My independent study prof wants me to work on groundwater flow modeling, specifically using the MODFLOW-2000 scientific software package. And, I’m excited. We’re working on saltwater intrusion problems, a subject close to my heart, hailing from the Cape and all.
It’s also my first exposure to this kind of computation. So, currently I’m playing around with the software on my ‘nix box at home, trying to get a feel for the thing. Thus far, I’ve gathered that the input data set is structured kinda similar to a C make file hierarchy — if you want to think of it that way.
To do this I’m using a .exe gui supplied by the gov (ModelMuse), running on WINE. I hate that, you know, F/OSS incompatibility. But get used to it, so no worries. But the catch: docs say ModelMuse runs only with MODFLOW-2005, where my prof stuck with 2000 as more reliable.
Here’s the plan:
- Stick with the WINE/gui for a little while I get a feeling for the input files.
- Install MODFLOW-2000 on ubuntu, beautiful ubuntu.
- Run 2000 with SWI (for the saltwater intrusion), using an interative method like my prof’s had experience coding.
NB, can I actually run the MODFLOW code on linux? Dr water mentioned something about an .exe file. Hmmm. Well, it’ll get figured out. For now, thank god for WINE.