SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1996
STP38378S

Documentation of Ground-Water Models in Relationship to National Digital Geospatial Metadata Standards

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Standards have been adopted for the documentation and description of ground-water models to site specific applications. These guide lines identify the content and suggest format for material in a report on the ground-water model's application. The report is intended to provide a comprehensive description of the entire process followed in the development of a ground-water model application. The report is to contain sufficient information with reference to basic model files to permit an independent assessment of the ground-water model application.

The Federal government has adopted Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata. The intent of these Federal standards is to provide sufficient information for the application and use of geospatial data sets. They were developed in response to the need for adequate documentation of information developed with geographic information systems (GIS). GIS has been increasingly used as a tool in the process of developing site specific ground-water applications. These Standards can complement the existing ASTM guides for the documentation of ground-water model applications. The Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata are used to describe GIS data sets. This metadata can assist in the use of GIS data sets in ground-water applications. The spatial domain of the model is often represented by a GIS data set. This representation is used in the evaluation of other data, in model calibration, and in the display of model simulations. Metadata about the representation of the spatial domain of the ground-water model provides documentation on the lineage and development of the model grid. It can provide documentation for the model report on data sets and other materials involved in the model application. The metadata can identify individuals involved in the modeling process. This information can assist in the development of the report on the ground-water model application.

Metadata on other GIS data sets that are involved in the ground-water model application can provide supporting information for the model report. This supporting information will be on the content and quality of those geospatial data sets. They provide links to descriptions in the ground-water model report on the use and application of these data sets in the modeling process.

This paper examines standards developed for the description and documentation of the modeling process for ground-water flow systems and the Federal Content Standards for Geospatial Metadata. They are examined with respect to two ground-water applications in use by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the San Joaquin Valley of California.

Author Information

Hansen, DT
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento, CA
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Developed by Committee: D18
Pages: 42–58
DOI: 10.1520/STP38378S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5563-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-2021-1