Transverse dispersion of contaminants in fractured permeable formations

Our interest in understanding some of the mechanisms involved in the mineralization of the Great Bend Prairie aquifer of Kansas by salt water originating from Permian bedrock formations, which are fractured sandstones, has prompted this basic study. The fractured permeable formation is represented by a simplified conceptual model incorporating two sets of oblique and parallel fractures embedded in permeable blocks. The domain is initially divided into a completely freshwater zone overlying a completely saline water zone. However, the sharp interface originally existing between the saline and fresh water is subject to dispersion because of mixing in fracture intersections and between the fracture flow and the permeable block flow. Simulations based on the use of an appropriate numerical model developed in the present study have helped us to characterize dispersion of the sharp interface and creation of the transition zone. Relationships of transverse and longitudinal dispersion in the domain are also determined.