andrewtbanks / groundwatertutor

An interactive computer module for groundwater education

Installation

Download directory as a .zip file. Extract the contents of the file anywhere and run GroundWaterTutor_setup.exe to install GroundWaterTutor and the Matlab RUNTIME (9.3) support libraries. In total this will take approximately 1 GB of space on your computer. After installation, place the executables for MODFLOW (mf2005.exe) and MODPATH (MPath7.exe) into a folder anywhere on your computer (This directory can also be the same directory it was unzipped to). Anytime you startup GroundWaterTutor, you will need to identify this directory. All model files for MODFLOW and MODPATH created by GroundWaterTutor are stored in this directory.

Exercises_and_Answers.zip contains two Microsoft Word documents. A tutorial on how to use the software is provided in the first section of the sample exercise document: GroundWaterTutor_StudentExampleExercises.docx The answer key that accompanies the example exercise is provided as well: GroundWaterTutor_StudentExampleExercises_AnswerKey.docx

GroundWaterTutor - An Interactive Computer Module for Groundwater Education

Developed by Andrew T. Banks and Mary C. Hill

University of Kansas - Department of Geology

Communicating the basic principles of groundwater flow and transport to students can be challenging. In this work we present GroundWaterTutor (GWTutor), a freely available interactive computer module for groundwater education. GWtutor provides a simple, interactive environment for students to learn how key modeling parameters affect hydraulic heads and the flow of tracer particles. Students are presented with options to include the effects of confined and unconfined conditions, heterogeneity, anisotropy, time-discretization, areal recharge and pumping rates, which allows for a wide range of scenarios to be explored. Interactive visualizations illustrate the resulting hydraulic heads, as well as the transport of tracer particles from three origination sites. The software was developed using MATLAB GUI in conjunction with MODFLOW 2005 and MODPATH 7, and is distributed as a set of standalone executables. We provide a sample exercise to accompany GWtutor, which poses students with several tasks; one of which is to find the largest possible pumping rate without extracting too many “contaminant” particles. This exercise also utilizes a free web applet designed to illustrate the effects of urban and agricultural development on groundwater resources [1]. We find that these programs complement each other nicely, and have received positive feedback from students. [1] Hu, Y., Valocchi, A. J., Lindgren, S. A., Ramos, E. A. and Byrd, R. A. (2015), Groundwater Modeling with MODFLOW as a Web Application. Groundwater, 53: 834-835. doi:10.1111/gwat.12372