Metaphors and Models: The ASR Bubble in the Floridan Aquifer

Abstract

Studies at the intersection of cognitive science and linguistics have revealed the crucial role that metaphors play in shaping our thoughts about phenomena we cannot see. According to the domains interaction theory of cognition, a metaphoric expression sets up mappings between a target domain that we wish to understand and a familiar source domain. The source domain contains elements ("commonplaces") that we manipulate mentally, like parts of an analogue model, to illuminate the target domain. This paper applies the structure of domains interaction theory to analyze the dynamics of a metaphor in hydrogeology: the so-called bubble formed by water injected into an aquifer during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). Of the four commonplaces of bubbles--(1) they are discrete; (2) they are geometrically simple; (3) they rise; and (4) they burst--we focus on the first two using both displacement and dispersion (tracer) models for both homogeneous and heterogeneous storage zones patterned from geological studies of the Suwannee Limestone of Sarasota County, Florida. The displacement model easily shows that "bottle brush" better represents the geometric complexity predicted from the known and inferred heterogeneity. There is virtually no difference, however, in the prediction of recovery efficiency using the dispersion model for a bubble (homogeneous flow zone) vs. bottle brush (heterogeneous flow zone). On the other hand, only the bottle brush reveals that unrecovered tracer is located preferentially in the low-permeability layers that lie adjacent to high-permeability channels in the flow zones.

Variable-density modelling of multiple-cycle aquifer storage and recovery (ASR): Importance of anisotropy and layered heterogeneity in brackish aquifers

“…At very large K 2 /K 1 ratios, one expects that the system should begin to behave more like a ''stack'' of independent, relatively thin aquifers, with the injected plume penetrating the K 2 layers only (Vacher et al, 2006). This is shown schematically in Fig.…”

Aquifer Storage and Recovery of Treated Sewage Effluent in the Middle East

“…The latter approach could potentially be used to both capture natural recharge and for ASR is inappropriate. The shape of the freshwater zone is more similar to an inverted cone, inverted pine tree, or bottlebrush [4,11,12]. Heterogeneity in aquifer hydraulic conductivity controls the shape of the freshwater reservoir, with the zones having the greatest conductivity receiving a disproportionate fraction of the injected water.…”

Assessment of Managed Aquifer Recharge through Modeling—A Review

“…Key parameters that have been modeled and that influence the recovery rate are the dispersity of the aquifer [32,86,88,91] and the aquifer heterogeneity [4,92,93] which can be characterized by high variations of permeability or the presence of dual-porosity zones. Modeling these parameters may help to understand the aquifer system and thus adapt the MAR operation scheme.…”

“…Modeling these parameters may help to understand the aquifer system and thus adapt the MAR operation scheme. Dual-porosity flow [4,[92][93][94] and density-driven or buoyancy-induced flow [4,32,83,89,[93][94][95][96][97][98][99] were incorporated into models in order to depict those complex processes. A simple screening tool developed by Ward et al [32] can help to assess ASR performance in brackish and saline aquifers prior to numerical modeling.…”