Abstract
One of the most difficult tasks in ground-water modeling is the estimation of aquifer parameters from field measurements of hydraulic head. This paper examines model sensitivity through the use of sensitivity analysis. For each model parameter one can define a sensitivity coefficient. These sensitivity coefficients depend on the choice of model, the spatial coordinates, the time variable, the number and type of model parameters, and the boundary conditions. For good sensitivity to the parameters, all sensitivity coefficients should be independent and as large as possible at the locations and times of interest. Methods for determining sensitivity coefficients are discussed and some typical examples showing certain important characteristics are presented. The sensitivity coefficients can be used to estimate variances and confidence intervals for the aquifer parameters. The model sensitivity can be increased for parameter estimation by applying some general principles from sensitivity analysis. Several examples of improved sensitivity are presented.
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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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McElwee, C.D. (1987). Sensitivity Analysis of Ground-Water Models. In: Bear, J., Corapcioglu, M.Y. (eds) Advances in Transport Phenomena in Porous Media. NATO ASI Series, vol 128. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3625-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3625-6_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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