HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Dynamic Steady State in Coastal Aquifers Is Driven by Multi‐Scale Cyclical Processes, Controlled by Aquifer Storativity.
A new paper explores the effects that periodic/cyclical processes over different time scales exert on salinity distribution throughout coastal aquifers. In other words, how is aquifer salinity impacted by sea-level changes caused by tidal effects (sub-daily), storm-surges (decadal) and glaciation (millennial scale).
Research Highlight - Rising importance of economic valuation of ecosystem services in protecting Canada's vital resources
As part of Aquanty’s ongoing “Lunch ‘n’ Learn” our newest team member (Dr. Tariq Aziz) had the chance to present his recent research on quantifying the 'hidden' value offered by Southern Ontario's ecosystems. The valuation of ecosystem services is something that Aquanty believes strongly in, and we're excited to welcome Dr. Aziz to the team so he can help us to translate HydroGeoSphere model outputs into economic metrics that are more relevant for water resources professionals and policy makers.
HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Sources of surface water in space and time: Identification of delivery processes and geographical sources with hydraulic mixing-cell modeling
The paper highlighted this week presents a very interesting post-processing method for HydroGeoSphere models. The results of the HGS model were used as input into the hydraulic mixing-cell (HMC) approach which enables tracking and delineation of the mixing of predefined initial water sources at any location and at any time based on information from the hydraulic flow solution
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.