Groundwater response to tidal fluctuation in an inhomogeneous coastal aquifer-aquitard system

This paper investigates tide-induced groundwater fluctuation and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in a leaky inhomogeneous coastal aquifer system with an upper unconfined aquifer, a lower confined aquifer, and an aquitard between them. The upper left aquifer is formed due to land reclamation. The SGD defined as the groundwater flow from land into the sea is controlled mainly by the hydraulic gradient between land and sea. An analytical expression is developed to discuss and assess the effect of inhomogeneity on the groundwater head fluctuation in the leaky aquifer system. Joint effects of aquifers’ parameters such as leakage and hydraulic diffusivity on the groundwater head fluctuation and SGD are investigated. The predicted results from the analytical expression indicate that the groundwater head fluctuation in both unconfined and confined aquifers is dependent on dimensionless leakages and increases with dimensionless hydraulic diffusivity.