Imaging Flow and Transport in Shallow Fractured-Rock Aquifers

Accurately characterizing highly heterogeneous subsurface geology is a critical problem in understanding the flow of fluids in petroleum reservoirs and groundwater aquifers. While geophysical data can provide spatially exhaustive data, the relation between geophysical data measured in the field (the electrical conductivities, dielectric permittivities, and seismic velocities) is not simply related to parameters that hydrologists are interested in (water content, contaminant concentration, hydraulic conductivity, etc.). We've recently developed a methodology, using numerical analogs, to quantify the relations between the measured geophysical parameter and hydrogeologic properties of interest for simple geologic settings. We're looking to expand this framework to more complicated geological settings, such as fractured rock, to develop a better understanding of flow and transport in highly heterogeneous materials.

Contact: Kamini Singha