Solving inverse problems of groundwater-pollution-source identification using a differential evolution algorithm

In this study, an accurate model was developed for solving problems of groundwater-pollution-source identification. In the developed model, the numerical simulations of flow and pollutant transport in groundwater were carried out using MODFLOW and MT3DMS software. The optimization processes were carried out using a differential evolution algorithm. The performance of the developed model was tested on two hypothetical aquifer models using real and noisy observation data. In the first model, the release histories of the pollution sources were determined assuming that the numbers, locations and active stress periods of the sources are known. In the second model, the release histories of the pollution sources were determined assuming that there is no information on the sources. The results obtained by the developed model were found to be better than those reported in literature.