Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
CASE STUDY: Athabasca River Basin, Canada THE PROJECT High-Resolution 3D Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on Surface Water and Groundwater Resources in the Athabasca River Basin, Canada. SITUATION Aquanty Inc. is an international hydrological sciences firm providing cutting edge computer modelling services across a broad base of sectors. Their flagship platform, HydroGeoSphere™, is a leader in fully integrated three-dimensional surface and subsurface modelling. In 2012 they needed to undertake a high-resolution 3D Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on Surface Water and Groundwater Resources in the Athabasca River Basin, Canada. RESPONSE Aquanty used Leapfrog Hydro to construct the conceptual geologic model of the complex subsurface stratigraphy of the Athabasca River Basin. • Leapfrog’s mesh generation, data transformation, and dynamic interpolation tools were essential for delineating the 3D large-scale geological and hydrostratigraphic system. • The model was developed from publically available data with input files prepared for coupled surface/subsurface hydrologic simulations using HydroGeoSphere™. “Combining HydroGeoSphere™ with Leapfrog has significantly advanced the project and given a better understanding of basin hydrological processes and the impacts of climate change on water resources. ” SHAUN MALONEY C.E.O - ARANZ Geo Location of study watershed (North America) Surface water depths simulated with HGS • Leapfrog’s easy to understand graphics provided compelling communication. • The model provided an efficient tool for peer review of model assumptions and hydrostratigraphic conceptualisation. HydroGeoSphere™ was used to simulate surface and subsurface water flow and interaction under the influence of dynamically downscaled climate simulation results for present and future climate conditions. Dynamically downscaling climate projections involves the use of a regional weather and climate model to generate the high-resolution information in a dynamically consistent way that can accommodate major shifts in climate regimes. It is a physically based method that relies less on calibration than statistically based methods. The HydroGeoSphere™ model is a 3D control volume finite element simulator designed to simulate the entire terrestrial portion of the hydrologic cycle. It uses a globally implicit approach to simultaneously solve the 2D diffusion wave equation and 3D form of Richards’ equation. OUTCOME The pairing of the Leapfrog Hydro with HydroGeoSphere™ has enabled the construction of a very sophisticated coupled climate/hydrology model in a relatively short time period. This increase in model sophistication and construction efficiency allows larger and more challenging problems to be tackled. While this project is on going, preliminary results are shedding light on the very complex and dynamic processes that affect both surface and subsurface water resources within the Athabasca River Basin under both present and future climate conditions. Says Leapfrog’s Managing Director Shaun Maloney, “We’re delighted that Aquanty used Leapfrog Hydro to develop the geological model for this project. Aquanty are recognised as leading experts in integrated climate, surface, and subsurface modelling and in developing custom, very advanced numerical models.” Contact Leapfrog for a trial or demo: www.leapfrog3d.com