Skip to main content
Article
Data Processing for Oscillatory Pumping Tests
Journal of Hydrology
  • Tania Bakhos, Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center
  • Michael Cardiff, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Warren Barrash, Boise State University
  • Peter K. Kitanidis, Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-16-2014
Abstract

Characterizing the subsurface is important for many hydrogeologic projects such as site remediation and groundwater resource exploration. Methods based on the analysis of conventional pumping tests have the notable disadvantage that at a certain distance, the signal is small relative to the noise due to the effects of recharge, pumping in neighboring wells, change in the level or adjacent streams, and other common disturbances. This work focuses on oscillatory pumping tests in which fluid is extracted for half a period, then reinjected. We discuss a major advantage of oscillatory pumping tests: small amplitude signals can be recovered from noisy data measured at observation wells and quantify the uncertainties in the estimates. We demonstrate results from a joint inversion of storativity and transmissivity. We conclude with an analysis of the duration of the initial transient, providing lower bounds on the length of elapsed time until the effects of the transient can be neglected.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Citation Information
Bakhos, Tania; Cardiff, Michael C.; Barrash, Warren; and Kitanidis, Peter K. (2014). "Data Processing for Oscillatory Pumping Tests". Journal of Hydrology, 511, 310-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.01.007