with surface water (canals in urban areas and wetlands in the Everglades), boundary fluxes, and submarine ground water discharge to Biscayne Bay. The model was calibrated by matching ground water levels in monitoring wells, baseflow to canals, and the position of the 1995 salt water intrusion line. Results suggest that fresh submarine ground water discharge to Biscayne Bay may have exceeded surface water discharge during the 1989, 1990, and 1991 dry seasons, but the average discharge for the entire simulation period was only approximately 10% of the surface water discharge to the bay. Results from the model also suggest that tidal canals intercept fresh ground water that might otherwise have discharged directly to Biscayne Bay. This application demonstrates that regional scale variable density models are potentially useful tools for estimating rates of submarine ground water discharge.

Calibration↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MODFLOW/MT3DMS-based simulation of variable-density ground water flow and transport.

This paper presents an approach for coupling MODFLOW and MT3DMS for the simulation of variable-density ground water flow. MODFLOW routines were modified to solve a variable-density form of the ground water flow equation in which the density terms are calculated using an equation of state and the simulated MT3DMS solute concentrations. Changes to the MODFLOW and MT3DMS input files were kept to a minimum, and thus existing data files and data files created with most pre- and postprocessors can be used directly with the SEAWAT code. The approach was tested by simulating the Henry problem and two of the saltpool laboratory experiments (low- and high-density cases). For the Henry problem, the simulated results compared well with the steady-state semianalytic solution and also the transient isochlor movement as simulated by a finite-element model. For the saltpool problem, the simulated breakthrough curves compared better with the laboratory measurements for the low-density case than for the high-density case but showed good agreement with the measured salinity isosurfaces for both cases. Results from the test cases presented here indicate that the MODFLOW/MT3DMS approach provides accurate solutions for problems involving variable-density ground water flow and solute transport.

Finite Element Analysis↗