ATS coastal modeling: a brief introduction

David Moulton, Yu Zhang, Joel Rowland, Daniil Svyatsky

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Coastal wetland restoration kickoff meeting

April 15^th, 2022

Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS): A Multiphysics Model

Builds on several DOE open-source tools

• Amanzi (Moulton et al. 2012) provides advanced discretizations, mesh infrastructure, nonlinear solvers
• Arcos flexible fine-grained multiphysics framework
• xSDK libraries provide scalability (e.g., Trilinos, PETSc, Hypre)

2

Watershed Workflow

A Python package and collection of Jupyter Notebooks

• Automates the acquisition and curation of open data products for watershed models in the United States
• Leverages USGS, USFS, USDA, DOE, and other data streams
• Requires only an HUC code or shapefile as input (plus a vertical structure plan)
• Writes an Exodus mesh for ATS that includes this information

3

ATS coastal modeling configuration

Los Alamos National Laboratory

4

4/15/22

ATS hydro-eco-geomorphologic module

Hydrodynamics

-Diffusive-wave scheme

Subsurface flow

-Density-dependent 3D groundwater flow

Veg dynamics

-Empirical vegetation equation

Sed erosion/deposition

-Mineral sediment settling/trapping

-Erosion due to tidal current

-Organic soil production

Improved representation of hydrodynamics on complex terrain

Distance from the shoreline (m)

Surface elevation (m)

Topographic change in 30 yrs driven by integrated coastal processes

Hourly scale

Yearly scale

Distance from the shoreline (m)

Surface elevation (m)

Saltwater intrusion

-20

Surface elevation (m)

Coastal hydrologic modeling across scales

Transect scale modeling

Improved representation of hydrodynamics on complex terrain

Distance from the shoreline (m)

Surface elevation (m)

Density-depended flow simulation for understanding saltwater intrusion

Density-depended flow simulation for understanding saltwater intrusion

Density-depended flow simulation for understanding saltwater intrusion

0 1000 2000 3000

-50

-50

Distance from the shoreline (m)

Soil thickness (m)

Watershed scale modeling

Regional scale modeling

Soil types (30 m)

Land Cover (30 m)

DEM (10m)

Harbeson site (93.15 km²) HUC-12 #020403030102

Hydrologic response to rainfall storm

LANL-LDRD project

Surface ponding water distribution driven by ELM simulated P-ET

Surface flow

Subsurface flow

DOE-ICoM project

ATS Geochemistry configuration

Alquimia: A geochemistry interface library

Reactive transport modeling

Captures surface-subsurface hydrologic dynamics and their effect on mineral weathering and chemical exports at the watershed scale.

Simulated water depth Copper Creek watershed

Simulated dissolved inorganic carbon in the groundwater Copper Creek watershed

Xu et al., �in prep.

ELM-PFLOTRAN

• PFLOTRAN models flow and reactive transport and provides a flexible biogeochemical reaction engine.
• ELM models land processes, including nutrient cycling, vegetation, and impact of land use/land cover.

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Schematic of coupled carbon–nitrogen–phosphorus dynamics in vegetation and soil as represented in ELM

ELM-PFLOTRAN coupling has been explored by Ben Sulman in NGEE-Arctic and his DOE Early Career award.

• Updates to the Alquimia interface have been proposed and are being integrated
• Addition/update of Alquimia interface in ELM and PFLOTRAN has been developed and tested.