Calibrating transmissivities from piezometric heads with the gradual deformation method: An application to the Culebra Dolomite unit at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), New Mexico, USA

► We model transmissivities within the Culebra Dolomite unit. ► We solve the inverse problem with the gradual deformation method. ► We apply a variant of the gradual deformation method that is local. ► The definition of the regions to perturb involves Voronoï polygons. The gradual deformation method (GDM) is a geostatistical parameterization technique introduced in reservoir engineering for compelling reservoir models to respect production history. It makes it possible to adjust the spatial distribution of the hydraulic properties populating the reservoir model so that the flow responses simulated for the modified model closely replicate the production data collected on the field. The work presented in this paper investigates the potential of the GDM to solve inverse problems in hydrogeology, or subsurface hydrology, and produce heterogeneous transmissivity fields conditional to both transmissivity and piezometric head measurements within a stochastic context. It focuses on the calibration of the Culebra Dolomite unit, which lies approximately 450m above the repository horizon of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico, USA. Results show that the proposed version of the GDM, with a local deformation in each sub-domain neighboring a well, is efficient and competitive compared to other geostatistical-based inverse methods such as the pilot point method.