Stefan Finsterle
Staff Scientist

Hydrogeology Department

Research Area Leader: Computational Hydrology

Phone: 510-486-5205
Fax: 510-486-5686
Email: safinsterle@lbl.gov

 

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Stefan Finsterle

Publications

Journal Articles:

Finsterle, S., C. Doughty, M.B. Kowalsky, G.J. Moridis, L. Pan, T. Xu, Y. Zhang, and K. Pruess, Advanced vadose zone simulations using TOUGH, Vadose Zone J., 7:601–609, doi:10.2136/vzj2007.0059, 2008.

Salve, R., N.Y. Krakauer, M.B. Kowalsky, and S. Finsterle, A qualitative assessment of microclimatic perturbations in a tunnel, Int. J. Climatol., doi: 10.1002/joc.1697, 2008.

Finsterle, S., and M. B. Kowalsky, Joint hydrological-geophysical inversion for soil structure identification, Vadose Zone J., 7:287-293, doi:10.2136/vzj2006.0078, 2008.

Revil, A., N. Linde, A. Cerepi, D. Jougnot, S. Matthäi, and S. Finsterle, Electrokinetic coupling in unsaturated porous media, J. Colloid Interface Sci., doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2007.03.037, 2007.

Zhang, Y. C. M. Oldenburg, S. Finsterle and G. S. Bodvarsson, System-level modeling for economic evaluation of geological CO2 storage in gas reservoirs, Energy Conservation and Management, 48(6), 1827–1833, 2007.

Lehikoinen, A., S. Finsterle, A. Voutilainen, L. M. Heikkinen, M. Vauhkonen, and J. P. Kaipio, Approximation errors and truncation of computational domains with application to geophysical tomography, Inverse Problems and Imaging, 1(2), 371–389, 2007.

Finsterle, S., Comment on “Seepage into drifts and tunnels in unsaturated fractured rock” by Dani Or, Markus Tuller, and Randall Fedors, Water Resour. Res., 42, W07603, doi:10.1029/2005WR004777, 2006.

Linde, N., S. Finsterle, and S. Hubbard, Inversion of tracer test data using tomographic constraints, Water Resour. Res., 42(4), W04410, doi:10.1029/2004WR003806, 2006.

Zhang, Y., H. H. Liu, Q. Zhou, and S. Finsterle, Effects of diffusive property heterogeneity on effective matrix diffusion coefficient for fractured rock, Water Resour. Res., 42, W04405, doi:10.1029/2005WR004513, 2006.

Finsterle, S., Demonstration of optimization techniques for groundwater plume remediation using iTOUGH2, Environmental Modelling and Software, (21)5, 665–680, doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2004.11.012, 2005.

Kowalsky, M., S. Finsterle, J. Peterson, S. Hubbard, Y. Rubin, E. Majer, A. Ward, and G. Gee, Estimation of field-scale soil hydraulic parameters and dielectric parameters through joint inversion of GPR/hydrological data, Water Resour. Res., 41, W11425, doi:10.1029/2005WR004237, 2005.

Finsterle, S., C.M. Oldenburg, Research advances in vadose zone hydrology through simulations with the TOUGH codes, Preface to special section of Vadose Zone J., 3: 737, 2004.

Finsterle, S., Multiphase inverse modeling: Review and iTOUGH2 applications, Vadose Zone J., 3: 747–762, 2004.

Ghezzehei, T. A., R. C. Trautz, S. Finsterle, P. J. Cook, and C. F. Ahlers, Modeling coupled evaporation and seepage in ventilated tunnels, Vadose Zone J., 3: 806-818, 2004.

Gallagher, P. M., and S. Finsterle, Physical and numerical model of colloidal silica injection for passive site stabilization, Vadose Zone J., 3: 917-925, 2004.

Kitterød, N.-O., and S. Finsterle, Simulating unsaturated flow fields based on saturation measurements, Journal of Hydraulic Research, 42, 121-129, 2004.

Kowalsky, M.B., S. Finsterle, and Y. Rubin, Estimating flow parameter distributions using ground-penetrating radar and hydrological measurements during transient flow in the vadose zone, Adv. Water Resour., 27(6), 583–-599, 2004.

