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Visualizing Hyporheic Flow Through Bedforms Using Dye Experiments and Simulation

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Modeling variably saturated subsurface solute transport with MODFLOW-UZF and MT3DMS.

Eric D Morway¹, Richard G Niswonger, Christian D Langevin

¹U.S. Geological Survey, Nevada Water Science Center, 2730 N. Deer Run Rd., Carson City, NV 89701, USA. emorway@usgs.gov

|July 28, 2012

Summary

A new UZF-MT3DMS model accurately simulates solute transport in unsaturated zones. This enhanced groundwater model offers significant runtime savings, making complex environmental simulations more efficient.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Modeling
Hydrogeology
Geochemistry

Background:

Groundwater solute transport is often simulated using MT3DMS.
Simulating unsaturated zone flow and transport presents unique challenges.
Existing models may require significant computational resources.

Purpose of the Study:

To modify the MT3DMS model for unsaturated zone solute transport simulation.
To integrate the UZF1 package from MODFLOW into MT3DMS.
To develop an efficient and accurate tool for variably saturated flow and transport.

Main Methods:

Incorporated the UZF1 package into MT3DMS code.
Employed a volume-averaged approach mapping UZF1 fluxes to a fixed grid.
Validated the UZF-MT3DMS model against analytical benchmarks and existing codes.

Main Results:

UZF-MT3DMS accurately simulates solute advection, dispersion, and reaction in unsaturated zones.
The model correctly simulates unsaturated-saturated zone interactions.
Significant runtime savings were achieved, with 3D simulations running up to ten times faster.

Conclusions:

UZF-MT3DMS provides an accurate and efficient solution for unsaturated zone solute transport.
The analytical nature of the UZF1 solution reduces computational and data burdens.
This enhanced modeling framework benefits a wide user base familiar with MODFLOW and MT3DMS.