Groundwater System Identification through Time Series Analysis
2012
Von Asmuth, J.R.
Groundwater, water in the ground. Although it is invisible, it is a vital resource for all terrestrial life (whether direct or indirect). Many processes interact with it. Rain recharges it, as it infiltrates the soil. Plant roots take it up, and their leaves evaporate it. It discharges to rivers and streams, and is abstracted with pumping wells. It is controlled with ditches and drainage means. Such processes and activities leave their traces in the groundwater level fluctuations. Careful analysis of these fluctuations may reveal much of the functioning of systems, and of the effects of individual factors. This is shown by many, but practiced by too few, as traditional time series analysis theory and software are complex.In this thesis, a new method of time series analysis is presented. Its continuous time formulation fits existing physical-hydrologic theory and methods well. It is shown that groundwater level responses generally take the shape of simple distribution functions. This notion, combined with the program Menyanthes that was developed, enable the quick and easy analysis of large numbers of time series. The spatial patterns that emerge in the results of multiple models literally add another dimension to the technique. As time series models are usually accurate also, they may be valuable to every (eco)hydrologist.
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