Date of Award

Spring 2007

Abstract

Natural underground settings exhibit small and large scale spatial variations, making them difficult to characterize. This complexity is particularly difficult to overcome when delineating a heterogeneous fractured bedrock system. The following study involves the characterization of a fractured bedrock site.

Hydraulically conductive fractures provide migratory pathways within a fractured rock. Interpreting their orientation in space is important in understanding contaminant movement. The data used include borehole geophysical, lithologic and hydraulic test data.

The first method applied was a geostatistical analysis. This technique incorporates statistical characteristics of the geophysical and hydraulic data to develop fracture patterns. The second method is a deterministic study developed by analyzing the fracture orientations as they cross-cut a borehole.

Hydraulic connections were inferred between two sets of wells through slug test analyses. Multiple response anomalies were identified within the data. Uncertainty and model reliability are a component of any model created to depict the real world.*.

First Advisor

Matt Davis

Department or Program

Hydrology

Degree Name

Master of Science

Share

COinS