GroMoPo Metadata for La Rochefoucauld Aquifer HPP-GMS model

Ground water flow modeling in a karst aquifer presents many difficulties. In particular, the hydrodynamic properties and the now behavior can vary over time. History matching of transient-state conditions is required to test the accuracy of the model under varying hydrodynamic conditions. The objective of this study was to illustrate how transient-state conditions can be used to history match a ground water flow model of a large aquifer, the La Rochefoucauld karst (Charente, France). The model used a porous medium equivalent and was based on a steady-state calibration of hydraulic conductivities. The history match consisted of studying the simulated heads and spring flow rates to test the capacity of the model to reproduce different aspects of the aquifer behavior, The simulated heads and flow rates were analyzed as new data using correlation and spectral analyses to compare the temporal structures of the measured and simulated time series. The analyses provided information on the storage capacity of the aquifer, the input-output delays, the degree of correlation between input and output, and the length of the impulse response of the aquifer, These data were used to study the impact of the hypotheses underlying the model (hydraulic conductivities, storage coefficient, representation of rivers, use of a porous medium equivalent). The results show that the model adequately simulates the overall behavior of the studied aquifer, The model can be used under variable hydrodynamic conditions to simulate ground water flow on a regional scale. This case study illustrates how a complete history match of a simplified representation of reality can lead to an adequate mathematical tool.