Discussion on methodology in research of groundwater flow system: A review of research on groundwater flow systems at CUG-Wuhan

Abstract

The emergence of earth system science and groundwater flow system theory marked the beginning of a new era of hydrogeology.The theory of groundwater flow systems has become a new paradigm of hydrogeology, and its development has provided new enlightenment in methodology for groundwater research.Since the early 1980s, the Groundwater Flow System Group of China University of Geosciences(Wuhan) has continued to carry out theoretical and applied research on groundwater flow systems.In this paper, we attempt to review and summarize these research from a methodological point of view.Groundwater problems are affected by many factors.The research should be based on the "combination of goal and problem orientation".Only when the target is accurate, can one move towards the goal without losing direction in the vast amount of information.The "hypothetical deduction method" adopted in the research, first deduces the expected phenomenon based on the existing knowledge and data, then observes and seek evidence purposefully, and then revises the hypothesis to continue the verification until the hypothesis is confirmed or falsified.In the process of deductive evidence-seeking, technical methods such as "controlled experiment", "information extraction and organization", and "integration of multidisciplinary methods and means" can be used.The case analysis confirmed that the controlled simulation experiment has enabled us to obtain a new understanding of the groundwater flow patterns; the use of multi-channel information extraction, processing and organization to build a groundwater flow system patterns can effectively solve practical problems in various projects; and the integration of multiple disciplines and means, and the mutual verification of various information have improved the credibility of the results.Based on the case studies, we summarized the methodologies in order to provide a reference for correctly understanding the theory of groundwater flow systems and promote the application of new theories and new ideas in hydrogeological research.

Keywords

• groundwater flow systems
• methodology
• orientation
• hypothetical deduction
• information extraction and organization