[A-HW25] Near Surface Investigation and Modeling for Groundwater Resources Assessment and Conservation

[AHW25-09] Performance of Managed Aquifer Recharge Due to Geological Heterogeneityː Insights from Experimental and Numerical Modeling

*Uttam Singh¹、Alok Kumar¹ (1.Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur)

キーワード：Geological heterogeneity, MAR, Numerical modeling, Clay lense

The influence of geological heterogeneity on the effectiveness of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a key consideration in the design of the MAR system in terms of groundwater storage. A physical Sandbox setup and numerical modeling framework are developed to analyze how geological features such as clay lenses, and anticlines, as well as artificial structures like recharge wells, pumping wells, and recharge basins, influence groundwater flow patterns under MAR conditions to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of recharged water in heterogeneous aquifers. To evaluate MAR performance in terms of groundwater storage and recovery potential by simulating hydraulic responses to artificial recharge and stress scenarios within diverse geological settings. By quantifying the impacts of aquifer heterogeneity on recharge rates, storage capacity, and recovery efficiency, the study aims to identify key factors that affect MAR outcomes. Heterogeneous aquifer systems shorten groundwater ages compared with homogeneous aquifer systems and decrease the artificially recharged water lens thickness thus, the stagnation point shifted to the downstream. The presence of the clay lens increases the groundwater residence time compared to the homogeneous layer. However, it showed little effect on the spatial flow pattern due to the shifting of the stagnation point in the flow direction.