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Improved Method for Simulating Groundwater Inundation Using the MODFLOW 6 Lake Transport Package.
Lauren K Mancewicz, Alex Mayer1, Christian Langevin2
1Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX.
Ground Water
|September 14, 2022
Summary
Sea level rise causes groundwater inundation, threatening island freshwater. A new tool, the Lake Transport Package, simulates solute transport and variable density flow, improving freshwater lens protection strategies.
Area of Science:
- Hydrogeology
- Coastal Geosciences
- Environmental Modeling
Background:
- Sea level rise leads to groundwater inundation, impacting coastal and island freshwater resources through increased evaporation.
- Previous numerical simulations were limited in modeling solute transport and variable density flow between aquifers and inundation lakes.
- Accurate simulation of these processes is crucial for understanding and managing freshwater availability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and demonstrate the functionality of the Lake Transport Package for MODFLOW 6.
- To showcase the advantages of this new tool over existing methods for simulating groundwater inundation.
- To evaluate the impact of groundwater inundation on freshwater lens size under various sea level rise and evaporation scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Lake Transport Package for MODFLOW 6 to simulate solute concentrations and variable density flow.
- Creation of hypothetical island simulations based on Bahamian hydrogeology.
- Running transient simulations with multiple sea level rise and lake evaporation rates.
Main Results:
- The Lake Transport Package successfully calculated transient solute concentrations in lakes, including hypersaline conditions.
- Increased sea level rise and lake evaporation rates resulted in significant freshwater lens loss and higher lake salinity.
- Groundwater inundation-induced lake formation increased freshwater loss by 6-36%, dependent on evaporation rates.
Conclusions:
- The Lake Transport Package is a validated and useful tool for representing groundwater inundation effects.
- The study highlights the critical impact of sea level rise and evaporation on island freshwater resources.
- This tool can aid in developing strategies to protect vital freshwater lenses in vulnerable coastal and island regions.
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