The SESOIL Model
Model Input Data
The figure below shows the Project Data Tree
structure for a SESOIL model profile. The data structure is designed such that
each branch of the tree groups together the common elements of the model input
data. To view or modify the input parameters, simply right-click on the
parameter group in the Project Data Tree and a data input form will appear as
shown in the following section.

Project Properties
The Project Properties are primarily descriptive
in nature. However, the Project Properties allow you to define the units for
each of the parameters used in the model, and gives you the option of using two
different sets of units; one set of units for the input data; and another set of
units for the display of results. This is particularly useful when the field
data you collect contains different units than you would like to display in the
final report. The Unit Templates that you define for one project can be saved
and utilized for many different projects in the future.


Profile Properties
The Profile Properties describes the name of the
profile, the surface area it represents, and the top elevation of the profile
(usually ground surface elevation). The bottom elevation and thickness of the
profile can be viewed/modified in the Layer Properties parameter group.

Case Settings
The Case Settings allow you to describe some of
the general model conditions including:
- Number of layers (1 to 4)
- Simulation Length (time)
- Site Latitude
- Washload Simulation (yes/no)
- Spill Type (continuous/instantaneous)
- Month to load initial concentrations

Climate Data
The Climate Data requires monthly statistics for
both rainfall and evapotranspiration for each year of the simulation. Since
this data is often difficult to obtain and tedious to enter, UnSat Suite
provides a direct link to the Weather Generator for importing simulated data for
the most important data including Mean Air Temperature, Total Monthly
Precipitation and Number of Storms (default values provided by SESOIL are
included for the remaining climate parameters).

Washload Settings
The Washload Settings define the static physical
setting and soil properties for the contaminant loading area. These parameters
do not change with time or according to climatic conditions.

Washload Schedule
The Washload Schedule describes the dynamic
physical properties of the contaminant loading area which can change with time
or according to climatic/seasonal conditions.

Contaminant Load Schedule
The Contaminant Load Schedule describes the
contaminant loading parameters for each layer of the model, for each month, for
each year of the simulation.

Layer Properties
The Layer Properties describe both the physical
geometry and static chemical properties of the model profile. The total
thickness (and depth) of the model profile is controlled by the thickness of
each individual layer in the model. Each model layer can have up to 10
sublayers to provide a more detailed resolution of the simulation results.

Initial Concentrations
The initial concentrations can be defined for
each layer and sublayer of the model profile.

Groundwater Settings
The Groundwater Settings define the properties of
the underlying saturated soil zone.

Chemical Properties
The Chemical Properties define the relevant
chemical properties for the contaminant being simulated with the SESOIL model.
UnSat Suite provides a database of chemical properties for 23 common
contaminants of concern.

Soil Properties
The Soil Properties describe the physical flow
properties of the soil material in the unsaturated zone. These properties are
static and are not variable with depth.

Display and Reporting
of Model Results
The SESOIL model creates an output file
containing monthly results for each layer and sub-layer of the model including:
- Hydrologic cycle components
- Pollutant mass distribution adsorbed on the
soil
- Pollutant concentration distribution in soil
moisture
- Pollutant concentration distribution in soil
vapor
UnSat Suite comes with a powerful charting
component that allows you to plot the modeling results using:
- Time-series plots of modeling data for
multiple profile depths, and
- Depth-series plots of modeling data for
multiple output times


These graphs can be printed to any printer or
plotter supported by Windows. The print options allow you to create a
customized page layout with a plot title, a description of the plot, and your
company name and logo.
An automatic report generator creates a rich text
document with a detailed summary of the model input data and selected graphs
from the results.
Export Data To Visual MODFLOW
SESOIL modeling results can be used in
conjunction with a saturated groundwater model to estimate recharge to the water
table or to predict contaminant loading rates at the water table. UnSat Suite
exports the SESOIL modeling results to an ASCII text file in a format that can
be easily imported into Visual MODFLOW for either recharge boundary conditions,
or for contaminant loading rates. |