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Home/Biophysics, Fluids & Geoscience/Groundwater Contaminant Plume

Groundwater Contaminant Plume

Advection-dispersion pulse in groundwater with longitudinal/transverse spreading, retardation factor R, and a monitoring-well breakthrough curve.

Transport parameters

24 m/yr
8 m
2.2
220

Observation

260 m
16 yr

The plume is an analytic pulse solution of the advection-dispersion equation with retardation: R slows both advection and spreading in this simplified dissolved-contaminant view.

Measured values

effective velocity10.9 m/yr
D_L / R87.3 m2/yr
advective arrival20.7 yr
C at well now0.022

Real aquifers add heterogeneity, sorption isotherms, decay, pumping wells, and boundary conditions. This page keeps the textbook pulse solution so the roles of advection, dispersion, retardation, and monitoring-well breakthrough stay visible.

Live graphs

About this model

This simulator shows the textbook advection-dispersion response to an instantaneous dissolved contaminant pulse in a uniform aquifer. Groundwater velocity translates the plume, longitudinal and transverse dispersion spread it, and a retardation factor R slows the mobile concentration by replacing v and D with effective v/R and D/R in this simplified linear sorption picture. The map shows concentration in plan view, while the lower plot samples C(t) at a monitoring well to form a breakthrough curve. The page omits aquifer heterogeneity, nonlinear sorption, biodegradation, pumping wells, recharge, and boundary conditions so the roles of advection, dispersion, retardation, and observation distance remain easy to isolate.

Who it's for: Hydrogeology, environmental engineering, or transport PDE introductions.

Key terms

  • Advection-dispersion equation
  • Retardation factor
  • Breakthrough curve
  • Groundwater plume
  • Dispersivity

How it works

Advection-dispersion plume for a pulse release in groundwater: velocity carries the plume, dispersivity spreads it, retardation delays dissolved contaminant arrival, and the well curve shows breakthrough.

Key equations

R ∂C/∂t = D_L ∂²C/∂x² + D_T ∂²C/∂y² − v ∂C/∂x
v_eff = v/R, D_eff = D/R, breakthrough at x_w peaks near t ≈ R(x_w−x_0)/v

Frequently asked questions

Is retardation the same as decay?
No. Retardation delays transport because some contaminant mass is temporarily sorbed onto the solid matrix. Decay would remove mass chemically or biologically; that process is not included here.
Why does the well curve have a long tail?
Dispersion spreads the pulse over a range of travel times. Increasing αL broadens the breakthrough curve and lowers its peak even when the advective arrival time is unchanged.