Modeling Saltwater Intrusion at an Agricultural Coastal Area Using Geophysical Methods and the FEFLOW Model

Abstract

Saltwater intrusion is one of the most important water quality problems in coastal aquifers. Effective prediction tools of saltwater intrusion are of vital importance in the prevention of groundwater contamination in these regions. Geophysical techniques constitute non-invasive methods with a twofold purpose: determining the aquifer geometric and geological characteristics and at the same time monitoring the extent of saltwater intrusion. The key idea of this study is the development of a comprehensive geophysical data processing tool which guides the modelling process. In this work, preliminary results from the application of this processing tool in the Tympaki basin (Herakleio, Greece) are presented. Specifically, TEM was used to estimate an accurate pseudo 3-D geomodel (bedrock geometry, fault detection, etc.) which guided the construction of a groundwater simulation model. The groundwater model was developed using the FEFLOW software and determined the saltwater intrusion based on all the available geoenvironmental information.