Objectives
The six-session course provides the participant with essential knowledge of the basic principles governing the transport of contaminants. At the end of the course the participant will be able to:Understand the processes of advection and dispersion transport, such as the chemistry that influences them.
Develop MODFLOW models that represent the contaminant transport conditions in groundwater regimes.
Perform visual post-processing to the transient flow of the contaminant plume.
Course content
The development of theory and practical applications in the use of the software for this course is shown below grouped by session:
Session 1
Theoretical Part
Components of the transport of solutes in the groundwater environment: porosity, sink and sources, nonpoint and point sources of water pollution.
Components of the software.
Equations governing the flow process: Darcy's Law and groundwater flow.
Construction of MODFLOW models.
Boundary conditions and initial conditions for the construction of a transport model.
Five keys to successful models.
Practical part
One-dimensional transport in a uniform flow field: evaluation of advection, dispersion, sorption and kinetic reactions processes.
Session 2
Theoretical Part
Overview of water quality in nature and its development across the aquifer.
Geochemical interpretation of groundwater: Collins diagrams, Piper diagrams, Stiff diagrams.
Groundwater pollution: Causes, characteristics of pollutants, pollution routes, preventive and corrective measures.
General overview of groundwater quality standards, examples.
Software and transport modelling.
MT3DMS environment: MT3DMS packages
Practical part
One-dimensional transport in conditions of non-linear sorption (Freundlich) and non-equilibrium (First order kinetic).
Session 3
Theoretical Part
Fundamentals of contaminant transport: advection, dispersion processes.
Mathematical solution techniques for solute transport: Available solvers and their characteristics
Numerical problems in contaminant transport models.
Practical part
Two-dimensional transport in a uniform flow field: solution for the 2D transport of a solute injected continuously from a point source in a steady state flow field.
Two-dimensional transport in a diagonal flow field: solution for the 2D transport of a solute injected continuously from a point source in a steady state flow field at certain angle.
Session 4
Theoretical part
Chemical equilibrium.
Adsorption equilibrium and isotherms.
Contaminant transport modeling coefficients and parameters.
Practical part
Two-dimensional transport in a radial flow field: steady state solution for a contaminant injected from a well at a constant rate.
Two-dimensional transport in a radial flow field during injection and pumping cycles of a well in a confined aquifer.
Session 5
Theoretical part
Chemical reactions in contaminant transport: classification.
Surface reactions: Sorption/desorption
Linear isotherms.
Non-linear isotherms: Freundlich, Langmuir.
Classical reactions: precipitation, dissolution, degradation.
Reaction equation: chemical, kinetics, reactions in dual domain systems.
Practical part
Three-dimensional transport in a uniform flow field: 3D contaminant injection from a well.
Two-dimensional vertical transport in a heterogeneous aquifer: flow and transport of solutes in a heterogeneous cross-section in a highly irregular flow field.
Session 6
Theoretical part
Groundwater remediation: remediation steps, methods.
Containment technologies.
Treatment methods.
Practical part
Example of two-dimensional flow application: contaminated site from a point source upstream and a pumping well is being used as a plume retention measure.
Case study in a three-dimensional field: evaluation of a proposed remediation scheme
Methodology
Here are some details of each methodology:
- Manuals and files for the exercises will be delivered.
- The course will be developed by videos on private web platform.
- There is online support for questions regarding the exercises developed in the course.
- Digital certificate available at the end of the course.
- Video of the classes will be available for 2 months.
- To receive the digital certificate you must submit the exercises after 1 month.