Unger, A., S. Finsterle, and G. S. Bodvarsson, Transport of radon gas into a tunnel at Yucca Mountain—estimating large-scale fractured tuff hydraulic properties and implications for the ventilation system, Journal of Contam. Hydrol., 70, 152-171, 2004.

Vasco, D.W., S. Finsterle, Numerical trajectory calculations for the efficient inversion of flow and transport observations, Water Resour. Res., doi:10.10292003WR002362, 2003.

Engelhardt, I., S. Finsterle, and C. Hofstee, Experimental and numerical investigation of flow phenomena in nonisothermal, variably saturated bentonite crushed rock mixtures, Vadose Zone J., 2: 239-246, 2003.

Engelhardt, I., and S. Finsterle, Thermal-hydrologic experiments with bentonite crushed rock mixtures and estimation of effective parameters by inverse modeling, Applied Clay Science, 23, 111-120, 2003.

Liu, H. H., G. S. Bodvarsson, and S. Finsterle, A note on unsaturated flow in two-dimensional fracture networks, Water Resour. Res., 38(9), 1176, doi:10.10272001WR000977, 2002.

Houseworth, J. E., S. Finsterle, and G. S. Bodvarsson, Flow and
transport in the drift shadow in a dual-continuum model, submitted to Journal of Contam. Hydrol., 62-63, 133-156, 2003.

Finsterle, S., C. F. Ahlers, R. C. Trautz, and P. J. Cook, Inverse and predictive modeling of seepage into underground openings, Journal of Contam. Hydrol., 62-63, 89-109, 2003.

Mays, D. C., B. Faybishenko, and S. Finsterle, Information Entropy to measure temporal and spatial complexity of unsaturated flow in heterogeneous media, Water Resour. Res., 38(12), 1313, doi:10.10292001WR001185, 2002.

Finsterle, S., J. T. Fabryka-Martin, and J. S. Y. Wang, Migration of a water pulse through fractured porous media, J. Contam. Hydr., 54 (1-2), 37-57, 2002.

Finsterle, S., Using the continuum approach to model unsaturated flow in fractured rock, accepted for publication in Water Resour. Res., 36(8), 2055—2066, 2000.

Finsterle, S., and R. C. Trautz, Numerical modeling of seepage into underground openings, Mining Engineering, 53(9), 52-56, 2001.

Moridis, G.J., S. Finsterle, and J. Heiser, Evaluation of alternative designs for an injectable barrier at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Site, Long Island, New York, Water Resour. Res., 35(10), 2937—2953, 1999.

Ahlers, C.F., S. Finsterle, and G.S. Bodvarsson, Characterization of subsurface pneumatic response at Yucca Mountain, J. Contam. Hydr., 38(1—3), 47—68, 1999.

Wang, J.S.Y., R.C. Trautz, P.J. Cook, S. Finsterle, A. L. James, and J. Birkholzer, Field tests and model analyses of seepage into drift, Contam. Hydr., 38(1—3), 323—347, 1999.

Finsterle, S., and B. Faybishenko, Inverse modeling of a radial multistep outflow experiment for determining unsaturated hydraulic properties, Advances in Water Resources 22(5), 431—444, 1999.

Finsterle, S., and J. Najita, Robust estimation of hydrogeologic model parameters, Water Resour. Res., 34(11), 2939—2947, 1998.

Finsterle, S., and P. Persoff, Determining permeability of tight rock samples using inverse modeling, Water Resour. Res., 33 (8), 1803—1811, 1997.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Solving the estimation-identification problem in two-phase flow modeling, Water Resour. Res., 31 (4), 913—924, April, 1995.

Book Chapters:

Bodvarsson, G. S., S. Finsterle, H. H. Liu, C. M. Oldenburg, K. Pruess, E. Sonnenthal, and Y.-S. Wu, Flow and transport modeling of subsurface systems, in: B. B. Looney and R. W. Falta (eds.), Vadose Zone Science and Technology Solutions, Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio, 2000.

