Solute mixing, dynamic uncertainty and effective dispersion in two-dimensional heterogeneous porous media

Abstract: We study the mixing dynamics of a solute that is transported by advection and dispersion in a heterogeneous Darcy scale porous medium. We quantify mixing and dynamic uncertainty in terms of the mean squared solute concentration and the concentration variance. The latter measures the degree of mixing of the solute and at the same time the uncertainty around the mean concentration. Its evolution is controlled by the creation of concentration fluctuations due to solute spreading and its destruction by local dispersion. For moderate heterogeneity, this interplay can be quantified by using apparent and effective dispersion coefficients. For increasing heterogeneity we find deviations from the predicted behavior. In order to shed light on these behaviors and separate solute mixing and spreading, we decompose the solute plume into partial plumes, transport Green functions, and analyze their dynamics relative to those of the whole plume. This reveals that the variability in the dispersive scales of the Green functions in the plume and their interactions due to the strong focusing of preferential flow paths play an important role in highly heterogeneous porous media.