Effects of Hydraulic Variables on the Formation of Freshwater-Saltwater Transition Zones in Aquifers

The location and the shape of a freshwater transition zone in a coastal aquifer are affected by many hydraulic variables. To data most works to determine the effects of these variables are limited to qualitative comparison of transiton zones. In this work characteristics of transition zones are analyzed quantitatively. The investigation is limited to a steady-state transition zones. Three dimensionless variables are defined to represent characteristics of steady-state transition zones. They are maximum introsion length, thickness, and degree of stratification. Effects of principal hydraulic variables (velocity and dispersivity) on these characteristics are studied using a numerical model. Dimensional analysis is used to systematically analyze entire model results. Effects of velocity and dispersivity are seem clearly. From this study, increase in velocity is found to cause shrinkage of transition zones. This observation contradicts claims by some that, because dispersion is proportional to velocity, increase in velocity would cause expansion of transition zones.