Finsterle, S., K. Pruess, G. Björnsson, and A. Battistelli, Evaluation of geothermal well behavior using inverse modeling, in: Faybishenko (Ed.), Dynamics of Fluids in Fractured Rocks, AGU Monograph 122, 2000.

Faybishenko, B., and S. Finsterle, On the physics of tensiometry in fractured rocks, in: GSA Monograph in Honor of the 60th Birthday of S. P. Neuman, 1999.

Conference Proceedings (first-author contributions only):

Finsterle, S., Forward and inverse modeling of non-isothermal multiphase flow in fractured porous media, presented at Summer Workshop of the New Zealand Institute of Mathematics and Applications “Partial Differential Equations: Analysis, Applications, and Inverse Problems”, Waitangi, New Zealand, January 8–13, 2007.

Finsterle, S., Joint hydrological-geophysical inversion for soil structure identification, presented at Summer Workshop of the New Zealand Institute of Mathematics and Applications “Partial Differential Equations: Analysis, Applications, and Inverse Problems”, Waitangi, New Zealand, January 8–13, 2007

Finsterle, S., and M.B. Kowalsky, Model structure identification through joint inversion of hydrological and geophysical data, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Dec. 5–9, 2005.

Finsterle, S., The role of model conceptualization and parameterization in multiphase inverse modeling, Paper presented at the 1st General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union, Nice, France, April 25-30, 2004. (LBNL-54278 Abs.)

Finsterle, S., and T. A. Ghezzehei, Effect of heterogeneity structure on estimation uncertainty for a calibrated seepage model, AGU 2003 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Calif., December 8-12, 2003. (LBNL-53680 Abs.)

Finsterle, S., iTOUGH2: From parameter estimation to model structure identification, Proceedings, TOUGH Symposium 2003, Berkeley, Calif., May 12-14, 2003.

Finsterle, S., Inverse modeling in multiphase flow through porous media, invited paper presented at the SIAM 50th Anniversary and 2002 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, July 8-12, 2002.

Finsterle, S., Impact of parameter uncertainty, variability, and
conceptual model errors on predictions of flow through fractured porous media, AGU 2000 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Calif., December 13-17, 2000.

Finsterle, S., Multiphase inverse modeling–Possibilities and limitations, in: Groundwater Updates, Proceedings of the IAHR International Symposium 2000 on Groundwater, Sonic City, Omiya, Japan, May 8—10, 2000, p. 479, Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, 2000.

Finsterle, S., and R. C. Trautz, Numerical modeling of seepage into underground openings, Proceedings (CD-ROM): 2000 SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 28 — March 1, 2000.

Finsterle, S., K. Pruess, G. Björnsson, and A. Battistelli, Evaluation of geothermal well behavior using inverse modeling, In: Dynamics of Fluids in Fractured Rocks, Concepts and Recent Advances, In Honor of Paul A. Witherspoon’s 80th Birthday, AGU Monograph, 2000.

Finsterle, S., and B. Faybishenko, What does a tensiometer measure in fractured rock?, In: M. Th. van Genuchten, F. J. Leij, and L. Wu (eds.), Characterization and Measurement of the Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Porous Media, Part 2, pp. 867—875, University of California, Riverside, Calif., 1999.

Finsterle, S., and R.C. Trautz, Drift seepage in unsaturated fractured rock, AGU 1999 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Calif., December 13—17, 1999.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Automatic calibration of geothermal reservoir models through parallel computing on a workstation cluster, Proceedings, Twenty-Fourth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., 123—130, January 25—27, 1999.

Finsterle, S., C. Satik, and M. Guerrero, Analysis of boiling experiment using inverse modeling, Proceedings, TOUGH Workshop '98, May 4—6, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., pp. 281—287, 1998.

Finsterle, S., T.O. Sonnenborg, and B. Faybishenko, Inverse modeling of a multistep outflow experiment for determining hysteretic hydraulic properties, Proceedings, TOUGH Workshop '98, May 4—6, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., pp. 250—256, 1998.

Finsterle, S., Multiphase inverse problem: An overview, Proceedings, Geothermal Program Review XVI, Berkeley, Calif., April 1—2, 1998.

