Groundwater Modeling - Web 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 Data Reporting (CDR): Chemical summaries providing the physical and chemical properties of chemicals monitored by EPA. 

• 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 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. 

For Teachers 

• 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.

• Another source for groundwater models is enVision Environmental Education.
  
  
  

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 biodegradation 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 support 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 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 

• 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 

• 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 effect of pumping on lake stage in Wisconsin. 

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. 

• USGS Michigan Water Science Center: 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. (Interactive Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard)

• 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.