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AGU: Water Resources Research

 

Keywords

  • operator-scaling
  • fractional Brownian motion
  • fractal scaling
  • self-similarity
  • random fields

Index Terms

  • Hydrology: Groundwater hydrology
  • Hydrology: Groundwater transport
  • Hydrology: Stochastic hydrology
  • Nonlinear Geophysics: Fractals and multifractals
Abstract
Cited By (0)
 

Abstract

Ensemble solute transport in two-dimensional operator-scaling random fields

Nathan D. Monnig

Department of Geology and Geological Sciences, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA

David A. Benson

Department of Geology and Geological Sciences, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA

Mark M. Meerschaert

Department of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Motivated by field measurements of aquifer hydraulic conductivity (K), recent techniques were developed to construct anisotropic fractal random fields in which the scaling, or self-similarity parameter, varies with direction and is defined by a matrix. Ensemble numerical results are analyzed for solute transport through these two-dimensional “operator-scaling” fractional Brownian motion ln(K) fields. Both the longitudinal and transverse Hurst coefficients, as well as the “radius of isotropy” are important to both plume growth rates and the timing and duration of breakthrough. It is possible to create operator-scaling fractional Brownian motion fields that have more “continuity” or stratification in the direction of transport. The effects on a conservative solute plume are continually faster-than-Fickian growth rates, highly non-Gaussian shapes, and a heavier tail early in the breakthrough curve. Contrary to some analytic stochastic theories for monofractal K fields, the plume growth rates never exceed A. Mercado's (1967) purely stratified aquifer growth rate of plume apparent dispersivity proportional to mean distance. Apparent superstratified growth must be the result of other demonstrable factors, such as initial plume size.

Received 27 February 2007; accepted 16 October 2007; published 23 February 2008.

Citation: Monnig, N. D., D. A. Benson, and M. M. Meerschaert (2008), Ensemble solute transport in two-dimensional operator-scaling random fields, Water Resour. Res., 44, W02434, doi:10.1029/2007WR005998.

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