HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Transit-Time and Temperature Control the Spatial Patterns of Aerobic Respiration and Denitrification in the Riparian Zone
The paper highlighted this week introduces a novel method of implementing temperature-dependent reactions in a HydroGeoSphere solute transport model by pairing a Lagrangian flow path-reaction model to the results of a 2nd order Runge-Kutta particle tracking analysis.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Finite-volume flux reconstruction and semi-analytical particle tracking on triangular prisms for finite-element-type models of variably-saturated flow
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 – 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 – Simulating fully-integrated hydrological dynamics in complex Alpine headwaters: potential and challenges
Alpine areas are inherently difficult to model, with large elevation gradients (steep, rugged terrain), complex geology and highly variable weather conditions, but nevertheless a satisfactory model calibration was achieved. The model incorporated fully integrated surface/groundwater flow, evapotranspiration processes, and dynamic snowmelt (using an energy balance-based representation of snow processes), all underpinned by a detailed 3D geological model.
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 – A hybrid approach for integrated surface and subsurface hydrologic simulation of baseflow with Iterative Ensemble Smoother
This paper introduces the development of an integrated model for the South Québec region where low-flow processes are of primary concern. In this publication, HydroGeoSphere is used with a surface water mass balance module in order to reduce computational cost, enabling the use of mathematically rigorous, ensemble-based methods to support a calibration-constrained predictive uncertainty analysis.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – An adaptive zone-based refinement method for characterizing a highly complex aquifer system model
This new paper by Aquanty senior scientist Hyoun-Tae Hwang introduces an innovative new method to iteratively refine model meshes based on model sensitivity and uncertainty, as calculated by PEST. The paper presents an initial proof-of-concept for this new method, based on the K-COSEM test site located in Eumseong-gun, South Korea.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Characterizing the effects of dry antecedent soil moisture conditions, channel transmission losses, and variable precipitation on peak flow scaling
While the historic flooding in British Columbia this month can obviously be attributed to extreme rainfall, it’s also believed that the extreme heat of the summer months made soils less permeable. This means that rain is more likely to run off the land rather than being absorbed, resulting in flash floods and landslides. In this case the diminished permeability can likely be attributed to soil ‘crusting’ (wildfires disperse waxy compounds which coat soil minerals and make the top layer of soil hydrophobic). But extremely dry conditions are also known to reduce the permeability of soils, even without the compounded effects of wildfires. A recent study by researchers at HDR Engineering, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Iowa State University and The University of Iowa investigates this very phenomenon.