Groundwater balance modelling with Darcy's Law
Abstract
The sustainability of groundwater resources is important for the environment, the economy and communities where surface water is scarce. It is a hidden resource, but additional information can be extracted by combining groundwater measurements and lithological information with groundwater flow equations in groundwater models. The models convert data and knowledge about the groundwater systems into information, such as relative inflow and outflow rates and water-level predictions that can be readily understood by groundwater managers. ¶ The development of models to effectively inform groundwater management policies is, however, a complex task that presents a fundamental scientific challenge. This thesis presents methods and results for water balances calculated using groundwater flow models. Groundwater flow modelling methods and approaches are discussed, and their capabilities and limitations are reviewed. Two groundwater systems are studied for the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) and for the irrigation area near Bowen, Queensland. Three approaches to water balance modelling are applied in comprehensive model-development frameworks that take into account model objectives, data and knowledge availability and sensitivity analysis techniques. The three models show numerical methods of increasing complexity...