Hydraulic tomography of typical large-scale aquifers in groundwater exploitation reduction areas of Hebei Province

ObjectiveOne of the main challenges in characterizing the heterogeneity of large-scale aquifers using hydraulic tomography is to find effective excitation sources that can significantly affect regional groundwater dynamics. Therefore, human-induced variations in groundwater exploitation amount may be a feasible option. MethodsThe Handan Eastern Plain, one of the pilot areas for groundwater overexploitation control in Hebei Province, was selected as the study area. Hydraulic tomography was applied to a two-dimensional confined aquifer through groundwater level responses caused by exploitation reduction, and the effects of prior geological information and observation well configuration on hydraulic parameter inversion accuracy were further discussed. ResultsThe results showed that hydraulic tomography could effectively characterize the heterogeneity of large-scale aquifers, and accurate information of geological zones could significantly improve parameter estimations. Correlation scales and variances had no significant effect on the inversion results. To improve the precision of aquifer parameter estimation, it was necessary to give full consideration to the prior geological information and existing well data, and incorporate new groundwater observation wells into the existing monitoring network in areas with significant changes in hydrogeological conditions. ConclusionThis novel method, which characterizes the heterogeneity of large-scale aquifers based on hydraulic tomography, intelligently collects groundwater exploitation and observation data from existing wells in Hebei Province against the backdrop of groundwater exploitation reduction. Therefore, this method saves time and labor costs of additional well drilling and pumping tests, and provides remarkable economic and social benefits for mapping large-scale aquifer heterogeneity.