Finsterle, S., Inverse modeling for multiphase flow in porous media, Fourth SIAM conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Albuquerque, June 16—18, 1997.

Finsterle, S., Problems with the multiphase inverse problem, Third Tracer Workshop, Austin, Texas, May 20—22, 1997.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Development of inverse modeling techniques for geothermal applications, Proceedings, Geothermal Program Review XV, pp. 2-47—2-54, San Francisco, Calif., March 24—26, 1997.

Finsterle, S, C.M. Oldenburg, A.L. James, K. Pruess, G.J. Moridis, Mathematical modeling of permeation grouting and subsurface barrier performance, Proceedings, International Containment Technology Conference and Exhibition, St. Petersburg, Florida, February 9—12, pp. 438—444, 1997.

Finsterle, S., K. Pruess, D.P. Bullivant, and M.J. O'Sullivan, Application of inverse modeling to geothermal reservoir simulation, Proceedings, Twenty-Second Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, January 27—29, pp. 309—316, 1997.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Automatic history matching of geothermal field performance, Proceedings, 17th New Zealand Geothermal Workshop, November 8—10, pp. 193—198, Auckland, New Zealand, 1995.

Finsterle, S., Direct and inverse modeling of multiphase flow systems, Invited paper, Modeling and Computation in Environmental Sciences, Proceedings of the First GAMM-Seminar at ICA Stuttgart, October 12—13, 1995, pp. 146—157, 1995.

Finsterle, S., C.F. Tsang, S.M. Benson, and G.J. Moridis, Use of blocking agent to improve the effectiveness of soil vapor extraction, presented at the ACE, I&EC Symposium Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management VII, September 17—20, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 1008—1012, 1995.

Finsterle, S., G.S. Bodvarsson, and G. Chen, Inverse modeling as a step in the calibration of the LBL-USGS site-scale model of Yucca Mountain, presented at the International High Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference, May 1—5, Las Vegas, Nevada, pp. 154—156, 1995.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, ITOUGH2: Solving TOUGH inverse problems, Proceedings, TOUGH Workshop '95, March 20—22, pp. 287—292, Report LBL-37200, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 1995.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Using simulation-optimization techniques to improve multiphase aquifer remediation, Proceedings, TOUGH Workshop '95, March 20—22, pp. 181—186, Report LBL-37200, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 1995.

Finsterle, S., G.J. Moridis, K. Pruess, and P. Persoff, Development of an in-situ containment technology, presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 5—9, San Francisco, Calif., 1994.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Estimating two-phase hydraulic properties by inverse modeling, Proceedings, Fifth Annual International High Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 1994, pp. 2160—2167, American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, Ill., 1994.

Finsterle, S., G.J. Moridis, K. Pruess, and P. Persoff, Physical barriers formed from gelling liquids: Numerical design of laboratory and field experiments, presented at the AGU Spring Meeting, May 23—27, Baltimore, Maryland, 1994.

Finsterle, S., Determining two-phase hydraulic properties by inverse modeling, Proceedings, IX. International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources, June 9—12, Denver, Colorado, 1992.

Finsterle, S., S. Mishra, and J.-M. Lavanchy, Hydrogeologic site characterization under two-phase flow conditions, Proceedings, NEA Workshop on Gas Generation and Release From Radioactive Waste Repositories, September 23—26, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1991.

Reports (first-author contributions only):

Finsterle, S., and M.B. Kowalsky, iTOUGH2-GSLIB User’s Guide, Report LBNL/Publ-3191 , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., June 2007.

Finsterle, S., M. Conrad, B.M. Kennedy, K. Pruess, T. Kneafsey, R. Salve, G. Su., and Q. Zhang, Mobility of Tritium in Engineered and Earth Materials at the NuMI Facility, Fermila, Report LBNL-61798, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., January 2007.

Finsterle, S., and Y. Seol, Preliminary Evaluation of Drift Seepage Model Using Information form the ESF South Ramp at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Report LBNL-58698, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., August 2005.

