MFGA-Aquanty Forecast Tool - Grasslander Fall 2023
We are so glad to see that another issue of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association’s (MFGA) Grasslander has been published, providing a timely update on the ongoing work that the MFGA and Aquanty have been putting into the MFGA-Aquanty Forecasting Tool.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Managing climate change impacts on the Western Mountain Aquifer: Implications for Mediterranean karst groundwater resources
A new study investigates the impact of climate change on water availability within a 9000 sqkm karstic aquifer in Israel and the West Bank, and couples HydroGeoSphere to a soil-epikarst water balance model.
HydroGeoSphere at the EGU23 General Assembly
HydroGeoSphere is usually well represented at the annual European Geoscience Union’s General Assembly, but 2023 might be a new record with 10 presentations which relied on the integrated hydrologic modelling capabilities of HGS.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Disentangling runoff generation mechanisms: Combining isotope tracing with integrated surface/subsurface simulation
A new study co-authored by researchers at Hohai University and Aquanty Staff introduces an effective way to track runoff generation in a headwater catchment by combining isotopic tracer analysis and integrated hydrologic modelling using HydroGeoSphere.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Landscape restoration after oil sands mining: conceptual design and hydrological modelling for fen reconstruction
This study by researchers at the University of Waterloo investigates whether fen peatlands could be reconstructed on post-mine sites. Oil sand extraction can be very harmful to the natural land surface and can have lasting impacts on local ecosystems. This paper focuses on the fen peatlands that cover 65% of the landscape in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Our ability to reinstate these peatlands after mining operations has not truly been tested at large scales, and there are many uncertain factors that can impact reclamation plans for these sensitive wetlands.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Numerical simulations of water flow and contaminants transport near mining wastes disposed in a fractured rock mass
This study uses HydroGeoSphere simulations to model unsaturated water flow and contaminant migration in a mining context, specifically the reclamation of open pits with mine waste products. Fractured rock masses are important to study as fractures present preferential flow paths that can promote contaminant transport.
"Climate Change Impact Analysis using HydroGeoSphere" - Aquanty Webinar
As the relevant components of the global climate (e.g. temperature and precipitation patterns/intensity) drift further from historically reliable patterns, it becomes harder and harder to rely on these historical patterns as part of hydrologic studies. This is why HydroGeoSphere is an incredibly powerful tool for long-term climate change impact analyses of hydrologic systems.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Impacts of Climate Change and Different Crop Rotation Scenarios on Groundwater Nitrate Concentrations in a Sandy Aquifer
This study by researchers at the University of Guelph investigated the impacts of various crop rotation scenarios and climate change on groundwater nitrate concentrations in a 155 sq-km agricultural sub-watershed in Norfolk County, Ontario.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Evaluating Climate Change Impacts on Soil Moisture and Groundwater Resources Within a Lake-Affected Region
This study investigates how climate change could impact groundwater and soil moisture within the Great Lakes Basin (GLB). Groundwater is a resource that is relied on for agriculture, industry, municipalities, and drinking water. Approximately one-quarter of the 33 million inhabitants of the GLB depend on groundwater as their primary freshwater source. Given its extreme value as a natural resource, the impacts of climate change on groundwater need to be well understood, and fully-integrated models that incorporate such large water bodies (let alone an entire basin-scale system) are rare.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Fully integrated and physically-based approach for simulating water flows in a large-scale, heavily agricultural and low-instrumented watershed
This study is an excellent example of how a physics-based approach to simulating integrated hydrology with HydroGeoSphere allows researchers to overcome the limitations of data scarcity. Allowing water to flow naturally (or as ‘naturally’ as possible for a digital environment) also simplifies the calibration process, as a well conceptualized watershed scale model should be able to accurately represent the integrated hydrology of the watershed inherently.