A Model Management System for Numerical Simulations of Subsurface Processes

Numerical models related to subsurface fluid flow, contaminant transport, and chemical and biological reactions play key roles in several DOE program areas. Decision makers and stakeholders dealing with groundwater issues need to select, from the large number of models available, those which have the potential to produce useful information. At present, decision makers have no systematic, information-technology-based method for identifying simulation models that meet a set of specified requirements for use on a given project. This project will develop a Model Management System (MMS) for numerical models that deal with subsurface fluid flow, contaminant transport, and chemical and biological reactions. In this approach, each candidate model will be associated with model metadata and stored in a relational database that supports standard query language. Phase I will: (1) design a model metadata template with a sufficiently rich structure to enable a wide range of exploratory model analyses; (2) design a relational database of mathematical models that address subsurface flow, transport, and chemical and biological reactions; (3) populate the database with a modest number of models and their associated model metadata; (4) design a web portal that enables users to navigate the model database using queries and data mining techniques; and (5) beta-test the prototype MMS and web portal and revise as necessary. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the Applicant: It is envisioned that the MMS component of the web portal would be freely accessible to al users. Commercial services could involve: (1) subscription-only access to other parts of the portal that contain, for example, enhanced user manuals, sample data sets, or processing tools; and (2) groundwater modeling..