Modeling Capabilities @ MD-DE-DC
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes)
Models and interactive mappers to improve understanding environmental processes
MD-DE-DC Water Science Center Capability Sites
we have the data, we have the people, we have the technology...
USGS models are widely used to predict responses of hydrologic systems to changing stresses, such as increases in precipitation or ground-water pumping rates, as well as to predict the fate and movement of solutes and contaminants in water.
The USGS is at the forefront of devising new techniques and computer software to solve practical problems in the study of water resources. Predictive models are needed to make informed decisions in many emerging areas related to the effects of water resources development. New models and methods enhance all USGS water programs. State and local governments as well as scientists and engineers in the private sector regularly use USGS models as an integral part of their work.
Some of Our Work
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes)
SPARROW is a hybrid statistical and mechanistic approach for modeling the sources, fate, and transport of contaminants in watersheds. SPARROW was developed by the USGS in the 1990s and has been used widely in the mid-Atlantic Region, the wider United States, and elsewhere. SPARROW has been used extensively within the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center to support improved understanding of the multiple natural and human factors affecting the occurrence, distribution, and changes over time in nutrients and sediment in surface waters.
Some SPARROW-Related Publications
Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Northeastern United States
By: Scott W. Ator
Toward Explaining Nitrogen and Phosphorus Trends in Chesapeake Bay Tributaries, 1992–2012
By: Scott W. Ator, Ana Maria García, Gregory E. Schwarz, Joel D. Blomquist, and Andrew J. Sekellick
Application of SPARROW Modeling to Understanding Contaminant Fate and Transport from Uplands to Streams
By: Scott W. Ator, Ana Maria García
Sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed-An empirical model
By: Scott W. Ator, John W. Brakebill, and Joel D. Blomquist
Simulating Stream Transport of Nutrients in the Eastern United States, 2002, Using a Spatially-Referenced Regression Model and 1:100,000-Scale Hydrography
By Anne B. Hoos, Richard B. Moore, Ana Maria Garcia, Gregory B. Noe, Silvia E. Terziotti, Craig M. Johnston, and Robin L. Dennis
MTC (More to Come)
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
MODFLOW and Related Programs
New information on chemical and physical characteristics of streams and floodplains across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds
The USGS is known the world over for creating modeling and geospatial map applications. Below are several publications that go over these products in detail.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States
Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Application of SPARROW modeling to understanding contaminant fate and transport from uplands to streams
Simulating stream transport of nutrients in the eastern United States, 2002, using a spatially-referenced regression model and 1:100,000-scale hydrography
Sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: An empirical model
Sources of suspended-sediment flux in streams of the chesapeake bay watershed: A regional application of the sparrow model
Section 3. The SPARROW Surface Water-Quality Model—Theory, application and user documentation
Digital data used to relate nutrient inputs to water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, version 3.0
Application of spatially referenced regression modeling for the evaluation of total nitrogen loading in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
User's guide for MODTOOLS: Computer programs for translating data of MODFLOW and MODPATH into geographic information system files
The USGS is known the world over for developing modeling and geospatial map applications. Many of these applications are linked-to below.
SPARROW Modeling Program
SPARROW is a popular watershed modeling technique, distributed by the USGS, that estimates the amount of a contaminant transported from inland watersheds to larger water bodies by linking monitoring data with information on watershed characteristics and contaminant sources.
MODFLOW 6: USGS Modular Hydrologic Model
MODFLOW is a popular open-source groundwater flow model distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS)
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System is a deterministic, distributed-parameter, physical process based modeling system developed to evaluate the response of various combinations of climate and land use on streamflow and general watershed hydrology.
RSPARROW
RSPARROW, now available on the USGS GitLab repository, provides the first open-source version of the USGS SPARROW water-quality model
MT3D-USGS: Groundwater Solute Transport Simulator for MODFLOW
MT3D-USGS is a USGS updated release of the groundwater solute transport code MT3DMS. MT3D-USGS includes new transport modeling capabilities to accommodate flow terms calculated by MODFLOW packages that were previously unsupported by MT3DMS and to provide greater flexibility in the simulation of solute transport and reactive solute transport.
MODFLOW-2005: USGS Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Model
MODFLOW 6 is presently the core MODFLOW version distributed by the USGS, but MODFLOW-2005 (the previous core version) is still actively maintained and supported. MODFLOW-2005 simulates steady and nonsteady flow in an irregularly shaped flow system in which aquifer layers can be confined, unconfined, or a combination of confined and unconfined.
SWToolbox Software Information
USGS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have combined their SWSTAT and DFLOW software programs into a new tool for the low-flow anlaysis, the SWToolbox. As of May 2022, the SWToolbox has been superseded by the Hydrologic Toolbox.
