GMS

Streamlining GMS by Using Keyboard Shortcuts

By aquaveo on July 9, 2024

No matter how long you have been using the Ground-water Modeling System (GMS), you can enhance your experience with keyboard shortcuts. GMS comes equipped with various keyboard shortcuts–quick keys, hotkeys, accelerator keys, keybindings–in order to make the process more efficient for you. Whether you are just beginning or seasoned, such shortcuts are useful for any water modeling project.

The newest addition to the collection is related to the GMS unstructured grid (UGrid) feature, and facilitates progress with one click: Select all cells in UGrid layer using the “l” (L) key.

Here are a few more shortcut options that expedite the groundwater modeling process:

CTRL+D (Display Options): Quickly populate your display options module for view and modification.
CTRL+F (Frame Image): Use this option to scale and frame your model in the Main Graphics Window.
View: Utilize these options and view your project from any perspective quickly.

Shift+P (Plan View)
Shift+F (Front View)
Shift+S (Side View)
Shift+O (Oblique View)

With all of the intricacies of the GMS software, simplifying even the smallest commands may increase productivity in infrastructure planning:

CTRL+N (New Project): Clear the contents of your previous project easily with this command.
CTRL+O (Open File): Import a new file with this command.
Delete Key: Delete objects easily with this command.
CTRL+A (Select All): Select all objects easily with this command.
CTRL+U (Unselect All): Unselect all objects easily with this command.

Mastering keyboard shortcuts is a key aspect of becoming a proficient user of GMS. By taking advantage of these time-saving tools, users can navigate the environmental engineering software more efficiently, focus on their modeling tasks, and ultimately achieve better results in their water modeling projects. Use the "GMS Keyboard Shortcuts" article on the Aquaveo wiki to view these commands and more.

Additional shortcuts continue to be added to GMS. Access the latest version of GMS to make use of the newest shortcuts today!

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GMS

New Recharge Options for MODFLOW-USG Transport

By aquaveo on June 18, 2024

Do you have to refine the recharge options in your MODFLOW-USG Transport model in the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS)? With GMS 10.8, we’ve added two options to the MODFLOW-USG Transport Recharge Package. Concentrations (CONC) option and Use Seep Elevation (SEEPELEV) option have now been added as options to the main dialog. This makes it easier to add the data required when concentrations and/or seepage elevations are required for certain species. These additions can improve the accuracy and applicability of groundwater models, particularly in complex and variable hydrological settings.

New Recharge Options for MODFLOW-USG Transport

Adding the Concentrations (CONC) feature to the Recharge (RCH) package in MODFLOW-USG Transport allows you to account for the spatial and temporal variations in the concentration of contaminants or solutes in recharge water.

The Use Seep Elevation (SEEPELEV) feature enables you to consider the elevation of seepage faces in your simulations. This is particularly important in areas with complex topography and variable groundwater-surface water interactions.

In order to use these options:

Go to MODFLOW | Global Options.
In MODFLOW Global/Basic Package, select Packages.
Make sure “RCH1” has been selected as one of the packages.
Then, access the RCH package options using the RCH - Recharge Package command in MODFLOW | Optional Packages menu. You can also reach the options by double-clicking on the RCH package in the Project Explorer.
In the MODFLOW Recharge Package dialog, look for “Concentrations (CONC)” and “Use Seep Elevation (SEEPELEV)”. They will appear below the “Recharge option (NRCHOP)” drop down.
Select one or both of them, depending on your model’s needs.
For the seep elevation, you can manually enter or import the appropriate data.

Note: These options are only a part of USG Transport and are not available in other versions of MODFLOW..

With these two options now available in MODFLOW-USG Transport, better refinement in your groundwater models is now possible. Head on over to GMS 10.8 to try out the Concentrations (CONC) and Use Seep Elevation (SEEPELEV) options in your MODFLOW-USG Transport projects today!

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GMS

Using Top Elevation Data for Starting Head Values for MODLOW 6

By aquaveo on May 28, 2024

The Ground-water Modeling System (GMS) includes multiple methods of setting the starting heads in the Initial Conditions (IC) package for MODFLOW 6. Starting with GMS 10.8, you can use the top elevation data already entered in the Discretization by Vertices package (DISV) for your starting head values without any extra steps.

When you open the Initial Conditions (IC) dialog, it shows several options for setting the starting heads. For simple models you can set a constant value for starting heads across the entire grid. But for more complex models, you'll want values to better represent the test area. This often means you have to either manually enter, copy and paste, or import from another data file.

However, doing this sometimes involves duplicated work you might have already completed in the DISV package. To eliminate this inefficiency, GMS 10.8 has added a new method that allows you to use the DISV top elevation data as your starting head values. This can be done using the following steps:

Open the Initial Conditions (IC) dialog.
Check on the box that says "Set starting heads equal to cell top elevations."

Starting head equal to cell top elevation option

Turning on this option will match the starting heads to the elevation data already imported or entered in the DISV package and grays out all other parts of the dialog.

Using this option, the top elevation data will be used as the starting head values during the MODFLOW 6 simulation run. Setting the starting heads equal to the top elevations in GMS offers some benefits:

It provides an additional option for inputting the starting heads data.
It can save you time by using data already in the model.

As always, it is best to review the data before running the simulation and after running the simulation to verify that the values were incorporated correctly.

Now head over to GMS 10.8 and check out using your top elevation data as your starting heading values in your MODFLOW 6 projects today!

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GMS

Utilizing MODFLOW Symbols Display Options

By aquaveo on May 7, 2024

The Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) has many different options for customizing the display of your project. One display feature created for MODFLOW in GMS is the ability to use symbols to represent the properties of individual cells. This can be quite useful especially for more complicated MODFLOW models. You can use the MODFLOW symbols in the Display Options dialog to represent things like rivers, lakes, wells, drains, and more.

You can find the MODFLOW display options as their own tab by selecting the corresponding grid from the list on the left side of the Display Options dialog. The MODFLOW symbols all have a default shape, size, and color. The shape, size, and color of the symbols can all be customized by clicking the button to the left of the checkbox. The ability to customize the MODFLOW symbols is a useful feature for everyone, but especially our users who are visually impaired or color blind. For the best results, the symbols should be set to something different enough from each other that it is easy to tell which is which at a glance.

If you use the MODFLOW symbols in your project, you should consider turning on the display symbol legend. The legend shows a list in the corner of the Graphics Window of all of the MODFLOW cell properties contained within the current project, making it easier to keep track of what everything means. Only symbols that exist in the layer being viewed will appear in the legend.

There are a few additional symbol display options for MODFLOW on the Map Data section of the Display Options dialog. A list of the symbols appears when MODFLOW is selected from the Coverage dropdown. These symbols are specific to properties on the coverages in your project, and they can be customized in the same way as the symbols under the MODFLOW tab of the grid in the Display Options dialog.

Open GMS and use the MODFLOW symbols in the display options to help you keep track of the properties of your MODFLOW project today!

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GMS