HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Impact of River Morphology on River–Groundwater Exchange in Braided River Systems
We're pleased to highlight this publication by Thomas Wöhling, Moritz Kraft and Antoine Di Ciacca, which investigates how flood-driven changes in braided river morphology influence river–groundwater exchange and aquifer recharge. Using HydroGeoSphere (HGS), the researchers developed fully coupled surface water–groundwater models of two braided river systems in New Zealand to isolate the effects of changing riverbed morphology before and after major flood events. The study demonstrates that morphological changes alone can significantly alter both recharge to shallow braidplain aquifers and subsequent recharge to regional groundwater systems.
Using a Hydraulic Mixing‑Cell to Characterize Surface Water – Groundwater Interactions in Snow‑Dominated Catchments - Aquanty Webinar
We’re pleased to share the recording of our recent webinar, Using a Hydraulic Mixing-Cell to Characterize Surface Water–Groundwater Interactions in Snow-Dominated Catchments. This session, presented by Benjamin Frot, PhD Candidate at Laval University, explores how integrated hydrologic modelling and innovative post-processing techniques can improve our understanding of groundwater contributions to streamflow, water age, and climate change impacts in snow-dominated watersheds.
Staff Research Highlight - Water Balance and Flow Tracer Application Using a Fully Integrated Hydrologic Model in a Pilot-scale Oil Sands Pit Lake Catchment
We're pleased to highlight this new publication by Aquanty staff, including Arghavan Tafvizi, James Ehrman, Ali Sharifinejad, Diana Zhang, Michael Callaghan, Steven Berg and Killian Miller, along with our collaborators at Suncor Energy Mike Wang, and Xiaoying Fan. This paper demonstrates the use of HydroGeoSphere (HGS) and the Hydraulic Mixing Cell (HMC) method to better understand water movement within a constructed end pit lake watershed. Using the Lake Miwasin Watershed in northern Alberta as a pilot-scale study site, the researchers developed and calibrated an integrated hydrologic model to simulate surface water, groundwater, lake levels, and evapotranspiration, while using HMC to identify how different areas of the watershed contribute to lake inflow under changing seasonal and climatic conditions.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Modeling E. coli fate and transport in and around a cattle pond
We're pleased to highlight this publication by Alexander Yakirevich and colleagues, which explores the fate and transport of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in and around a cattle pond using HydroGeoSphere (HGS). The study presents a fully integrated surface water–groundwater model that simulates watershed-scale hydrology alongside microbial transport, providing new insight into how livestock activities influence water quality in agricultural watersheds.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – How Does Rewetting Propagate Through Restored Peatlands? An Integrated Surface–subsurface Modelling Analysis of Water–table Dynamics
We’re pleased to highlight this publication, which investigates how peatland restoration alters groundwater table dynamics across drained boreal peatlands using fully integrated hydrologic modelling. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate coupled surface–subsurface flow processes and evaluate spatial patterns of groundwater response following ditch blocking and rewetting interventions, addressing long-standing challenges in predicting restoration outcomes across heterogeneous peatland landscapes.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Climate Change Alters Post-Surge Recovery of Coastal Aquifers
This publication co-authored by Satoshi Tajima, René Therrien and Philip Brunner investigates how climate change influences the recovery of coastal aquifers following storm surge events. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate coupled groundwater flow and variable-density salt transport, addressing long-standing challenges in understanding how coastal aquifers respond to storm-driven seawater intrusion and how recovery dynamics may change under future climatic conditions.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Modeling the water use associated with energy consumption changes on saltwater intrusion in the Pearl River estuary, China
This research investigates how increased energy consumption and associated changes in water use impact saltwater intrusion in the Pearl River Estuary— one of China's most economically vital and environmentally vulnerable regions.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – A hydraulic mixing-cell method to quantify the groundwater component of streamflow within spatially distributed fully integrated surface water–groundwater flow models
This research highlight co-authored by D. Partington, P. Brunner, C.T. Simmons, René Therrien, A.D. Werner, G.C. Dandy, and H.R. Maier, introduces a hydraulic mixing-cell (HMC) method to accurately quantify the groundwater component of streamflow within fully integrated surface–subsurface hydrologic models. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to address long-standing challenges in decomposing streamflow generation mechanisms without relying on tracer transport simulations or simplifying assumptions about groundwater discharge.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT - Natural and anthropogenic drivers of the water table dynamics in a riparian fen peatland
This publication, co-authored by Adrien Renaud, Claude Mügler, Véronique Durand, and Marc Pessel, which examines the natural and anthropogenic drivers of water table dynamics in a riparian fen peatland along the Essonne River in France. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to couple surface and subsurface hydrology, providing new insights into how precipitation seasonality, vegetation activity, and river regulation influence peatland water levels.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT - Using water sources extent during inundation as a reliable predictor for vegetation zonation in a natural wetland floodplain
We’re pleased to highlight this publication, co-authored by Tomasz Berezowski and Martin Wassen, which investigates how the extent of water sources during inundation can be used as reliable predictors of vegetation zonation in wetland floodplains. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) together with the Hydraulic Mixing-Cell (HMC) method to address long-standing challenges in modelling vegetation dynamics by explicitly accounting for the spatial distribution of different water sources during floods.