In 1992, I decided that a simple interface to a groundwater contaminant transport model needed to be written. I decided to use a simple model, that of Javandel, et al. (1984) or van Genuchten (1982), as the base model for this interface. I also decided to use a new operating system called NextStep from NeXT Computer, Inc., which has now been re-incarnated as the Mac OS X system. I decided to experiment a bit and used a program called InterfaceBuilder which does just what it says, it builds program interfaces in an very easy but powerful and consistent manner. This page presents the results of that in-house project.
This program is designed for easy usage.
One only need to know the following:
At this point a window will appear. From here you can point and click your mouse anywhere and you will not damage or crash the program. The most basic operation that can be performed is to point to the slider controls and move them to the left or right. You will notice the figure will change accordingly. Learning how the figure changes in response to the variables will educate the user about some basic groundwater transport mechanisms. I will not mention the other features at this time so that the user can experiment with the model. Once you get tired of it and want to quit all you have to do is go to the File menu and click on Quit at the bottom of the menu (or type command-Q).
Intended users are people who want to learn or teach some of the most basic groundwater contaminant transport mechanisms. Basic knowledge of groundwater hydrology and contaminant transport is encouraged. A good reference is Freeze and Cherry (1979). This model can also be used for:
Presently, to run this program one needs a Power Mac G3 machine running Mac OS X Server. The User version of this operating system is scheduled to be released within the next few months. I you have the hardware and are interested in purchasing this program I am selling it for $150.
If you would like to see this model call me for an appointment and I'll demonstrate it for you. If you would like me to model your site I can review your site data, run the model and provide the results to you. Other arrangements are also possible. Many runs can be made on the fly and one can gain significant insight into the important mechanisms at work at your site. Please contact me and let's discuss your site.
