Gravity currents in horizontal porous layers: transition from early to late self-similarity

We investigate the evolution of a finite release of fluid into an infinite, two-dimensional, horizontal, porous slab saturated with a fluid of different density and viscosity. The vertical boundaries of the slab are impermeable and the released fluid spreads as a gravity current along a horizontal boundary. At early times the released fluid fills the entire height of the layer, and the governing equation admits a self-similar solution that is a function of the viscosity ratio between the two fluids. This early similarity solution describes a tilting interface with tips propagating as x proportional to t(1/2). At late times the released fluid has spread along the boundary and the height of the current is much smaller than the thickness of the layer. The governing equation simplifies and admits a different similarity solution that is independent of the viscosity ratio. This late similarity solution describes a point release of fluid in a semi-infinite porous half-space, where the tip of the interface propagates as x proportional to t(1/3). The same simplification of the governing equation occurs if the viscosity of the released fluid is much higher than the viscosity of the ambient fluid. We have obtained an expression for the time when the solution transitions from the early to the late self-similar regime. The transition time increases monotonically with increasing viscosity ratio. The transition period during which the solution is not self-similar also increases monotonically with increasing viscosity ratio, for. mobility ratios larger than unity. Numerical computations describing the full evolution of the governing equation show good agreement with the theoretical results. Estimates of the spreading of injected fluids over long times are important for geological storage of CO(2), and for the migration of pollutants in aquifers. In all cases it is important to be able to anticipate when the spreading regime transitions from x proportional to t(1/2) to x proportional to t(1/3).