Parameter estimation using carbon-14 ages: Lessons from the Danube-Tisza interfluvial region of Hungary

Parameter estimation was conducted on a groundwater model of the Danube-Tisza interfluvial region of Hungary. The model was calibrated using 300 water levels and 48 14C ages. The model provided a test of regression methods for a system with a large number of observations. Up to 103 parameters representing horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities and boundary conductances were assigned using point values and bilinear interpolation between points. The lowest errors were obtained using an iterative approach with groups of parameters, rather than estimating all of the parameters simultaneously. The model with 48 parameters yielded the lowest standard error of regression.