From modelling soil columns to large scale aquifers: an illustration of the MARTHE code capabilities.

Dominique Thiéry (1) , Alexis Gutierrez (1)

1 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)

In the last 20 years, numerical modelling of Groundwater flow and transport has become the best tool for water resources management and decision making. Numerous codes deal with flow, transport, density, unsaturated zone, surface water- groundwater interaction, etc...but only a few codes integrate these aspect simultaneously. The MARTHE code presented here tackles all of them in a dynamic way. This presentation intends to illustrate through case studies, how this modelling software can be used to treat various problems. The scale of applications of this computer program ranges from detailed investigations, such as water movement in soils (soil volumes of a few cm3 with cells of a few mm), to simulation of large multilayered aquifer systems (150,000 km2, 1,500 m thickness). The temporal scale of applications ranges from a few seconds to 15,000 years for long-term geochemical predictions. MARTHE has been applied to over 300 aquifer systems since its first release in the late 1980's. Fields of application have included i) the management of groundwater resources (e.g. water balance assessments, evaluation of the potential impacts of abstractions); ii) civil engineering and mining works (e.g. impact of underground activities); and, iii) environmental assessments, both point and diffuse pollutions,

Keywords: Hydrogéologie; Écoulements souterrains; Modèle MARTHE

Domains: Hydrology; Global Changes

Dominique Thiéry, Alexis Gutierrez. From modelling soil columns to large scale aquifers: an illustration of the MARTHE code capabilities.. Blaubeuren 6. "Porous Media" Workshop., Mar 2007, Blaubeuren, Germany. pp. 1-12. ⟨hal-01061939⟩