The influence of spatial variability on 2D reactive transport simulations

In reactive transport simulations, the effects of the spatial variability of geological media are generally neglected. The impact of this variability is systematically examined here in 2D simulations, with a simple geometry and chemistry with a positive feedback: increase of porosity and of permeability during calcite dissolution. The results highlight the leading role in these conditions of: (i) the correlation length of porosity and of permeability; and (ii) the kinematic dispersivity, whose effects are dominant compared to those of variance and reaction kinetics. The impact of stochastic variability (between several random draws) is also significant, as it is of the same order of magnitude as the impact of the range and dispersivity.