Modeling 3D subsurface structures of an artificial hydrological catchment using gOcad.

@inproceedings{MaurerGM2011,
 abstract = { Information on the soil porous system is a precondition for understanding flow and transport processes in hydrological catchments, and for the assessment of ecosystem development. The initial spatial distribution of soil properties depends on sedimentation and other physical processes; most methods are limited in describing spatial structures by lack of data. For an experimental catchment with documented information during the construction phase, the gOcad software could be used for descriptions of 3D subsurface spatial distributions and sediment structures.
The objective of our structure model project was to establish a physically-based 3D catchment model for describing the initial spatial distribution of sediments. In this presentation, the combination of the results from a “structure generator model” with gOcad spatial modeling will be discussed. The data are from the artificially-constructed hydrological catchment “Chicken Creek”, located in Lower Lusatia, Germany. Here, we considered the technological processes including excavation and sediment dumping. The 3D structure model consists of individually-generated 2D-vertical cross sections of overburden spoil cones as basic elements that are aligned along stacker trajectories. From the generated data, a 3D gOcad model (SGrid) was constructed. The spatial model of the porous body was used for the calculation of sediment mass balances, thereby allowing a quantitative evaluation of the structure generator model results. Open questions are how to realize higher spatial resolutions for key areas, and “nested” spatial models considering different scale levels.
Future challenges for implementation of gOcad in a pedohydrological context would include the possibilities to consider temporal dynamics of structural development, flow and transport processes, and (pedo-) transfer functions to include more structural components. },
 author = { Maurer, Thomas AND Schneider, Anna AND Gerke, Horst H. },
 booktitle = { Proc. 31st Gocad Meeting, Nancy },
 title = { Modeling 3D subsurface structures of an artificial hydrological catchment using gOcad. },
 year = { 2011 }
}