Prototype of a Virtual Experiment Information System for the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory

Underground Research Laboratories (URLs) allow geoscientific in-situ experiments at large scale. At the Mont Terri URL in Switzerland, international research groups conduct numerous experiments in parallel. The measured and simulated data as well as research results obtained from them are highly relevant as they improve the general understanding of geological processes, for example in the context of radioactive waste disposal. Unfortunately, the data obtained at the test site is often only available to researchers who are directly involved in a particular experiment. Furthermore, typical visualisation techniques of such data by domain scientists often lack spatial context and accessing and exploring the data requires prior technical knowledge and a high level of effort.We created a digital replica of the Mont Terri URL and thereby implemented a prototype of a Virtual Experiment Information System that integrates highly heterogeneous data from several different sources. It allows accessing and exploring the relevant data embedded in its spatial context without much prior technical knowledge. Both, simulation results and observation data are displayed within the same system. The 4D visualisation approach focuses on three exemplary experiments conducted at Mont Terri and is easily transferable to other experiments or even other URLs. The Unity Game Engine has been used to develop the prototype. This allowed to build the application for various output devices like desktop computers or Virtual Reality hardware without much additional effort. The implemented system reduces the technical effort required to access and explore highly relevant research data and lowers the cognitive effort usually needed to gain insights from measurements, simulation models and context data. Moreover, it promotes exchange among research groups by enabling interactive visualisations embedded in the URL’s spatial context. In addition, a future use of the system for the communication of scientific methods and results to stakeholders or the general public is plausible

Evaluating Remediation Potential Of A Salinized Heterogeneous Aquifer System Using Three-Dimensional, Density-Dependent Groundwater Modeling

In arid regions, groundwater is the most reliable source for freshwater. Thus, ensuring an aquifer’s long-term stability is one of the fundamental tasks for nowadays groundwater management. Especially in agriculturally used coastal regions, where water consumption exceeds annual recharge, water table drawdown and subsequent saline intrusion are problems that need to be addressed. Wihin the context of the government-funded research project „International Water ResearchAlliance Saxony“, groundwater quality for near-coastal, agriculturally used areas was investigated under the influence of marine saltwater intrusion. In the study region’s near-coastal areas, agricultural development increased tremendously during recent decades, while a steady lowering of the groundwater level was observed, which is primarily due to uncontrolled groundwater mining. Extracted water is mainly used for local irrigation. Intensively decreased groundwater levels, cause an inversion of the hydraulic gradient leading to intrusion of marine saltwater, endangering the productivity of farms. Utilizing the modeling software package OpenGeoSys, which is developed and enhanced by the Department of Environmental Informatics at UFZ Leipzig (Kolditz et al., 2012), a three-dimensional, density-dependent model including groundwater flow and mass transport was built up (Walther, et al., 2012a). The model comprises a heterogeneous hydro-geology (Walther et al., 2012b). A pre-development steady-state was calibrated successfully offering initial conditions for an adjacent transient calibration yielding acceptable results within apparent uncertainties of input parameters. The numerical model was used to investigate a best-case scenario assessing remediation potential of the salinized aquifer. The scenario considers ceasing groundwater abstraction and evaluates time scale and spatial distribution along the coast of the saltwater retreat. Using advanced visualization techniques in a virtual reality (Walther et al., 2013), results show a heterogeneous distribution of the saltwater withdrawal. Remediation actions will require a long-term strategy to retreive the already salinized regions of the aquifer. Results reveal valuable insight for future measurement campaings and management

Corrigendum: Prototype of a virtual experiment information system for the Mont Terri underground research laboratory

In the published article, there was an error concerning the FE Experiment. Incorrect information was used regarding the heaters’ power and temperature. A correction has been made to Chapter 3: Visualisation of Selected Experiments, Sub-section 3.3 “Full- Scale Emplacement Experiment”, Paragraph 1. The sentence previously stated: “They work with up to 1,500W each and emit heat up to 195°C.” The corrected sentence now states: “They work with up to 1,350W each and emit heat up to 135°C.” The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated

EnvimetReader 1.2.1-zenodo

Set default number of nesting cells to zero User definable nesting cells added The number of nesting cells can be given by adding a text file to the same directory where the EDI- or EDX-files to load are located. The nesting file has to be named like [SIMULATION_BASENAME]_nesting.txt, e.g. NewSimulationGebaeude1_AT_08.00.01 23.06.2015.EDX NewSimulationGebaeude1_AT_nesting.txt The nesting file has to be a plain text file (.txt) with the number of nesting cells in the first line of the file

Virtual geographic environments for water pollution control

Due to extensive water pollution in Chinese rivers and lakes, large efforts have to be made to improve the quality of drinking water and manage the sewage water treatment process. We propose a general workflow for integrating a large number of heterogeneous data sets relating to various hydrological compartments into a Virtual Geographic Environment (VGE). This allows both researchers and stakeholders to easily access complex data collections in a unified context, find interrelations or inconsistencies between data sets and evaluate simulation results with respect to other observations or simulations in the same region. A prototype of such a VGE has been set up for the region around Chao Lake, containing more than 20 spatial data sets and collections as well as first simulation result. The prototype has been successfully presented to researchers and stakeholders from China and Germany

Presentation of the visualization.

<p>The interested public discovers the weather simulation results in the TESSIN (Terrestrial Environmental System Simulation and Integration Network) VisLab at the UFZ (left hand side). Thus, the application supports the understanding of complex processes and is a tool for public education. The photo on the right hand side shows a situation in the VisLab where the domain experts use the visualization to analyze their simulation results. (Photos: Lars Bilke)</p

Side-by-side view of simulated, observed data, and static data.

<p>The visual comparison of simulated (left to right: 3km, 1km, 333m) and observed temperature (spheres marked with circles) at 2 m at 1:00 pm. The river is occluded in domain 1 because of the finer resolution of the river network (90 m). The refinement of the resolution leads to a better representation of orographic features of the Neckar valley and its confluences. (View towards the north)</p

Overlaid view of all domains showing the rain.

<p>To distinguish between the different domains, they are marked with outlines: domain 1 with blue, domain 2 with green, and domain 3 with red. It shows the state of the mass fraction of rain at 2:20 pm. The domains with higher resolution produce finer structures in the mass fraction of the rain. (View towards the north)</p

Topography of the subset.

<p>The domains have different horizontal resolutions: domain 1 with 3 km, domain 2 with 1 km, and domain 3 with 333 m. Thus, the topography of the region is represented differently in the simulations.</p

Overlaid view of all domains showing the wind.

<p>Domain 1 with 3km resolution (blue), domain 2 with 1km resolution (green), and domain 3 with 333m resolution (red). The state of the streamlines at 2:00 pm is shown using cone glyphs to represent the wind direction. Domain 2 and 3 produced similar wind fields, whereas in domain 1 the upstream is north of the ones in the other domains and not as high as the others. (View towards the south)</p