TY - JOUR
T1 - A distributed parameter approach for evaluating the accuracy of groundwater model predictions
T2 - 2. Application to groundwater flow
AU - McLaughlin, Dennis
AU - Wood, Eric F.
PY - 1988/7
Y1 - 1988/7
N2 - The distributed parameter theory presented by McLaughlin and Wood (this issue) is used to evaluate the accuracy of a groundwater flow model. The special case investigated assumes that the model's prediction errors are due primarily to data limitations. In this case, approximate prediction error moments (mean and covariance) are obtained by solving two sets of coupled partial differential equations which have the same basic structure as the original flow equation. Solutions can be obtained with spectral, Green's function, or numerical techniques, depending on the assumptions made. Two examples are solved using a finite element approach. The first (two‐dimensional) example confirms steady state infinite domain results obtained with spectral methods. The second (three‐dimensional) example investigates the influence of spatial variability, sampling strategy, and suboptimal estimation on model prediction accuracy.
AB - The distributed parameter theory presented by McLaughlin and Wood (this issue) is used to evaluate the accuracy of a groundwater flow model. The special case investigated assumes that the model's prediction errors are due primarily to data limitations. In this case, approximate prediction error moments (mean and covariance) are obtained by solving two sets of coupled partial differential equations which have the same basic structure as the original flow equation. Solutions can be obtained with spectral, Green's function, or numerical techniques, depending on the assumptions made. Two examples are solved using a finite element approach. The first (two‐dimensional) example confirms steady state infinite domain results obtained with spectral methods. The second (three‐dimensional) example investigates the influence of spatial variability, sampling strategy, and suboptimal estimation on model prediction accuracy.
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U2 - 10.1029/WR024i007p01048
DO - 10.1029/WR024i007p01048
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024193829
SN - 0043-1397
VL - 24
SP - 1048
EP - 1060
JO - Water Resources Research
JF - Water Resources Research
IS - 7
ER -