This study focuses on developing an integrated SWAT–MODFLOW–RT3D modeling framework to evaluate how irrigation and nutrient management affect crop production, groundwater, surface water, and nitrate movement in agricultural landscapes. The problem is that irrigation, crop growth, groundwater pumping, recharge, streamflow, and nitrate transport are often studied separately, even though they are strongly connected in real farming systems. This project will use SWAT to simulate watershed hydrology, crop growth, and nutrient cycling; MODFLOW-NWT to represent groundwater flow, pumping, recharge, evapotranspiration, and river–aquifer interactions; and RT3D to simulate reactive nitrate transport processes. The goal is to generate spatial information on nitrate loss, groundwater–surface water exchange, crop yield, evapotranspiration, recharge, and streamflow under different management scenarios, and to identify best management practices that reduce nitrate losses while maintaining crop productivity and profitability.
Study Period: Ongoing
Research Team: Rozita Pourmansouri, Vasudha Sharma, David Mulla, Bryan Runck