Parameter Identification of a Ground‐Water Contaminant Transport Model

A parameter identification (PI) procedure is developed and implemented with the United States Geological Survey's Method of Characteristics (USGS‐MOC) model. The PI procedure can be used to estimate selected model parameters from limited observations by quadratic programming. The code combining the PI procedure and the USGS‐MOC model has been tested by two numerical examples from a hypothetical aquifer. The test results show that the proposed algorithm can identify transmissivity and dispersivity accurately under ideal situations. The effects of using a simple characterization of the aquifer on parameter estimation and model are shown. Because of the improved efficiency in model calibration, extended application to field conditions is encouraged. However, it is cautioned that the interested users should be aware of the difficulties in field applications of PI, and it is recommended that sound engineering and scientific judgements are always needed in the use of the proposed, or any other PI method.