To date, efficient numerical simulation of contaminant transport in geologic porous media is challenged by parametric jumps resulting from stratification and the use of ideal initial/boundary conditions. Thus, to resolve some contaminant hydrology problems, this work presents the development of the Space-Time Conservation Element/Solution Element (CE/SE) scheme for advection-dispersion-reaction a-d-r transport in geologic media. The CE/SE method derives from the native form of Gauss conservation law. Therefore, it is able to effectively handle non-trivial discontinuities that may exist within the problem domain. In freshwater aquifer, stratification and other parametric jumps are examples of such discontinuity. To simulate the Nigerian experience of nitrate pollution of freshwater aquifers;the a-d-r contaminant transport model is herein solved under a time periodic nitrate fertilizer loading condition on farmlands. Results show that this approach is able to recover the well-known field pattern of nitrate profiles under farmlands. Cyclic loading impacts more on the dispersivity of an aquifer. Hence, dispersion coefficient modulates the response of aquifers to loading frequency. However, aquifers with conductivity less than 10-6 m/day are almost insensitive to periodic loads. The CE/SE method is able to sense slight (i.e. order of 10-3) variation in hydrological parameters. Also, CE/SE computes contaminant concentration and its flux simultaneously. Thus, it facilitates a better understanding of some reported phenomena such as contaminant accumulation and localized reverse transport at the interface between fracture and matrix in geologic medium. Clearly, CE/SE is an efficient and admissible tool into the family of numerical methods available for tracking contaminant transport in porous media.
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