Aquifer Parameters Estimation: Numerical Experiments and Application to a Groundwater Basin

Parameter estimation, also known as inverse modelling is a crucial step in groundater modelling. The procedure helps modellers to detect many aspects of groundwater flow systems that are easily overlooked when using the trial-and-error method. A synthetical case study is presented to estimate parameters in an aquifer using the Modinv model. Uniqueness and stability of the solution of inverse modelling are investigated. The usefulness of automated parameter estimation in comparing different alternative conceptual models is discussed by using the Akaike Identification Criterion. The parameter zonation has been demonstrated to be very important in the estimation process. The model has been applied to simulate groundwater flow regime in a real basin