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Mathematical modeling of karstogenesis: an approach based on fracturing and hydrogeological processes

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Abstract

The karstogenesis of a synthetic aquifer is analyzed as a function of the matrix permeability and the fracture density affecting the carbonate reservoir. The synthetic carbonate aquifer generation results from numerical simulations based on Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) and groundwater flow simulations. The aim is to simulate karstogenesis processes in an aquifer characterized by a fracture network, while matching field reality and respecting geometrical properties as closely as possible. DFN are simulated with the soft REZO3D that allows the generation of 3-D realistic fracture networks, especially regarding the relative position of fractures that control the overall network connectivity. These generated DFN are then meshed and considered to perform groundwater flow simulation with the model GroundWater (GW). At each time step and for each fracture element, flow velocity and the mean groundwater age are extracted and used in an analogical dissolution equation that computes the aperture evolution. This equation relies on empirical parameters calibrated with former speleogenesis studies. In this paper, karstogenesis simulations are performed using fixed-head hydraulic boundary conditions within a single stratum as a function of two fracture density settings. The results are interpreted in terms of head fields, mean groundwater age distributions; while total flow rate and average aperture are analyzed as a function of time. The effect of fracture density and rock matrix permeability are then assessed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Conseil Régional of Languedoc Roussillon, as well as the BRGM and Carnot fund, for the financial support of this work carried out in the framework of the Antoine Lafare’s Ph.D. The authors would also like to thank Fabien Cornaton, presently Director, GMC at DHI-WASY GmbH (Germany), the CHYN of the University of Neuchâtel, (Switzerland), for permitting the using of the GroundWater modeling software, and for precious advices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    Antoine Lafare

  2. Laboratoire Hydrosciences Montpellier, UMR 5569 CNRS-IRD-UM1-UM2, Université Montpellier 2, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier, France

    Hervé Jourde, Véronique Léonardi & Séverin Pistre

  3. Water, Environment and Ecotechnologies Division, BRGM, 3 Avenue Claude-Guillemin, BP 36009, 45060, Orléans Cedex 02, France

    Nathalie Dörfliger

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  1. Antoine Lafare
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  2. Hervé Jourde
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  3. Véronique Léonardi
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  4. Séverin Pistre
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  5. Nathalie Dörfliger
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Correspondence to Antoine Lafare.

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Lafare, A., Jourde, H., Léonardi, V. et al. Mathematical modeling of karstogenesis: an approach based on fracturing and hydrogeological processes. Carbonates Evaporites 32, 391–401 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-017-0337-6

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