Groundwater Modeling Program

Web Page Links

The following listings are included to provide other sources of information related primarily to hydrogeology data sources, hydrogeology fundamentals, groundwater modeling techniques, representative applications of models and groundwater modeling software.  The inclusion of a web page on this list does not imply an endorsement by the State of Michigan. The listings are also not exhaustive. If you have a site that you would like us to consider for inclusion, please contact us.

Chemical Databases

ChemFinder: Chemical database offers basic information for specific chemicals and links specific to that chemical for further information.

EPA Chemical Fact Sheets: Chemical summaries providing the physical and chemical properties of chemicals monitored by EPA.

North Carolina State University pesticide database: Characteristics of pesticides sorted by common name

University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database: Database containing microbial biocatalytic reactions and biodegradation pathways for organic chemical compounds.

General Groundwater

Beginning course in groundwater hydrology -part I: Course Participants: USGS Open-File Report 90-183.  This report provides the basics for a beginning course in groundwater hydrology.

Beginning course in groundwater hydrology -part 2: Instructor's Guide: USGS Open-File Report 92-637.  This report is the instructor's guide for a beginning course in groundwater hydrology.

Basic Groundwater Hydrology: USGS Water-Supply Paper 2220.  This report covers the technical fundamentals of groundwater hydrology in an easy to follow format.

Groundwater Atlas of the United States: Groundwater Atlas of major aquifer systems in the United States provided by the USGS.

Groundwater Tutorial: Groundwater Education in Michigan (GEM) tutorial provided by the Institute for Water Research, Michigan State University.

Groundwater Primer: A very good primer developed by EPA and Purdue University covering basic groundwater fundamentals.

Groundwater and Surface Water - A Single Resource: USGS Circular 1139.  This circular describes the interconnection between groundwater and surface water.

Introduction to Groundwater Hydraulics : USGS Techniques of Water Resource Investigation report TWRI 3-B2. This award-winning publication describes the technical foundation of groundwater hydraulics in a self-paced format.

Sustainability of Groundwater Resources : USGS Circular 1186. This report discusses the importance of groundwater as a water-supply source in the U.S. and the factors that control the sustainability of groundwater supplies.

General Groundwater Contamination

Basic Concepts of Contaminant Sorption: An EPA Groundwater Issues Paper describing basics sorption concepts as they relate to contaminants at hazardous waste sites.

USGS National assessment of nutrients and pesticides in our Nation's waters: A report written by the USGS describing the occurrence and distribution of nutrients and pesticides in major aquifers and rivers in the U.S.

USGS National assessment of volatile organic chemicals: A  USGS web page describing the occurrence and distribution of volatile organic chemicals in major aquifers and rivers in the U.S.

Groundwater Modeling

These links are meant to provide on-line source of information related to groundwater modeling fundamentals, whether for the technical audience or classroom.

For Technical Audience

Definition of Boundary and Initial Conditions: A USGS Techniques of Water Resources Research report describing the concepts of boundary and initial condition as applied to groundwater flow models.

Fundamentals of Groundwater Modeling: An EPA Groundwater Issues Paper which describes the proper use of models as a management tool to assist in making decisions at remediation sites.

Modeling Contaminant Transport in Fractured Rocks: An EPA Groundwater Issues Paper describing the use of models to simulate contaminant transport in fractured rock.

Regression Modeling of Groundwater Flow: A USGS Techniques of Water Resources Research report describing the application of regression techniques to groundwater flow models.

Superposition: A USGS Techniques of Water Resources Research report describing the theory of superposition as it applies to groundwater flow theory.

System and Boundary Conceptualization: A USGS Techniques of Water Resources Research report describing the conceptualization of hydrogeologic systems and boundaries for groundwater flow models.

For Teachers

Making a Groundwater Model: A lesson plan for teachers describing how to develop a simple groundwater model in the classroom.  This web page is part of the Groundwater Education in Michigan (GEM) web page provided by the Institute for Water Resources Research at Michigan State University.

Purchase a Sand-Tank Groundwater Flow Model for the Classroom: The University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point chapter of the American Water Resources Association sells sand-tank models which may be used in the classroom. 

Using a Sand-Tank Groundwater Flow Model in the Classroom: A web page provided by the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point describing a program which uses a sand-tank model in the classroom to teach groundwater flow concepts.

Groundwater Modeling Software

The following list of software is not meant to be comprehensive.  This list reflects the different software commonly used to simulated groundwater flow or solute transport at remediation or groundwater development sites in Michigan.

BIOCHLOR: BIOCHLOR is a screening model that simulates remediation by natural attenuation of dissolved solvents at chlorinated solvent release sites. BIOCHLOR can be used to simulate solute transport without decay and solute transport with biodegredation modeled as a sequential first-order process within one or two different reaction zones.

BIOSCREEN: BIOSCREEN is a screening model which simulates remediation through natural attenuation of dissolved hydrocarbons at petroleum fuel release sites.  Source code and documentation are available from this site.

MODFLOW: MODFLOW 2000 and related programs (source code and documentation) available from USGS.

