What’s New in the GMS 11.0 Beta

The newly released Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) 11.0 beta introduces several improvements aimed at making groundwater modeling workflows more flexible and efficient. Many of the most notable changes are focused on MODFLOW 6, including support for particle tracking, expanded lake modeling capabilities, and improved ways to map data into simulations.

Here are several GMS 11.0 beta features that will be especially useful for groundwater modelers.

MODFLOW 6 Particle Tracking with PRT

One of the most significant additions is support for the MODFLOW 6 Particle Tracking (PRT) Model. PRT allows users to track particles through a MODFLOW 6 groundwater flow model, providing a way to investigate groundwater flow paths and travel times.

The GMS 11.0 beta supports forward particle tracking, allowing users to release particles from selected starting locations and follow their movement through the simulated groundwater system. This can be useful for investigating groundwater flow directions, recharge pathways, and potential contaminant migration.

MODFLOW 6 now includes PRT as one of its supported model types alongside Groundwater Flow, Groundwater Transport, and Groundwater Energy models.

Improved MODFLOW 6 Mapping

GMS 11.0 beta also adds Map to MODFLOW, providing another option for transferring conceptual model information into a MODFLOW 6 simulation. This can simplify workflows for users working with existing conceptual models and make it easier to move data into the numerical model.

Additional mapping support includes Map to LAK and Map to DISU, providing more flexibility when working with MODFLOW 6's lake and unstructured-grid capabilities.

Expanded Lake Modeling with LAK Tables

The MODFLOW 6 LAK package has also received important attention. GMS 11.0 beta adds support for the LAK TABLES block, allowing lake stage, volume, and surface-area relationships to be represented using table data.

These relationships are important when simulating lakes whose water levels change over time. MODFLOW 6 uses lake tables to describe relationships between stage, volume, and surface area for individual lakes.

The addition of Map to LAK provides another convenient way to build these lake features within GMS.

A More Flexible MODFLOW 6 Interface

Several changes make the MODFLOW 6 interface easier to navigate. The New Simulation dialog has been reorganized and made resizable, while package menus now use submenus to make long lists of available packages easier to navigate.

GMS 11.0 also adds the ability to sort tables by column and provides improved visualization with flooded and dry cell symbols and a symbol legend. These may be small changes individually, but they can make large MODFLOW 6 projects easier to inspect and manage.

Final Thoughts

The GMS 11.0 beta builds on GMS's increasingly comprehensive MODFLOW 6 workflow. Particle tracking with PRT, expanded lake modeling, improved mapping tools, and interface enhancements give groundwater modelers more options while reducing some of the repetitive work involved in building and reviewing simulations.

For users already working with MODFLOW 6 in GMS, these additions provide new capabilities to explore. For users still working with older MODFLOW workflows, GMS 11.0 also continues the transition toward the more flexible, simulation-based MODFLOW 6 approach.

Check out these new features and more by downloading the new GMS 11.0 beta today!