Solute transport in heterogeneous media: A discussion of technical issues coupling site characterization and predictive assessment

Abstract Long-term predictive evaluation of solute transport and transformation in geologic media is a critical element in the performance assessment of nuclear waste geologic repositories and in the environmental restoration or control of contaminated sites that is facing many countries today. Since the geologic media are heterogeneous and their details can never be known deterministically, long-term prediction of flow and transport in such systems requires new thinking. Thus, it is no longer possible to consider site characterization and predictive modeling calculations to be separate activities; rather they are highly coupled. This paper presents a discussion of the coupling and proposes a framework of technical issues that need to be studied.