MODPATH: A particle tracking software for MODFLOW (source code and documentation) available from USGS.

MT3D: A solute transport program for MODFLOW (source code, documentation and related sites) available from the Hydrogeology Group at the University of Alabama.

PEST: PEST is a model-independent parameter estimation program used to assist model calibration.  Source code and documentation are available from this site.

USGS Groundwater Modeling Software: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a number of other computer codes designed to model various ground-water and related hydrologic and geochemical processes and to help estimate related parameters. This software and related material (data and documentation) are made available by the USGS.

EPA's Center for Subsurface Modeling Support (CSMoS): CSMoS distributes various public domain ground-water and vadose zone models and provide free technical suppoprt for many of these models.

Groundwater Modeling Applications

The following list of documents is not meant to be comprehensive.  This list presents the application of groundwater models to different hydrogeological conditions.  These documents are meant to be examples of "how to" apply models to hydrogeological problems.  If you have a groundwater model application that you would like us to consider for inclusion, please contact us.

Contaminant Transport

Fate and Transport Modeling of Chlorinated Organic Compounds: Application of MODFLOW and MT3D to simulate the fate and transport of TCE and other chlorinated compounds at a Naval Air Station in Florida.

Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons: Application of MODFLOW and MT3D to simulate the fate and transport of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland.

Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Advective Transport at a Landfill: Application of MODFLOW and MODPATH to simulate groundwater flow paths and evaluate the effectiveness of a pump-and-treat remediation system, Washington.

Fractured Rock

Simulating Contaminant Attenuation, Double Porosity Exchange and Water Age:  A USGS Fact Sheet describing the use of MOC3D to simulate contaminant attenuation and double porosity exchange in fractured rock.

Simulation of Groundwater Flow in Fractured Sedimentary Rock:  Simulation of the effects of pumping on groundwater flow in Triassic sedimentary rocks in and near Lansdale, Pennsylvania using MODFLOW.

Simulation of Aquifer Tests and Groundwater Flowpaths at Local Scale in Fractured Sedimentary Rock:  Simulation of an aquifer test and local groundwater flowpaths in fractured shales and sandstones of the Brunswick Group and Lockatong Formation, Lansdale, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania using MODFLOW.

Groundwater Management and Development

Possible Effects of Groundwater Development: Application of MODFLOW to simulate the impact to the hydrology of an unconfined sand and gravel aquifer in Massachusetts as a result of different proposed groundwater development alternatives.

Simulated Effects of Irrigation Pumping on Groundwater Levels: Application of RADMOD and MODFLOW to simulate the impact of pumping from irrigation wells on groundwater levels in Saginaw County, Michigan.

Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction

Analysis of the Effect of Groundwater Withdrawals on Discharge to Streams and Springs: Application of MODFLOW to simulate the effect of groundwater pumping on streamflow in the Puget Sound area, Washington.

Simulation of Shallow Groundwater Flow Near a Lake: Application of GFLOW and UCODE to simulate the interaction of a shallow aquifer with a lake and evaluate the efffect of pumping on lake stage in Wisconsin.

Vertical Movement of Water from a River to the Underlying Aquifer: Application of VS2DH and PEST to simulate the vertical movement of water and heat from the Rio Grande River to the underlying alluvial aquifer in New Mexico.

Infiltration Basins

Groundwater Mounding Beneath a Rapid Infiltration Basin: Application of a two-dimensional radial flow model (VS2D) to simulate the mounding of groundwater beneath a rapid infiltration basin in Florida.

Wellhead Protection

Effect of Anisotropy and Heterogeneity on Contributing Areas to Public-Supply Wells in Karst Aquifer:  Simulation of contributing area to public water-supply wells in Florida in a karst aquifer using MODFLOW and MODPATH.

Delineating Contributing Area to Well and Uncertainty Analysis:  Simulation of contributing area and uncertainty analysis for public water-supply well in Connecticut using MODFLOW and UCODE.

Delineating Groundwater Flow Paths and Contributing Areas to Public-Supply Wells :  Simulation of groundwater flow conditions and contributing areas for public water-supply wells in Kingsford and Iron County, Michigan using MODFLOW and MODPATH.

Delineation of Areas Contributing Recharge to Municipal Wells in Confined Glacial Aquifers:  Simulation of groundwater flow conditions and contributing areas for public water-supply wells in New York using MODFLOWP.

Hydrology

International Glossary of Hydrology: A comprehensive hydrology glossary developed by UNESCO.

Michigan District Office - USGS: The water resources of Michigan consist of numerous streams, rivers, lakes, and aquifer systems. Streamflow and water-quality data as well as ground-water levels are measured throughout the State. These hydrologic data along with stream-sediment characteristics and water-use data are used in research and studies to describe the quantity, quality, and location of Michigan's water resources. Collection, analysis, and interpretation of these data are done in cooperation with other federal, State, and local agencies, universities, and research centers.

MSU's Michigan Climatology page: Temperature and precipitation statistics summarized for climatological stations in Michigan for the time period 1951 through 1980.

NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes Water Levels page: Great Lakes hydrology and historical summary of water levels in the Great Lakes since 1918.