Hydrodynamics of Time-Periodic Groundwater Flow: Diffusion Waves in Porous Media

By Joe S. Depner, Todd C. Rasmussen

Description

Hydrodynamics of Time-Periodic Groundwater Flow introduces the emerging topic of periodic fluctuations in groundwater. While classical hydrology has often focused on steady flow conditions, many systems display periodic behavior due to tidal, seasonal, annual, and human influences. Describing and quantifying subsurface hydraulic responses to these influences may be challenging to those who are unfamiliar with periodically forced groundwater systems. The goal of this volume is to present a clear and accessible mathematical introduction to the basic and advanced theory of time-periodic groundwater flow, which is essential for developing a comprehensive knowledge of groundwater hydraulics and groundwater hydrology.

Volume highlights include:

Overview of time-periodic forcing of groundwater systems
Definition of the Boundary Value Problem for harmonic systems in space and time
Examples of 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional flow in various media
Attenuation, delay, and gradients, stationary points and flow stagnation
Wave propagation and energy transport
Hydrodynamics of Time-Periodic Groundwater Flow presents numerous examples and exercises to reinforce the essential elements of the theoretical development, and thus is eminently well suited for self-directed study by undergraduate and graduate students. This volume will be a valuable resource for professionals in Earth and environmental sciences who develop groundwater models., including in the fields of groundwater hydrology, soil physics, hydrogeology, geoscience, geophysics, and geochemistry. Time-periodic phenomena are also encountered in fields other than groundwater flow, such as electronics, heat transport, and chemical diffusion. Thus, students and professionals in the field of chemistry, electronic engineering, and physics will also find this book useful.

Author Information

Todd Rasmussen is a Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Georgia (UGA). He is a member of the Faculty of Water Resources, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Academy of the Environment at UGA. He is an associate editor for the Journal of Hydrology, and has been an associate editor for Water Resources Research and Hydrogeology Journal. He received his PhD from the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, College of Engineering and Mines, at the University of Arizona in 1988. His publications focus on uid ow and contaminant transport through surface and subsurface environments, including the physical, chemical, mathematical, and statistical description and quantification of hydrologic processes. He was a co-author of the AGU Geophysical Monograph 42 (Evans et al., 2001) as well as multiple journal articles specifically related to subsurface periodic behavior (Toll and Rasmussen, 2007; Rasmussen and Mote, 2007; Rasmussen et al., 2003).

Joe Depner graduated with an M.S. from the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona in 1985. His thesis topic was Estimation of the three-dimensional anisotropic spatial covariance of log permeability using single-hole and cross-hole packer test data from fractured granites, under the direction of Professor Shlomo P. Neuman, which was subsequently published (Neuman and Depner, 1988). He has also published on the topic of periodic flow in groundwater (Depner, 2000). He has worked professionally for multiple private consulting services and for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Hanford, WA.