The Estimation of Aquifer Parameters Using Tidal Effect in a Coastal Aquifer: A Case Study in Beihai Peninsula

How to estimate aquifer parameters, or to confirm the extending length of the aquifer under the sea or the existence of the aquifer submarine outlet-capping, via the analysis for the observed data of water-level dynamic condition in observation well, has attracted much attention from hydrogeologists. Based on the well acquaintance with the hydrogeological conditions in the Beihai Peninsula, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China, the first confined aquifer in this area can be conceptualized into a vertical three-layered nonstationary flow model with the aquifer submarine outlet-capping and the leakage through the aquifer's roof. The analytical solution to this model is applied to analyze the tidal and piezometer data in a coastal aquifer of the Beihai Peninsula in this article. The aquifer parameters are estimated using least-squares objective function with novel penalty functions incorporating known information. The solution prediction closely fits with the observation very well.