Methods and guidelines for developing and using mathematical models Turn to Effective Groundwater Model Calibration for a set of methods and guidelines that can help produce more accurate and transparent mathematical models. The models can represent groundwater flow and transport and other natural and engineered systems. Use this book and its extensive exercises to learn methods to fully exploit the data on hand, maximize the model's potential, and troubleshoot any problems that arise. Use the methods to perform: Sensitivity analysis to evaluate the information content of data Data assessment to identify (a) existing measurements that dominate model development and predictions and (b) potential measurements likely to improve the reliability of predictions Calibration to develop models that are consistent with the data in an optimal manner Uncertainty evaluation to quantify and communicate errors in simulated results that are often used to make important societal decisions Most of the methods are based on linear and nonlinear regression theory. Fourteen guidelines show the reader how to use the methods advantageously in practical situations. Exercises focus on a groundwater flow system and management problem, enabling readers to apply all the methods presented in the text. The exercises can be completed using the material provided in the book, or as hands-on computer exercises using instructions and files available on the text's accompanying Web site. Throughout the book, the authors stress the need for valid statistical concepts and easily understood presentation methods required to achieve well-tested, transparent models. Most of the examples and all of the exercises focus on simulating groundwater systems; other examples come from surface-water hydrology and geophysics. The methods and guidelines in the text are broadly applicable and can be used by students, researchers, and engineers to simulate many kinds systems.

Coupling the basics of hygrogeology with analytical and numerical modeling methods, Hydrogeology and Groundwater Modeling, Second Edition provides detailed coverage of both theory and practice. Written by a leading hydrogeologist who has consulted for industry and environmental agencies and taught at major universities around the world, this unique book fills a gap in the groundwater hydrogeology literature. With more than 40 real-world examples, the book is a source for clear, easy-to-understand, and step-by-step quantitative groundwater evaluation and contaminant fate and transport analysis, from basic laboratory determination to complex analytical calculations and computer modeling. It provides more than 400 drawings, graphs, and photographs, and a variety of useful tables of all key groundwater parameters, as well as lucid, straightforward answers to common hydrogeological problems. Reflecting nearly ten years of new scholarship since the publication of the bestselling first edition, this second edition is wider in focus with added and updated examples, figures, and problems, yet still provides information in the author's trademark, user-friendly style. No other book offers such carefully selected examples and clear, elegantly explained solutions. The inclusion of step-by-step solutions to real problems builds a knowledge base for understanding and solving groundwater issues.

This second edition is extensively revised throughout with expanded discussion of modeling fundamentals and coverage of advances in model calibration and uncertainty analysis that are revolutionizing the science of groundwater modeling. The text is intended for undergraduate and graduate level courses in applied groundwater modeling and as a comprehensive reference for environmental consultants and scientists/engineers in industry and governmental agencies. - Explains how to formulate a conceptual model of a groundwater system and translate it into a numerical model - Demonstrates how modeling concepts, including boundary conditions, are implemented in two groundwater flow codes-- MODFLOW (for finite differences) and FEFLOW (for finite elements) - Discusses particle tracking methods and codes for flowpath analysis and advective transport of contaminants - Summarizes parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis approaches using the code PEST to illustrate how concepts are implemented - Discusses modeling ethics and preparation of the modeling report - Includes Boxes that amplify and supplement topics covered in the text - Each chapter presents lists of common modeling errors and problem sets that illustrate concepts