HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Predicting Watershed Scale Surface Water Quality Targets With a Combined Fully-Integrated Groundwater-Surface Water Model and Machine Learning Approach
The poster highlights some very interesting research at the nexus of physics based integrated hydrologic modelling (using HydroGeoSphere) and machine learning/artificial intelligence techniques. Here the authors have paired an HGS model of the South Nation Watershed (SNW) with a Random Forest (RF) algorithm trained to predict spatially varying concentrations of nitrate and E. Coli throughout the watershed. For a completely novel approach toward large scale water quality prediction, the results were very encouraging!
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT - Integrated surface-subsurface water and solute modeling of a reclaimed in-pit oil sands mine: Effects of ground freezing and thawing
The HydroGeoSphere model presented here was able to successfully simulate the water balance and water quality response of the reclaimed landforms, and the results indicate that the impact of winter processes (i.e., pore-water freeze/thaw) on infiltration and surface runoff are significant. Including freeze-thaw resulted in reduced infiltration during spring melt and reduced salt loading during winter. In total, a 20% reduction of chloride mass release (over an 8-year period) was simulated when freeze-thaw processes were included in the simulations. These results provide a strong argument for the inclusion if winter processes and coupled heat dynamics for detailed studies of integrated hydrologic processes in the Athabasca Oil Sands region.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Estimating Anthropogenic Effects on a Highly-Controlled Basin with an Integrated Surface-Subsurface Model
Our ongoing research with partners at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources has led to a new publication. This paper seeks to quantify the impacts of water management practices (e.g. groundwater pumping, dam and weir operations, etc.) on the surface and groundwater system of the Geum River Basin, South Korea.
The results indicate that the water budget of the Geum River Basin (GRB) is typically balanced or shows a slight surplus (resulting in GW recharge). However, water deficits were frequently simulated during the dry season, and groundwater seepage along the rivers within the basin was an important water source component that can sustain environ-mental flow under severe water deficit conditions.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Integrated modelling to assess climate change impacts on groundwater and surface water in the Great Lakes Basin using diverse climate forcing
HydroGeoSphere is an excellent tool for evaluating climate change impacts to integrated hydrologic systems, since HGS can be effectively coupled with climate forecasting simulators like the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) and the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM). HydroGeoSphere accounts for water dynamics in the atmosphere, ground surface and subsurface in a seamless manner and thus is the best modeling tool for evaluating the impact and risk associated with climate change on water resources.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Development of an integrated numerical flow model in the Prairie Environment
A recent publication by researchers at the University of Regina uses HydroGeoSphere to investigate the impact of climate variability and different groundwater withdrawal scenarios on groundwater levels in the Leech Lake aquifer. This paper provides an excellent introduction to the use of HGS in semi-arid prairie regions, making use of the built-in evapotransporation and snowmelt processes to estimate overall recharge rates under various climate scenarios (including extreme drought).