Simulation of contaminant transport in three dimensions: 2. Dimensionality effects

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Abstract
The alternating direction Galerkin technique developed in the first paper of this series is applied to the simulation of field‐scale contaminant transport scenarios in two and three dimensions, and dimensionality effects are examined. In the case of vertical‐plane simulation, the dimensionality effect, which becomes noticeable at a transverse dispersivity of only 1 cm, can result in significant overestimation of plume length. In the case of vertically averaged horizontal plane simulation, the apparent length of a plume defined in terms of vertical averages will be much less than that of the equivalent plume defined in terms of peak concentrations. Only the three‐dimensional simulation is capable of producing the actual concentration values that drive local processes such as chemical reactions. The cost of the three‐dimensional simulations, while substantially greater than that of the two‐dimensional simulations, is shown to be reasonable.