Numerical simulation of subsurface characterization methods: application to a natural aquifer analogue

Information from an outcrop is used as an analogue of a natural heterogeneous aquifer in order to provide an exhaustive data set of hydraulic properties. Based on this data, two commonly used borehole based investigation methods are simulated numerically. For a scenario of sparse sampling of the aquifer, the process of regionalization of the borehole hydraulic conductivity values is simulated by application of a deterministic interpolation approach and conditioned stochastic simulations. Comparison of the cumulative distributions of particle arrival times illustrates the effects of the sparse sampling, the properties of the individual investigation methods and the regionalization methods on the ability to predict flow and transport behaviour in the real system (i.e. the exhaustive data set).