Matlab Module to Delineate Zones of Contribution

Roseanna Neupauer

University of Colorado

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Initial Publication Date: April 10, 2006 | Reviewed: June 8, 2013 (see revision history: 2 events)

Summary

This module includes two Matlab routines to delineate zones of contribution. Students can vary aquifer parameters and stresses and observe the effects on the zone of contribution.

Unsaturated zone/recharge | College Upper (15-16), Graduate/Professional

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Context

Audience

I use this in senior-level and graduate level groundwater hydrology courses.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Matlab must be available, but no experience in running Matlab is needed.

How the activity is situated in the course

I use this as a demonstration in a lecture on zones of contribution, and the students use the routines as a tool to help them test designs of a hydraulic containment system for a class design project.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

This activity is used to investigate well hydraulics.

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

By varying the input parameters to these Matlab routines, students can quickly observe the effects of aquifer properties and stresses on the size and shape of zones of contribution.

Other skills goals for this activity

Description of the activity/assignment

This is a visual demonstration of the effects of aquifer parameters and stresses on the size and shape of zones of contribution. With these simple Matlab routines, students can rapidly observe zones of contributions for different sets of input parameters.