Summit Plenary Session

MODFLOW6 - Chris Langevin

The USGS will be releasing a new "core" version of MODFLOW next month -- the first such "core" release since 2005.  This version, called MODFLOW6, is a major change in the underlying design for MODFLOW.  In the new object-oriented design, any number of models can be included in a simulation. These models can be independent of one another with no interaction, they can exchange information with one another, or they can be tightly coupled at the matrix level by adding them to the same numerical solution.  Transfer of information between models is isolated to exchange objects, which allow models to be developed and used independently of one another.  Within this new framework, a regional-scale groundwater model may be coupled with multiple local-scale groundwater models. Or, a surface-water flow model could be coupled to multiple groundwater flow models. The framework naturally allows for future extensions to include the simulation of solute transport.