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 Preface to the
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| We began this task more than
three years ago with the primary objective of bringing together, in a
single volume, both theoretical and practical aspects of contaminant
transport modeling. Faced with a significant gap between the
state-of-the-science and the state-of-the-practice, we struggled at times
to find the right balance between theoretical rigor and pragmatic model
application. We hope that readers will agree with our selection of topics
and our goal of clarity in preference to mathematical formalism.
We envision this text as a self-study guide and reference volume for practicing hydrogeologists, environmental scientists and engineers who are interested in the application of contaminant transport simulation. We have made efforts to explain both concepts and numerical techniques in plain terms so that no advanced mathematical background is required to use the book. We have included numerous examples and case studies to facilitate the transition from theory to field application. We believe that the book is also suitable for use as a text or reference in a graduate-level course in contaminant transport modeling. Most groundwater-related graduate programs in the United States offer a course in flow modeling; a course in contaminant transport simulation may be taught as a sequel or extension to the flow modeling course, using the materials from this text. An optional diskette designed to accompany the book contains software which can be used by students to gain hands-on experience in transport simulation and to complete class projects involving real-world problems. We must comment on the units used in this text. The examples cited from the literature use both English and metric systems of units. Instead of converting to one unit system or the other, we have generally stayed with whatever units were used in the original sources, and have used both English and metric unit systems in the text. Acknowledgments We are deeply indebted to our reviewers, Daniel Feinstein, Mary Anderson, Charles Andrews, Mary Hill, Jiu Jiao, Christopher Neville, Eileen Poeter, Remy Hennet and Weixing Guo, whose comments and criticisms have significantly strengthened this work. We are very grateful to Lewis Shumaker of the Department of Geology at the University of Alabama who prepared the illustrations for Chapters 3 through 12, and to Pierre Bowins of S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc. who prepared the illustrations for the first two chapters. The enthusiasm, patience, and skill with which they drafted a very large number of illustrations have added greatly to the clarity of the presentation. We appreciate the assistance we have received in many forms from the Department of Geology at the University of Alabama, and from S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc. We have benefited greatly from many stimulating discussions with our colleagues and students. The senior author wishes to express his gratitude to Mary Anderson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has been an advisor, mentor and friend since his graduate-school days. Her unfailing faith in him and continuing moral support was a major inspiration for this book. C. ZHENG |
