SCIENCE

State-of-the-art modelling and research tools to help Australia better manage its groundwater and catchments have been made available to the nation's leading groundwater research centre.

The international water research organisation DHI and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) today announced an agreement to provide full access to DHI’s state-of-the-art modelling and research tools for groundwater and integrated catchment hydrology. This is particularly important for Australia where the interaction between groundwater and surface water has been identified as one of the key areas where knowledge and management gaps exist in our water resources planning.

NCGRT Director, Professor Craig Simmons, said "We are thrilled that DHI is making such a significant investment in the future of Australian groundwater research and training. DHI modelling software will play a critical role in helping the Centre's researchers understand and predict groundwater behaviour and the interactions with surface water. This knowledge will help us protect and manage Australia's vital groundwater resources."

Stefan Szylkarski, Managing Director of DHI in Australia said “Collaboration between leading training and research organisations such as the NCGRT and DHI will lead to significant growth in both the capacity and standards of the Australian water resources sector. We are proud to have this collaboration with NCGRT and assist them in their mandate to raise the national standards in groundwater management”.

The agreement provides opportunities for DHI and the NCGRT to collaborate in both research projects and teaching at the partner universities. It includes access to FEFLOW, MIKE SHE and MIKE 11 for all of the university partners in the NCGRT.

The estimated value of this software agreement is in excess of $3 million in license fees and software maintenance over 5 years.

MIKE SHE is a modelling framework for catchment simulations at any scale. MIKE SHE includes both physics based and conceptual methods for all the hydrologic components – overland flow/runoff, unsaturated/saturated flow, actual evapotranspiration and channel flow. MIKE SHE is widely used around the world for conjunctive use of groundwater/surface water, integrated catchment water balances, dynamic distributed recharge, land-use and climate change impacts on groundwater and surface water, flooding and flood forecasting, and integrated water quality.

MIKE 11 is one of the world’s most widely used river simulation software tools. It is used for river management, operational control, flooding and flood forecasting, sediment transport and water quality in large, small and even ephemeral rivers and streams. MIKE 11 is the channel flow component in MIKE SHE.

FEFLOW is a finite-element groundwater modelling tool for variably saturated, density dependent subsurface flow, including solute and heat transport. FEFLOW is widely used around the world for mining applications, coastal zone modelling, geothermal simulations, and groundwater management. FEFLOW can be coupled to MIKE 11 for groundwater-surface water interaction.

DHI is an independent, not-for-profit consulting and research organization; founded in 1964 and has grown to include all aspects of water in the marine, urban and water resources sectors. DHI develops and support both off-the-shelf and custom state-of-the-art software solutions for governments, industry and private clients. Today, over 70% of DHI’s 1000-strong staff is located in more than 20 countries around the world. DHI has been operating in Australia for over 10 years with offices in Perth, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane. The MIKE modelling software has become the industry standard across Australia in many areas of water management. (For more information on DHI see www.dhigroup.com. For more information on DHI’s software solutions see www.mikebydhi.com.)

The NCGRT was established in June 2009 as a jointly funded National Centre of Excellence of the Australian Research Commission and the National Water Commission. The Centre's primary purpose is to enhance Australia's future environmental, economic, social and cultural wellbeing by delivering world-class groundwater research. To achieve this the Centre has established a thriving groundwater research community comprising of 24 leading scientists and 75 Honours, PhD and Post-Doctorate students who are working in the Centre's five main research program areas in numerous locations across Australia. Our staff and students are committed to conducting internationally relevant research, and training Australia's next generation of expert hydrogeologists. The Centre also offers a comprehensive groundwater industry training program aimed at enhancing Australia's natural resource management capabilities.