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Heavy: Software for forward-modeling gravity change from MODFLOW output

May 18, 2023

Fortran software, named Heavy, was developed to simulate gravity change due to water-storage change in MODFLOW groundwater models. Heavy is compatible with MODFLOW-2005 and MODFLOW-NWT models using the layer-property flow or upstream weighting packages. All of the necessary information for the gravity calculation—the geometry of the model cells, the storage coefficient, and head change—is present within the existing MODFLOW model files and no additional information is necessary. Gravity change is calculated at each time step, for each layer, at user specified locations or at a grid of hypothetical positions across the model. The software has been validated using analytical gravity solutions and three example MODFLOW models are included for demonstration. Heavy leverages the input/output routines from MODFLOW and is orders of magnitude faster than previous efforts using interpreted languages such as Python or MATLAB. The objective of the software is to facilitate repeat microgravity field measurements for groundwater-flow model calibration.

Publication Year 2023
Title Heavy: Software for forward-modeling gravity change from MODFLOW output
DOI 10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105714
Authors Jeffrey Kennedy, Joshua Larsen
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Environmental Modelling and Software
Index ID 70243709
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Arizona Water Science Center; California Water Science Center