Procedures for uncertainty analyses applied to a landfill leachate plume

• Published in: Ground water Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 874 - 883
• Main Authors: Abbaspour, K.C, Schulin, R, Van Genuchten, M.T, Schlappi, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.1998; Ground Water Publishing Company
• Subjects: chlorides; Environment; Groundwater; groundwater contamination; groundwater flow; Hydrology; Landfill; landfill leachates; Simulation; simulation models; statistical analysis; stochastic processes; transport processes; uncertainty; Switzerland
• ISSN: 0017-467X; 1745-6584
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1998.tb02094.x

Environmental data often have features that are distinct from data in other branches of science. These features include spatial and/or temporal auto-correlation, natural heterogeneity, measurement errors, small sample sizes, and simultaneous existence of different types and qualities of data. Realistic environmental modeling requires simulation procedures that account for all of these features. In this study, a model of uncertainty analysis, BUDA, is used to account for the noted features and provide a unified framework for quantification, propagation, and reduction of uncertainty. The BUDA model is used to analyze the development of a chloride plume around an old landfill to the year 2020. This article describes the different components of BUDA as they relate to the landfill application.