Application of 1D paleo-fluvial process modelling at a basin scale to augment sparse borehole data: example of a Permian formation in the Galilee Basin, Australia

The heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity (K) in water-bearing formations controls subsurface flow and solute transport processes. Geostatistical techniques are often employed to characterize the K distribution in space based on the correlation between K measurements. However, at the basin scale, there are often insufficient measurements for inferring the spatial correlation. This is a widespread problem that we address in this study using the example of the Betts Creek Beds (BCB) in the Galilee Basin, Australia. To address the lack of data, we use a 1D stochastic fluvial process-based model (SFPM) to quantify the total sediment thickness, Z(x), and the sandstone proportion over the total thickness, P-s(x), in the BCB. The semivariograms of Z(x) and P-s(x) are then extracted and used in sequential Gaussian simulation to construct the 2D spatial distribution of Z(x) and P-s(x). P-s(x) can be converted to a K distribution based on classical averaging methods. The results demonstrate that the combination of SFPM and geostatistical simulation allows for the evaluation of upscaled K distribution with a limited number of K measurements. Copyright (C) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.