Derivation of a fractional Boussinesq equation for modelling unconfined groundwater

Abstract

In this manuscript, a fractional Boussinesq equation is obtained by assuming power-law changes of flux in a control volume and using a fractional Taylor series. Furthermore, it was assumed that the average thickness of the watery layer of an aquifer is constant, and the linear fractional Boussinesq equation was derived. Unlike classical Boussinesq equation, due to the non-locality property of fractional derivatives, the parameters of the fractional Boussinesq equation are constant and scale-invariant. In addition, the fractional Boussinesq equation has two various fractional orders of differentiation with respect to x and y that indicate the degree of heterogeneity in the x and y directions, respectively.