COMPUTER MODELING OF STOCHASTIC GROUNDWATER FLOW

THE EFFICIENT MODELING OF GROUNDWATER MOVEMENT HAS BECOME A MATTER THAT DEMANDS URGENT ATTENTION BECAUSE OF WATER SHORTAGE AND THE INCREASING DANGERS OF CONTAMINATION OF SURFACE WATER SUPPLIES. A NEW AND EXTREMELY PORTABLE COMPUTER CODE IS DEVELOPED FOR PERFORMING STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS OF FLOWS IN GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS. THE TECHNIQUE ISBASED ON THE BOUNDARY INTEGRAL EQUATION METHOD (BIEM) WHICH HAS RECEIVED CRITICAL ACCLAIM AS A POWERFUL APPROACH FOR SOLVING LARGE FIELD PROBLEMS. A COMPACT AND USER-FRIENDLY PROGRAM IS DEVELOPED FOR SIMULATING FLOWS IN AQUIFERS WITH RANDOM HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS. WITH THE DEVELOPED COMPUTER MODEL, WATER RESOURCES PLANNERS,ENGINEERS, HYDROLOGISTS AND HYDROGEOLOGISTS WILL HAVE A POWERFUL TOOL FOR READILY OBTAINING BETTER INFORMATION REGARDING THE MEAN OF AQUIFER RESOONSE AND THE RANGE OF VARIABILITY DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES IN SOIL PROPERTIES AND THE IMPOSED HYDRAULIC CONDITIONS AT THE BOUNDARIES. THIS CAPABILITY ALLOWS A ROBUST SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE PREVENTION MEASURES. THE PROJECTIS THE FIRST NATURAL STEP TO DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE AND PORTABLE MODEL FOR MONITORING POLLUTANT TRANSPORT IN GROUNDWATER, RIVERS AND LAKES.