| Biography | |
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 Prof. Bill X. Hu Institute of Groundwater and Earth Sciences, Jinan University, China |
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| Title: Karst Groundwater Dynamics-Field Observation, Experiment and Modeling | |
| Abstract: Karst is a unique landscape containing caves and extensive underground water systems that is developed by dissolution in the carbonate rocks such as limestone and gypsum. Typical karst features are sinkholes and dolines on land surface, and the network of voids, caves and conduits below the surface, formed by the dissolution of the soluble carbonate rocks. The open and porous nature of a karst aquifer, combined with the dissolution of joints and fractures within the bedrocks over a geological time, evolve complex subsurface conduit systems. Compared to a porous medium, a karst aquifer is typically a dual-porosity system where groundwater and solutes move rapidly through conduits and water and solute exchanges between conduits and their porous media in a dual-permeability karst aquifer system. In the last 16 years, Dr. Bill Hu’s groups used cave-divers, tracer tests, geophysical methods and well driving to extensively investigate two karst watersheds, Woodville Karst Plain (WKP) in USA and Maochun village in China and characterize the karst medium hydraulic properties. They conducted laboratory and field experiments to quantitatively study water and chemical exchanges between the conduits and the surrounding media. Based on the investigations and experiments, they developed a series of discrete-continuum hybrid numerical models to simulate regional groundwater and solute transport in the conduits and porous media in saturated and unsaturated karst media, and seawater intrusion through the subsurface conduit networks. The karst modeling established a framework for future developments, including, conduit evolution and contamination remediation. | |
| Biography: Bill X. Hu has been a professor and dean at Institute of Groundwater and Earth Sciences, Jinan University, China since 2015. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1996 from Purdue University, USA, and then worked at Desert Research Institute and Florida State University as assistant professor, associate professor and professor until he accepted his current job as one of China 1000 talent program. In his long education and work experience, his research mainly focus on modeling groundwater flow and solute transport in complex subsurface environments using numerical and stochastic approaches. In the last 15 years, his group has conducted various field measurement, field and laboratory experiments and developed several numerical method to explore flow and transport in karst media. He has conducted various research projects on Solute transport, karst hydrology and seawater intrusion, and published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers. He currently serves as a topic editor or associate editor for HESS, SERRA and China Science-Earth Science. | |
