Development of a visualization tool for integrated surface water-groundwater modeling

Physically-based, fully integrated surface water (SW)-groundwater (GW) models have been increasingly used in water resources research and management. The integrated modeling involves a large amount of scientific data. The use of three-dimensional (3D) visualization software to integrate all the scientific data into a comprehensive system can facilitate the interpretation and validation of modeling results. Nevertheless, at present few software tools can efficiently perform data visualization for integrated SW-GW modeling. In this study, a visualization tool named IHM3D was designed and developed specifically for integrated SW-GW modeling. In IHM3D, spatially distributed model inputs/outputs and geo-referenced data sets are visualized in a virtual globe-based 3D environment. End users can conveniently explore and validate modeling results within the 3D environment. A GSLFOW (an integrated SW-GW model developed by USGS) modeling case in the Heihe River Basin (Northwest China) was used to demonstrate the applicability of IHM3D at a large basin scale. The visualization of the modeling results significantly improved the understanding of the complex hydrologic cycle in this water-limited area, and provided insights into the regional water resources management. This study shows that visualization tools like IHM3D can promote data and model sharing in the water resources research community, and make it more practical to perform complex hydrological modeling in real-world water resources management.