GWM: Groundwater Management Process for MODFLOW Using Optimization
GWM is a Groundwater Management Process for the U.S. Geological Survey modular three-dimensional groundwater model, MODFLOW.
USGS models are widely used to predict responses of hydrologic systems to changing stresses, such as increases in precipitation or ground-water pumping rates, as well as to predict the fate and movement of solutes and contaminants in water.
The USGS is at the forefront of devising new techniques and computer software to solve practical problems in the study of water resources. Predictive models are needed to make informed decisions in many emerging areas related to the effects of water resources development. New models and methods enhance all USGS water programs. State and local governments as well as scientists and engineers in the private sector regularly use USGS models as an integral part of their work.
Some of Our Work
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes)
SPARROW is a hybrid statistical and mechanistic approach for modeling the sources, fate, and transport of contaminants in watersheds. SPARROW was developed by the USGS in the 1990s and has been used widely in the mid-Atlantic Region, the wider United States, and elsewhere. SPARROW has been used extensively within the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center to support improved understanding of the multiple natural and human factors affecting the occurrence, distribution, and changes over time in nutrients and sediment in surface waters.
Some SPARROW-Related Publications
Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Northeastern United States
By: Scott W. Ator
Toward Explaining Nitrogen and Phosphorus Trends in Chesapeake Bay Tributaries, 1992–2012
By: Scott W. Ator, Ana Maria García, Gregory E. Schwarz, Joel D. Blomquist, and Andrew J. Sekellick
Application of SPARROW Modeling to Understanding Contaminant Fate and Transport from Uplands to Streams
By: Scott W. Ator, Ana Maria García
Sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed-An empirical model
By: Scott W. Ator, John W. Brakebill, and Joel D. Blomquist
Simulating Stream Transport of Nutrients in the Eastern United States, 2002, Using a Spatially-Referenced Regression Model and 1:100,000-Scale Hydrography
By Anne B. Hoos, Richard B. Moore, Ana Maria Garcia, Gregory B. Noe, Silvia E. Terziotti, Craig M. Johnston, and Robin L. Dennis
MTC (More to Come)
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
MODFLOW and Related Programs
New information on chemical and physical characteristics of streams and floodplains across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds
The USGS is known the world over for creating modeling and geospatial map applications. Below are several publications that go over these products in detail.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States
Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Application of SPARROW modeling to understanding contaminant fate and transport from uplands to streams
Simulating stream transport of nutrients in the eastern United States, 2002, using a spatially-referenced regression model and 1:100,000-scale hydrography
Sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: An empirical model
Sources of suspended-sediment flux in streams of the chesapeake bay watershed: A regional application of the sparrow model
Section 3. The SPARROW Surface Water-Quality Model—Theory, application and user documentation
Digital data used to relate nutrient inputs to water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, version 3.0
Application of spatially referenced regression modeling for the evaluation of total nitrogen loading in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
User's guide for MODTOOLS: Computer programs for translating data of MODFLOW and MODPATH into geographic information system files
The USGS is known the world over for developing modeling and geospatial map applications. Many of these applications are linked-to below.
SPARROW Modeling Program
SPARROW is a popular watershed modeling technique, distributed by the USGS, that estimates the amount of a contaminant transported from inland watersheds to larger water bodies by linking monitoring data with information on watershed characteristics and contaminant sources.
MODFLOW 6: USGS Modular Hydrologic Model
MODFLOW is a popular open-source groundwater flow model distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS)
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System is a deterministic, distributed-parameter, physical process based modeling system developed to evaluate the response of various combinations of climate and land use on streamflow and general watershed hydrology.
RSPARROW
RSPARROW, now available on the USGS GitLab repository, provides the first open-source version of the USGS SPARROW water-quality model
MT3D-USGS: Groundwater Solute Transport Simulator for MODFLOW
MT3D-USGS is a USGS updated release of the groundwater solute transport code MT3DMS. MT3D-USGS includes new transport modeling capabilities to accommodate flow terms calculated by MODFLOW packages that were previously unsupported by MT3DMS and to provide greater flexibility in the simulation of solute transport and reactive solute transport.
MODFLOW-2005: USGS Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Model
MODFLOW 6 is presently the core MODFLOW version distributed by the USGS, but MODFLOW-2005 (the previous core version) is still actively maintained and supported. MODFLOW-2005 simulates steady and nonsteady flow in an irregularly shaped flow system in which aquifer layers can be confined, unconfined, or a combination of confined and unconfined.
SWToolbox Software Information
USGS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have combined their SWSTAT and DFLOW software programs into a new tool for the low-flow anlaysis, the SWToolbox. As of May 2022, the SWToolbox has been superseded by the Hydrologic Toolbox.
GWM: Groundwater Management Process for MODFLOW Using Optimization
GWM is a Groundwater Management Process for the U.S. Geological Survey modular three-dimensional groundwater model, MODFLOW.