On January 15, ASPIRED started a 5-day training course on Stratigraphic and Groundwater Modeling with Arc Hydro Groundwater (AHGW), Groundwater Modeling System (GMS), and MODFLOW software applications. The training is delivered by the US-based AQUAVEO, which provides GIS-based software solutions for hydraulic, hydrologic and groundwater modeling. Particularly, AQUAVEO is responsible for the development, distribution, training, and technical support for the AHGW and GIS data model and tools.
Participants of the course are specialists of the ASPIRED Project, Water Resources Management Agency and Environmental Monitoring and Information Center of the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP), as well as academic institutions, namely American University of Armenia, Yerevan State University, Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia International Agribusiness Teaching Center/National Agrarian University. The current course builds on the GIS training for beginners conducted by the ASPIRED GIS specialist for the MNP staff in December 2017. More advanced GIS specialists will be coached to serve as trainers in the future.
The training is organized to enhance the capacity of the local specialists in using modern software tools for hydrologic and groundwater modeling to result in more efficient groundwater resource management. The goal of the training is to familiarize participants with the application of MODFLOW and AHGW tools. The training is designed in a hands-on interactive format, with the practical assignments on the software use. Particularly, the trainees will learn how to build and customize an AHGW geodatabase, import data, produce maps of temporal data such as water levels and water quality, manage and visualize borehole data, build 3D hydrogeologic models inside ArcGIS including construction of 2D and 3D cross sections and volume models, and import, edit, visualize, and create workflows with MODFLOW models inside ArcGIS.