Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo

Due to geological features such as fractures, some aquifers demonstrate strongly anisotropic hydraulic behavior. The goal of this study is to use a poroelastic model to calculate surface displacements given known pumping rates to predict the potential utility of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Ra...

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Main Authors: Sona Salehian Ghamsari, Tonie van Dam, Jack S. Hale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Computing and Geosciences
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197425000242
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author Sona Salehian Ghamsari
Tonie van Dam
Jack S. Hale
author_facet Sona Salehian Ghamsari
Tonie van Dam
Jack S. Hale
author_sort Sona Salehian Ghamsari
collection DOAJ
description Due to geological features such as fractures, some aquifers demonstrate strongly anisotropic hydraulic behavior. The goal of this study is to use a poroelastic model to calculate surface displacements given known pumping rates to predict the potential utility of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data for inferring information about anisotropic hydraulic conductivity (AHC) in aquifer systems. To this end, we develop a three-dimensional anisotropic poroelastic model mimicking the main features of the 1994 Anderson Junction aquifer test in southwestern Utah with a 24 to 1 ratio of hydraulic conductivity along the principal axes, previously estimated in the literature using traditional well observation techniques. Under suitable model assumptions, our results show that anisotropy in the hydraulic problem leads to a distinctive elliptical surface displacement pattern centered around the pumping well that could be detected with InSAR. We interpret these results in the context of InSAR acquisition constraints and provide guidelines for designing future pumping tests so that InSAR data can be used to its full potential for improving the characterization of aquifers with anisotropic hydraulic behavior.
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spelling doaj-art-a5e47f18d009429398748db27cdfb9252025-08-20T02:36:19ZengElsevierApplied Computing and Geosciences2590-19742025-06-012610024210.1016/j.acags.2025.100242Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodoSona Salehian Ghamsari0Tonie van Dam1Jack S. Hale2Institute of Computational Engineering, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Technology, and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, 6 avenue de la Fonte, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4364, Luxembourg; Corresponding author.Department of Geology and Geophysics, College of Mines and Earth Sciences, University of Utah, 201 Presidents’ Cir, Salt Lake City, 84112-0102, UT, United StatesInstitute of Computational Engineering, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Technology, and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, 6 avenue de la Fonte, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4364, LuxembourgDue to geological features such as fractures, some aquifers demonstrate strongly anisotropic hydraulic behavior. The goal of this study is to use a poroelastic model to calculate surface displacements given known pumping rates to predict the potential utility of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data for inferring information about anisotropic hydraulic conductivity (AHC) in aquifer systems. To this end, we develop a three-dimensional anisotropic poroelastic model mimicking the main features of the 1994 Anderson Junction aquifer test in southwestern Utah with a 24 to 1 ratio of hydraulic conductivity along the principal axes, previously estimated in the literature using traditional well observation techniques. Under suitable model assumptions, our results show that anisotropy in the hydraulic problem leads to a distinctive elliptical surface displacement pattern centered around the pumping well that could be detected with InSAR. We interpret these results in the context of InSAR acquisition constraints and provide guidelines for designing future pumping tests so that InSAR data can be used to its full potential for improving the characterization of aquifers with anisotropic hydraulic behavior.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197425000242Anisotropic hydraulic conductivityPoroelasticityAquifer systemsInSARFinite element method
spellingShingle Sona Salehian Ghamsari
Tonie van Dam
Jack S. Hale
Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
Applied Computing and Geosciences
Anisotropic hydraulic conductivity
Poroelasticity
Aquifer systems
InSAR
Finite element method
title Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
title_full Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
title_fullStr Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
title_full_unstemmed Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
title_short Can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data? A case studyZenodo
title_sort can the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer be determined using surface displacement data a case studyzenodo
topic Anisotropic hydraulic conductivity
Poroelasticity
Aquifer systems
InSAR
Finite element method
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197425000242
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