GMS (software)


GMS is water modeling application for building and simulating groundwater models from Aquaveo. It features 2D and 3D geostatistics, stratigraphic modeling and a unique conceptual model approach. Currently supported models include MODFLOW, MODPATH, MT3DMS, RT3D, FEMWATER, SEEP2D, and UTEXAS.
Version 6 introduced the use of XMDF, which is a compatible extension of HDF5. The purpose of this is to allow internal storage and management of data in a single HDF file, rather than using many flat files.

History

GMS was initially developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s on Unix workstations by the Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory at Brigham Young University. The development of GMS was funded primarily by The United States Army Corps of Engineers and was known—until version 4.0, released in late 1999—as the Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System, or DoD GMS. It was ported to Microsoft Windows in the mid 1990s. Version 3.1 was the last version that supported HP-UX, IRIX, OSF/1, and Solaris platforms. Development of GMS—along with WMS and SMS—was transferred to Aquaveo when it formed in April 2007.
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics in August 2000 stated that "GMS provides an interface to the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, and the contaminant transport model, MT3D. MODFLOW is a three-dimensional, cell-centered, finite-difference, saturated-flow model capable of both steady-state and transient analyses...These two models, when put together, provide a comprehensive tool for examining groundwater flow and nitrate transport and accumulation". The study was designed to help develop a "permit scheme to effectively manage nitrate pollution of groundwater supplies for communities in rural areas without hindering agricultural production in watersheds".

Version history

Date ReleasedNameVersionCommentsReferences
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemSupported meshes, grids, geostats, MODFLOW, and FEMWATER
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemSupport added for MT3D
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemMap module added, support added for conceptual modeling, MODPATH, and updates for FEMWATER
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemSupport added for SEEP2D and RT3D
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemSupport added for SEAM3D
Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling SystemStandard Windows icons added to the GUI, support added for parameter estimation, UTCHEM, MODFLOW-96, orthogonal view
GMSProject Explorer added to GUI, cross section editor added, support added for stochastic modeling, horizons, MODFLOW-000, and T-PROGS
GMSSupport added for MODAEM
GMSSupport added for GIS, conceptual model objects, and coverage attribute tables
GMSSupport for OpenGL rendering, MODFLOW stored in files rather than in memory
GMSFirst version released by Aquaveo. Support added for UTEXAS and HDF5
GMSCompatible with Windows Vista. Support export in Arc Hydro Groundwater format, updated MODFLOW support, added support for MODPATH 5, removed ART3D interface
GMSUpdated MODFLOW package and UTEXAS feature support, added Parallel PEST, changed GMS logo
GMSAdded support for MODFLOW-2005 and SEAWAT, updated MODFLOW-2000, MT3DMS, and T-PROGS support, improved OpenGL speed and general GUI
GMS64-bit version of GMS released, improved speed of MODFLOW saving and importing, updated FEMWATER, annotations, and Global Mapper
GMSAdded support for ZONEBUDGET and MODFLOW NWT and DE4, major update to most models and libraries
GMSAdded feature allowing users to report bugs within GMS.
GMSCurrent GMS logo released.
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS
GMS

Reception

A 2001 report prepared for the Iowa Comprehensive Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund Board stated that GMS was "a very user-friendly software package with strong technical support." Raymond H. Johnson, a hydrogeologist with the US Geological Survey, called GMS 6.0 "a useful all around groundwater modeling package that offers the advantages of modular purchases, multiple model support, linkages to ArcGIS, conceptual model development, and integrated inversion routines." A 2006 report from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses in San Antonio, Texas called GMS "the most sophisticated groundwater modeling software available".