Abstract

ESQUIVEL-VICTORIA, Edgar S.  and  ESCOLERO-FUENTES, Oscar A.. Application of mass-balance method to evaluate recharge rate patterns in a Quaternary aquifer in northern Mexico. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.3.  Epub Nov 17, 2023. ISSN 2594-0732.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fi.25940732e.2023.24.3.023.

This study addresses the application of the mass-balance method to evaluate spatial changes in recharge and discharge rate patterns. Using MODFLOW it was generated two finite-difference steady-state groundwater models for an alluvial aquifer in the Lagunera Region of northern Mexico. Additionally, a spreadsheet program was developed to generate recharge-discharge rate pattern distributions corresponding to 2002 and 2014 years. Inverse numerical modeling was used to calibrate the steady-state groundwater models by applying a universal parameter estimation code. The root-mean-square error between the observed and simulated heads was used as a statistical control to evaluate model calibration. The results showed that recharge values were predominant in the surrounding areas, whereas discharge values were dominant in the central zones, coinciding with agricultural areas. Furthermore, the alternative-hypothesis from the sign test suggests that a change has occurred in the recharge pattern distribution during the study period.

Keywords : Recharge; groundwater model; mass-balance; calibration; statistics.

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