HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Hybrid deep learning-numerical modeling framework for long-term prediction of groundwater discharge and radionuclide transport
We're pleased to highlight this publication by Minkyeong Seong and colleagues, which presents a hybrid deep learning–numerical modelling framework for improving long-term predictions of groundwater discharge and radionuclide transport. Using HydroGeoSphere (HGS) as the physics-based reference model, the researchers combined process-based numerical modelling with a graph convolutional long short-term memory (GC-LSTM) deep learning model to achieve highly accurate long-term predictions while dramatically reducing computational costs.
Long-term prediction of groundwater flow and radionuclide transport is essential for evaluating the safety of deep geological repositories used to store radioactive waste. While fully integrated numerical models such as HydroGeoSphere provide highly accurate simulations of coupled surface water, groundwater, and contaminant transport processes, these simulations can become computationally demanding for assessments spanning decades or even millions of years. Simpler models offer faster runtimes but often sacrifice accuracy by neglecting important processes such as unsaturated flow. This study addresses that challenge by combining the strengths of physics-based modelling with artificial intelligence to improve both efficiency and predictive performance.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Three‐Dimensional Analysis of Heat Tracer Transport With High‐Resolution Subsurface Heterogeneity Characterization in a Complex Aquifer System
We're pleased to highlight this publication by Chenxi Wang and colleagues, co-authored by Aquanty's Steven Berg and Hyoun-Tae Hwang, which investigates how high-resolution characterization of subsurface heterogeneity can improve predictions of heat tracer transport in complex aquifer systems. The study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate three-dimensional groundwater flow and heat transport, evaluating how different methods of representing hydraulic conductivity influence the ability to reproduce observed tracer behaviour in highly heterogeneous glaciofluvial deposits.
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 – Modeling a geologically complex volcanic watershed for integrated water resources management in Mt. Fuji, Japan
This publication presents a three-dimensional geological and integrated hydrological modelling dataset developed for the Mt. Fuji volcanic watershed in Japan. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate coupled surface–subsurface flow and transport processes in a geologically complex volcanic catchment, addressing long-standing challenges in representing groundwater flow pathways and hydrologic interactions in structurally heterogeneous mountain environments. The resulting dataset provides a physically consistent modelling framework to support interdisciplinary water resources research and scenario-based hydrologic simulations.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Effects of Creek Topology on Salinization of Coastal Marsh Due To Storm Surges
We’re pleased to highlight this publication, co-authored by Shuangshuang Yu and colleagues, which investigates how creek network topology influences storm-surge-driven salinization in coastal marsh systems. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate coupled surface–subsurface flow and salt transport processes under variable-density conditions, addressing long-standing challenges in understanding how geomorphology controls vertical saltwater intrusion and recovery in marsh environments.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Diffusion-Controlled Solute and Isotope Transport in the Milk River Aquifer System, Alberta, Canada: Implications for Dating Old Groundwater
We’re pleased to highlight this recent publication by Stephanie L. Musy and colleagues, which investigates how diffusion-controlled solute transport influences groundwater age interpretations in the Milk River Aquifer (MRA), a transboundary aquifer system spanning southern Alberta and northern Montana. The study combines multiple environmental tracers, including krypton-81 (^81Kr), chlorine-36 (^36Cl), stable chlorine isotopes (^37Cl/^35Cl), and radiocarbon (^14C), with HydroGeoSphere (HGS) simulations to better understand groundwater residence times and the processes controlling tracer distributions in old groundwater systems.
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 – Three‐Dimensional Geostatistical Inverse Analyses of Transient Head and Temperature Data From a Long‐Term Heat Tracer Test
We’re pleased to highlight this staff research highlighted which investigates how three-dimensional geostatistical inverse modelling can improve characterization of subsurface heterogeneity in groundwater systems. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate fully coupled groundwater flow and transport processes within a stochastic inversion framework, addressing long-standing challenges in estimating spatially distributed hydraulic conductivity fields from limited observational data.
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 – Numerical simulation of geothermal energy transfer beneath exothermic waste rock piles
This publication, co-authored by Jasmin Raymond, René Therrien, Louis Gosselin, and René Lefebvre, which investigates how geothermal energy can be harnessed beneath exothermic waste rock piles to improve the performance of ground-coupled heat pump systems. This study leverages HydroGeoSphere (HGS) to simulate coupled subsurface fluid flow and heat transfer, addressing long-standing challenges in quantifying how enhanced subsurface temperatures generated by sulfide mineral oxidation can reduce the required length and number of ground heat exchangers.