Building groundwater modeling capacity in Mongolia

Building groundwater modeling capacity in Mongolia

“…Recharge was initially estimated as a percentage of precipitation for the Tuul River Basin and adjusted manually as necessary to demonstrate model calibration techniques. ModelMuse (Winston, 2009) was used as the graphical user interface for MODFLOW for training purposes during the workshops. Groundwater modeling concepts were taught as part of the workshop and included basic groundwater principles, estimating hydraulic properties, developing MODFLOW input files, and evaluating MODFLOW output files.…”

“…2). In addition, a better understanding and optimization of adaptation actions are needed to address challenges such as melting permafrost, which is posed by climate change in Mongolia (Sharkhuu, 2003; Government of Mongolia Ministry of Environment and Green Development, 2013).…”

“…In response, the Government of Mongolia Ministry of Environment, Green Development, and Tourism (MEGDT) and the Freshwater Institute, Mongolia, requested technical assistance on groundwater modeling through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Scientists from the USGS and USACE provided two workshops in 2015 to Mongolian hydrology experts on basic principles of groundwater modeling using the USGS groundwater modeling program MODFLOW-2005(Harbaugh, 2005. The purpose of the workshops was to bring together representatives from the Government of Mongolia, local universities, technical experts, and other key stakeholders to build in-country capacity in hydrogeology and groundwater modeling.…”

“…A preliminary steady-state groundwater-flow model was developed as part of the workshops to demonstrate groundwater modeling techniques to simulate groundwater conditions in alluvial deposits along the Tuul River in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar. ModelMuse (Winston, 2009) was used as the graphical user interface for MODFLOW for training purposes during the workshops. Basic and advanced groundwater modeling concepts included in the workshops were groundwater principles; estimating hydraulic properties; developing model grids, data sets, and MODFLOW input files; and viewing and evaluating MODFLOW output files.…”