Computer-aided modeling of heterogeneous, two-dimensional, groundwater system

An interactive groundwater modeling (IGWM) package has been developed on a dedicated artificial-intelligence computer. The package consists of a graphic interface and groundwater models. The purpose of the graphic interface is to facilitate modeling tasks such as defining the groundwater system and the input stresses, managing the numerical solution, and updating the hydraulic parameters. The package is developed in Symbolics Common LISP language and uses numerical models written in LISP. During the modeling, the numerical grid is projected on the graphic screen to serve as an interface to the two-dimensional (2-D) arrays where the magnitude of the hydraulic parameters are stored. The user of the package recreates the scenario that simulates a natural groundwater system by symbolically manipulating the nodes of the numerical grid, assigning patterns to the nodes, and setting the contents of the 2-D arrays. These steps are accomplished through execution of commands available from the command menu. Layers of patterns containing the information regarding the hydraulic parameters are stored in the computer memory and are redisplayed at the appropriate update sequence by the package automatically. The modeling process is continued until a satisfactory match is obtained between the computed piezometric head and the field-observed piezometric head. The use of the package in modeling heterogeneous groundwater systems is demonstrated by a field application. The numerical solutions obtained using the package were compared with other published results.