Modelling tool for groundwater research

State-of-the-art modelling and research tools to help Australia better manage its groundwater and catchments have been made available to a national groundwater research centre.

The international water research organisation DHI and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) have announced an agreement to provide full access to DHI’s state-of-the-art modelling and research tools for groundwater and integrated catchment hydrology. This is particularly important for Australia where the interaction between groundwater and surface water has been identified as one of the key areas where knowledge and management gaps exist in our water resources planning.

NCGRT Director Professor Craig Simmons said "We are thrilled that DHI is making such a significant investment in the future of Australian groundwater research and training. DHI modelling software will play a critical role in helping the centre's researchers understand and predict groundwater behaviour and the interactions with surface water. This knowledge will help us protect and manage Australia's vital groundwater resources."

Stefan Szylkarski, Managing Director of DHI in Australia, said, “Collaboration between leading training and research organisations such as the NCGRT and DHI will lead to significant growth in both the capacity and standards of the Australian water resources sector. We are proud to have this collaboration with NCGRT and assist them in their mandate to raise the national standards in groundwater management.”

The agreement provides opportunities for DHI and the NCGRT to collaborate in both research projects and teaching at the partner universities. It includes access to FEFLOW, MIKE SHE and MIKE 11 for all of the university partners in the NCGRT.

The estimated value of this software agreement is in excess of $3 million in licence fees and software maintenance over 5 years.

MIKE SHE is a modelling framework for catchment simulations at any scale. MIKE SHE includes both physics-based and conceptual methods for all the hydrologic components - overland flow/runoff, unsaturated/saturated flow, actual evapotranspiration and channel flow. The framework is said to be widely used around the world for conjunctive use of groundwater/surface water, integrated catchment water balances, dynamic distributed recharge, land-use and climate change impacts on groundwater and surface water, flooding and flood forecasting, and integrated water quality.

MIKE 11 is a river simulation software tool which is used for river management, operational control, flooding and flood forecasting, sediment transport and water quality in large, small and even ephemeral rivers and streams. MIKE 11 is the channel flow component in MIKE SHE.

FEFLOW is a finite-element groundwater modelling tool for variably saturated, density-dependent subsurface flow, including solute and heat transport. It is used for mining applications, coastal zone modelling, geothermal simulations and groundwater management. The system can be coupled to MIKE 11 for groundwater-surface water interaction.