HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Analyzing variation of the water table level with three-dimensional numerical simulations to assess reclamation techniques for an acidic tailings impoundment
As an extension of the last HGS research highlight titled ‘Improving control of contamination from waste rock piles’, this next research highlight within this series looks at a study conducted by the same researchers and explores the effects of thin cover deposition on managing water table levels in acidic tailings impoundments, while utilizing HydroGeoSphere (HGS) for in-depth simulations.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – A black-box automated approach to calibrate numerical simulations and optimize cover design: Application to a flow control layer constructed on an experimental waste rock pile
In this study, researchers developed and tested a novel black-box automated approach to calibrate numerical simulations and optimize cover designs for waste rock piles at mining sites. This work was undertaken by a team of scientists focusing on improving waste rock pile stability and minimizing environmental contamination.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Using High-Resolution Data to Test Parameter Sensitivity of the Distributed Hydrological Model HydroGeoSphere
By integrating HydroGeoSphere in this study, the researchers demonstrate its versatility in accommodating high-resolution data and conducting sensitivity analyses across different spatial scales. Precipitation emerges as the most sensitive input data, significantly influencing total runoff and peak flow rates. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of spatially distributed land use parameterization in accurately simulating evapotranspiration components and patterns.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Evaluation of Hydraulic Conductivity Estimates from Various Approaches with Groundwater Flow Models
Over several decades a wide variety of techniques have been used to estimate the hydraulic flow properties of the subsurface. Here the authors have produced heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity (K) distributions at a heavily instrumented research site using 6 distinct techniques (slight variations in some tests resulted in 9 distinct K distributions):.
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.
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 - A simple iterative method for estimating evapotranspiration with integrated surface/subsurface models
This work presents an iterative, water balance based approach to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET) with integrated surface/subsurface flow models. Traditionally, groundwater level fluctuation methods have been widely accepted and used for estimating ET and net groundwater recharge; however, in watersheds where interactions between surface and subsurface flow regimes are highly dynamic, the traditional method may be overly simplistic....
HGS Research Highlight - Schilling et al., 2014
The overarching goal of this study is to provide a quantitative basis for managing water resources in the semi-arid Tarim Basin in Western China. The increased use of surface water in the upstream of the Tarim River has led to the drying up of a stretch of over 300km, with devastating consequences for the riparian Populus Euphratica forests. To save these valuable ecosystems, the Chinese government initiated the “Ecological Water Conveyance Project”. The goal of this initiative is to stop the decline of the downstream ecosystems by periodically reducing the amount of water diverted for irrigation in the upstream. In order to provide quantitative guidance towards sustainable management, this project integrated ecological data with advanced mathematical modelling of surface water, groundwater and vegetation, using HydroGeoSphere (HGS).