Inverse modeling of groundwater flow in the semiarid evaporitic closed basin of Los Monegros, Spain

 Only minor attention has been given in the past to the study of closed-basin hydrogeology in evaporitic environments, because these basins usually contain poor-quality groundwater. The motivation for hydrogeological research in the Los Monegros area in northeastern Spain was the approval in 1986 of a large irrigation project in the Ebre River basin. The irrigation of 60,000 ha is planned, partly in an evaporitic closed basin containing playa lakes. The project has given rise to environmental concerns. The evaluation of the hydrologic impacts of irrigation requires quantifying properly the hydrogeology of the area. With the available information, a conceptual hydrogeological model was formulated that identifies two main aquifers connected through a leaky aquitard. On the basis of the conceptual model, a numerical model was calibrated under steady-state conditions using the method of maximum-likelihood automatic parameter estimation (Carrera and Neuman, 1986a). The calibrated model reproduces the measured hydraulic heads fairly well and is consistent with independent information on groundwater discharge. By the solution of the inverse problem, reliable parameter estimates were obtained. It is concluded that anisotropy plays a major role in some parts of the lower aquifer. The geometric average of model conductivity is almost two orders of magnitude larger than the average conductivity derived from small-scale field tests. This scale effect in hydraulic conductivity is consistent with the findings of Neuman (1994) and Sánchez-Vila et al. (1996). Received, December 1997 · Revised, December 1997 · Accepted, January 1998