Location: Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3098-13610-009-075-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 25, 2019
End Date: Jul 31, 2023
Objective:
To develop a salinity module and integrate the module into SWAT+ (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). SWAT+ is a comprehensive river basin model that simulates the impact of land use and climate on runoff, sediment, nutrient and pesticide fate and transport. The salinity model components will include components for multiple salt ions in irrigation water, salt accumulation and leaching in the soil, salt transport in surface and ground water, and impact on plants. The integrated model will be able to simulate the impacts of land management on salt accumulation in soils and aquifers and transport in channels. The model will be available for use in developing conservation policy as part of CEAP (Conservation Effects Assessment Project).
Approach:
Conceptualize and develop a salinity module with similar complexity as other components in the SWAT+ model. The model will be calibrated and validated on a watershed in Colorado that contains an irrigation district and has salinity data needed for comprehensive model validation. The salinity model will be incorporated into the integrated SWAT+/MODFLOW model. MODFLOW is a numerical groundwater flow model. Additional inputs and outputs will be included in the QGIS interface for SWAT+/MODFLOW.
AMENDMENT 1)
Continue work on advanced SWAT+ groundwater module. Integrate a simplified process based groundwater module into SWAT+. The module should enhance SWAT+ prediction capabilities in areas with complex surface/groundwater interactions and/or groundwater pumping for irrigation or municipal usage. The module must be simpler and more computationally efficient than existing groundwater modules such as MODFLOW. The module will also include nitrogen and phosphorus mass transport in groundwater systems.
