A basin-scale aquifer characterization using an inverse analysis based on groundwater level fluctuation in response to precipitation: Practical application to a watershed in Jeju Island, South Korea

Study Region: Gujwa Watershed, Jeju Island, South Korea Study Focus: In this study, we investigated whether basin-scale hydraulic properties can be inversely estimated using groundwater level fluctuation data. A geostatistical principal component adaptation evolution strategy was proposed as the inverse analysis method. It was applied to the Gujwa basin in Jeju Island. For the hypothetical case, the inverse simulation results accurately estimated the distribution and spatial structure of the hydraulic conductivity values. The quality of prior information insignificantly affected the proposed method; thus, it could be used as a critical reference method for groundwater management over a basin-scale area. New Hydrological Insight for the Region: The hydraulic characteristics of an actual aquifer can be characterized over an entire small watershed on the basis of the time-series data of the groundwater level fluctuation due to precipitation. The hydraulic properties estimated for this area correspond well to the geological features of the area that were not incorporated into the inverse analysis. Watershed-scale aquifer characterization is the most critical step in managing groundwater under the concept of watershed management. Owing to the reliability of the analysis, the estimates of aquifer hydraulic properties obtained from the proposed method can be used for various practical purposes, including establishing water resource management plans such as quantitative water resource management and groundwater pollution prevention.