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D.W. Pollock

Publications and source records attributed to D.W. Pollock.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2010

Gas transport in unsaturated porous media: The adequacy of Fick's law

The increasing use of natural unsaturated zones as repositories for landfills and disposal sites for hazardous wastes (chemical and radioactive) requires a greater understanding of transport processes in the unsaturated zone. For volatile constituents an important potential transport mechanism is gaseous diffusion. Diffusion, however, cannot be treated as an independent isolated transport mechanism. A complete understanding of multicomponent gas transport in porous media (unsaturated zones) requires a knowledge of Knudsen transport, the molecular and nonequimolar components of diffusive flux, and viscous (pressure driven) flux. The constitutive equations relating these flux components are available from the “dusty gas” model of Mason et al. (1967). This review presents a brief discussion of the underlying principles and interrelationships among each of the above flux mechanisms. Some aspects of these transport mechanisms are, to our knowledge, generally unrecognized in the Earth science literature. The principles underlying the transport mechanisms are illustrated with binary systems; the constitutive equations are then cast in forms thought to be most useful for the study of natural unsaturated zones. The viscous and diffusive fluxes are coupled in the constitutive equations through the Knudsen diffusivities; a knowledge of Knudsen diffusivities is necessary to calculate the viscous component of flux and pressure gradients. The Knudsen diffusivities can be calculated from measurements of the Klinkenberg effect. Two examples are presented showing that in natural systems, very small pressure gradients (1 Pa/m or less) can produce viscous fluxes greater than or equal to diffusive fluxes and that, conversely, pressure gradients of this magnitude can be generated by diffusive processes. The example calculations show that major concentration gradients can be developed for stagnant (zero flux, nonreactive) gases. A method is presented for approximating the viscous and diffusive flux components of gases in a multicomponent system from a knowledge of the concentration profiles of stagnant gases. In subsoil environments, argon and nitrogen are considered to be stagnant gases. Fick's laws are essentially, by definition, inadequate to deal with stagnant gases. In the examples presented, the error associated with estimating the total fluxes of nonstagnant gases by Fick's law, relative to stationary coordinates, ranges from a few percent to orders of magnitude.

Reviews of Geophysics↗
USGS2006

Semianalytical computation of path lines for finite-difference models

A semianalytical particle tracking method was developed for use with velocities generated from block centered finite-difference ground-water flow models. The method is based on the assumption that each directional velocity component varies linearly within a grid cell in its own coordinate directions. This assumption allows an analytical expression to be obtained describing the flow path within an individual grid cell. Given the initial position of a particle anywhere in a cell, the coordinates of any other point along its path line within the cell, and the time of travel between them, can be computed directly. For steady-state systems, the exit point for a particle entering a cell at any arbitrary location can be computed in a single step. By following the particle as it moves from cell to cell, this method can be used to trace the path of a particle through any multidimensional flow field generated from a block-centered finite-difference flow model.

Ground Water↗
USGS2005

A controlled experiment in ground water flow model calibration

Nonlinear regression was introduced to ground water modeling in the 1970s, but has been used very little to calibrate numerical models of complicated ground water systems. Apparently, nonlinear regression is thought by many to be incapable of addressing such complex problems. With what we believe to be the most complicated synthetic test case used for such a study, this work investigates using nonlinear regression in ground water model calibration. Results of the study fall into two categories. First, the study demonstrates how systematic use of a well designed nonlinear regression method can indicate the importance of different types of data and can lead to successive improvement of models and their parameterizations. Our method differs from previous methods presented in the ground water literature in that (1) weighting is more closely related to expected data errors than is usually the case; (2) defined diagnostic statistics allow for more effective evaluation of the available data, the model, and their interaction; and (3) prior information is used more cautiously. Second, our results challenge some commonly held beliefs about model calibration. For the test case considered, we show that (1) field measured values of hydraulic conductivity are not as directly applicable to models as their use in some geostatistical methods imply; (2) a unique model does not necessarily need to be identified to obtain accurate predictions; and (3) in the absence of obvious model bias, model error was normally distributed. The complexity of the test case involved implies that the methods used and conclusions drawn are likely to be powerful in practice.

Groundwater↗
USGS2005

Patterns and age distribution of ground-water flow to streams

Simulations of ground-water flow in a generic aquifer system were made to characterize the topology of ground-water flow in the stream subsystem and to evaluate its relation to deeper ground-water flow. The flow models are patterned after hydraulic characteristics of aquifers of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and are based on numerical solutions to three-dimensional, steady-state, unconfined flow. The models were used to evaluate the effects of aquifer horizontal-to-vertical hydraulic conductivity ratios, aquifer thickness, and areal recharge rates on flow in the stream subsystem. A particle tracker was used to determine flow paths in a stream subsystem, to establish the relation between ground-water seepage to points along a simulated stream and its source area of flow, and to determine ground-water residence time in stream subsystems. In a geometrically simple aquifer system with accretion, the source area of flow to streams resembles an elongated ellipse that tapers in the down gradient direction. Increased recharge causes an expansion of the stream subsystem. The source area of flow to the stream expands predominantly toward the stream headwaters. Base flow gain is also increased along the reach of the stream. A thin aquifer restricts ground-water flow and causes the source area of flow to expand near stream headwaters and also shifts the start-of-flow to the drainage basin divide. Increased aquifer anisotropy causes a lateral expansion of the source area of flow to streams.

Groundwater↗
USGS1998

Estimating areas contributing recharge to wells, lessons from previous studies

Factors relating to the estimation of areas contributing recharge to wells, such as complexity of the ground-water flow system, effects of changing hydrologic conditions, and effects of well-screen locations and pumping rates, are reviewed. The point of view that simulation is the best means to obtain physically based estimates of contributing areas is emphasized. An extensive list of USGS reports that include estimation of contributing areas is provided.

Circular↗
USGS1996

Factors affecting tritium and 14carbon distributions in the unsaturated zone near the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada

Interpretations of the distributions of tritiated water vapor (HTO V ) and 14 carbon dioxide gas ( 14 CO 2 ) concentrations in the unsaturated zone adjacent to the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada, suggest that observed concentrations of 14 CO 2 could be explained by either diffusive or advective transport of the radioactive gas from the site. The distribution of HTO V cannot be explained by vapor transport, either by diffusive or advective mechanisms. Thus, liquid transport appears to have played a role in moving HTO V to well UZB-2. Although the process by which this occurred cannot be determined from available data (and indeed may never be known), it is likely that liquid wastes disposed directly into the trenches during the period from 1962 to 1975 contributed to the offsite contamination. Liquid transport may have been enhanced by precipitation and runoff into open trenches that resulted in the occasional accumulation of ponded water in the trenches and flow along preferential pathways in the underlying unsaturated zone

Nevada↗