A fully coupled land surface hydrologic model, Flux-PIHM, is developed by incorporating a land surface scheme into the Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model (PIHM). The land surface scheme is adapted from the Noah land surface model. Because PIHM is capable of simulating lateral water flow and deep groundwater at spatial resolutions sufficient to resolve upland stream networks, Flux-PIHM is able to represent heterogeneities due to topography and soils at high resolution, including spatial structure in the link between groundwater and the surface energy balance (SEB). Flux-PIHM has been implemented at the Shale Hills watershed (0.08 km2) in central Pennsylvania. Multistate observations of discharge, water table depth, soil moisture, soil temperature, and sensible and latent heat fluxes in June and July 2009 are used to manually calibrate Flux-PIHM at hourly temporal resolution. Model predictions from 1 March to 1 December 2009 are evaluated. Both hydrologic predictions and SEB predictions show good agreement with observations. Comparisons of model predictions between Flux-PIHM and the original PIHM show that the inclusion of the complex SEB simulation only brings slight improvement in hourly model discharge predictions. Flux-PIHM adds the ability of simulating SEB to PIHM and does improve the prediction of hourly evapotranspiration, the prediction of total runoff (discharge), and the predictions of some peak discharge events, especially after extended dry periods. Model results reveal that annual average sensible and latent heat fluxes are strongly correlated with water table depth, and the correlation is especially strong for the model grids near the stream.

Geoscientists now live in a world rich with digital data and methods, and their computational research cannot be fully captured in traditional publications. The Geoscience Paper of the Future (GPF) presents an approach to fully document, share, and cite all their research products including data, software, and computational provenance. This article proposes best practices for GPF authors to make data, software, and methods openly accessible, citable, and well documented. The publication of digital objects empowers scientists to manage their research products as valuable scientific assets in an open and transparent way that enables broader access by other scientists, students, decision makers, and the public. Improving documentation and dissemination of research will accelerate the pace of scientific discovery by improving the ability of others to build upon published work.

Observations of offshore freshened groundwater and saline groundwater discharge along continental shelves have important implications for water resources, ecosystem function, and the composition of the ocean, but they cannot be explained by basic theory. We show that these independent observations are linked and result from processes that drive variable‐density groundwater flow through the spatial heterogeneity that is ubiquitous in geologic formations. We use lithologic data to develop geostatistical models that mimic the architecture of coastal aquifers. Simulation of groundwater flow and salt transport through these random realizations shows that heterogeneity produces spatially complex subsurface salinity distributions that extend tens of kilometers offshore, even at steady state. The associated density gradients drive high saline groundwater circulation rates that cannot be predicted by equivalent homogeneous models. Results suggest that these phenomena may be common along continental shelves, potentially altering estimates of ocean chemical budgets and impacting coastal water management for future generations.

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