Finsterle, S., Seepage Calibration Model and Seepage Testing Data, MDL-NBS-HS-00004, REV 03, LBID-2470, 2004.

Finsterle, S., and G.S. Bodvarsson, Technical Basis Document No.3: Seepage into Drifts, LBID-2523, 2003.

Finsterle, S., Demonstration of Optimization Techniques for Groundwater Plume Remediation, Report LBNL-46746, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 2000.

Finsterle, S., iTOUGH2 User's Guide, Report LBNL-40400, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 1999a.

Finsterle, S., iTOUGH2 Command Reference,, Report LBNL-40401, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 1999b.

Finsterle, S., iTOUGH2 Sample Problems, Report LBNL-40402, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., 1999c.

Finsterle, S., Parallelization of ITOUGH2 Using PVM, Report LBNL-42261, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., October 1998.

Finsterle, S., ITOUGH2 V3.2, Verification and Validation Report, Report LBNL-42002, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., June 1998.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, Design and Analysis of a Well Test for Determining Two-Phase Hydraulic Properties, Report LBNL-39620, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., December 1996.

Finsterle, S., K. Pruess, and P. Fraser, ITOUGH2 Software Qualification, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Report LBNL-39489, Berkeley, Calif., October 1996.

Finsterle, S., Design of a Welltest for Determining Two-Phase Hydraulic Properties, Report LBL-37448, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., January 1995.

Finsterle, S., G.J. Moridis, and K. Pruess, A TOUGH2 Equation-of-State Module for the Simulation of Two-Phase Flow of Air, Water, and a Miscible Gelling Liquid, Report LBL-36086, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., May 1994.

Finsterle, S., Inverse Modeling of Test SB4-VM2/216.7 at Wellenberg, Report LBL-35454, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., March 1994.

Finsterle, S., ITOUGH2 User's Guide, Version 2.2, Report LBL-34581, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., August 1993.

Finsterle, S., and K. Pruess, FLG: Design Calculations for a Combined Ventilation and Brine Injection Experiment at the Grimsel Rock Laboratory, Report LBL-34460, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., July 1993.

Finsterle, S., Inverse Modellierung zur Bestimmung hydrogeologischer Parameter eines Zweiphasensystems, Mitteilung Nr. 121 der Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie (VAW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich (also Nagra Technical Report NTB 93-20, Nagra, Wettingen, Switzerland), February, 1993.

Finsterle, S., Wellenberg: One-Dimensional Stress Release Model Assuming Two-Phase Flow Conditions, Nagra Internal Report, Wettingen, Switzerland, September, 1992.

Finsterle, S., ITOUGH User's Guide, Version 1.0, Nagra Internal Report, Nagra, Wettingen, Switzerland, August, 1992.

Finsterle, S., S. Mishra, P. Vinard, and S. Vomvoris, Wellenberg: Regional Gas Depletion Model–One-Dimensional Scoping Calculations, Nagra Internal Report, Wettingen, Switzerland, May, 1992.

Finsterle, S., and S. Vomvoris, Inflow to Stripa Validation Drift Under Two-Phase Conditions: Scoping Calculations, Nagra Internal Report, Wettingen, Switzerland, May, 1991.

Finsterle, S., S. Mishra, and J.-M. Lavanchy, Interpretation of Selected OBS-1 Tests Using the Two-Phase Numerical Simulator TOUGH, Nagra Internal Report, Wettingen, Switzerland, April, 1991.

Finsterle, S., E. Schlueter, and K. Pruess, Exploratory Simulations of Multiphase Effects in Gas Injection and Ventilation Tests in an Underground Rock Laboratory, Report LBL-28810, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (also Nagra-DOE-Co-Project Report NDC-13), Berkeley, Calif., June, 1990.

Finsterle, S., FLG: Design Calculations for a Gas Test at Grimsel Rock Laboratory, Nagra Internal Report, Nagra, Wettingen, Switzerland, July, 1989.

Finsterle, S., Auswertung der GPS Messkampagne Naters, Mitteilung Nr. 151 des Institutes für Geodäsie und Photogrammetrie, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich, Switzerland, 1987.