Analysis of the Saltwater Wedge in a Coastal Karst Aquifer with a Double Conduit Network, Numerical Simulations and Sensitivity Analysis

• Main Authors: Alessandra Feo, Andrea Zanini, Emma Petrella, Rebeca Hernàndez-Diaz, Fulvio Celico
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: karst aquifer; numerical simulation; seawat; saltwater wedge; sensitivity analysis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/11/2311

We investigate the long-distance salinity in a dual permeability coastal karst aquifer with a double conduit network using a three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow and multispecies transport SEAWAT model. Sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate the impact of the parameters and boundary conditions on the modeling saltwater wedge in a karstic aquifer situated in the Cuban land territory, including hydraulic conductivity, vertical anisotropy and salinity concentration; both in the conduits network and the fractured medium. These analyses indicated that hydraulic conductivity of the fractured medium and salt concentration were the ones that have a stronger effect on saltwater intrusion in a karstic aquifer. We also show results of the three-dimensional numerical simulations on groundwater salinity for different scenarios with the variabilities of the important parameters and compare results with electric conductivity profiles measured in a well.