Numerical Modeling of Groundwater Age Distributions in Heterogeneous Aquifers

Recently numerical modeling of groundwater age has become a new direction in groundwater research because groundwater age in a particular aquifer records the history of different periods of groundwater advection,dispersion and hydrodynamic mixing.Under steady flow conditions,assuming the same groundwater recharge,runoff and drainage,the groundwater flow and age distributions are demonstrated in this study through a synthetic application with the different heterogeneities.The results indicate that interlayers with low permeability have a positive effect for the deep regional groundwater circulation and update.Meanwhile,the results show that the groundwater dispersion plays an innegligible role in modeling groundwater age in regional-scale deep aquifers.Groundwater age modeling provides a new way for the study of groundwater circulation and sustainable use of groundwater resources on a regional scale.