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Research about Wisconsin

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Wisconsin.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS2023

Evaluation of models for estimating hydraulic conductivity in glacial aquifers from NMR logging

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging is a promising method for estimating hydraulic conductivity ( K ). During the past ∼60 years, NMR logging has been used for petroleum applications, and different models have been developed for deriving estimates of permeability. These models involve calibration parameters whose values were determined through decades of research on sandstones and carbonates. We assessed the use of five models to derive estimates of K in glacial aquifers from NMR logging data acquired in two wells at each of two field sites in central Wisconsin, USA. Measurements of K , obtained with a direct push permeameter (DPP), K DPP , were used to obtain the calibration parameters in the Schlumberger-Doll Research, Seevers, Timur-Coates, Kozeny-Godefroy, and sum-of-echoes (SOE) models so as to predict K from the NMR data; and were also used to assess the ability of the models to predict K DPP . We obtained four well-scale calibration parameter values for each model using the NMR and DPP measurements in each well; and one study-scale parameter value for each model by using all data. The SOE model achieved an agreement with K DPP that matched or exceeded that of the other models. The Timur-Coates estimates of K were found to be substantially different from K DPP . Although the well-scale parameter values for the Schlumberger-Doll, Seevers, and SOE models were found to vary by less than a factor of 2, more research is needed to confirm their general applicability so that site-specific calibration is not required to obtain accurate estimates of K from NMR logging data.

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USGS2023

Ticks harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions (PrP CWD ) affecting cervids. Circulating PrP CWD in blood may pose a risk for indirect transmission by way of hematophagous ectoparasites acting as mechanical vectors. Cervids can carry high tick infestations and exhibit allogrooming, a common tick defense strategy between conspecifics. Ingestion of ticks during allogrooming may expose naïve animals to CWD, if ticks harbor PrP CWD . This study investigates whether ticks can harbor transmission-relevant quantities of PrP CWD by combining experimental tick feeding trials and evaluation of ticks from free-ranging white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ). Using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, we show that black-legged ticks ( Ixodes scapularis ) fed PrP CWD -spiked blood using artificial membranes ingest and excrete PrP CWD . Combining results of RT-QuIC and protein misfolding cyclic amplification, we detected seeding activity from 6 of 15 (40%) pooled tick samples collected from wild CWD-infected white-tailed deer. Seeding activities in ticks were analogous to 10–1000 ng of CWD-positive retropharyngeal lymph node collected from deer upon which they were feeding. Estimates revealed a median infectious dose range of 0.3–42.4 per tick, suggesting that ticks can take up transmission-relevant amounts of PrP CWD and may pose a CWD risk to cervids.

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USGS2023

Spawning locations, movements, and potential for stock mixing of walleye in Green Bay, Lake Michigan

Effective fishery management in large systems relies on understanding how individual stocks contribute to a fishery over spatial and temporal scales. The current conceptual model for management of Walleye Sander vitreus in Green Bay designates Walleye in the northern and southern parts of the bay as distinct stocks, with little mixing between the northern and southern fisheries, and assumes that Walleye in both northern and southern Green Bay primarily spawn in tributaries as opposed to shoreline or offshore reef areas. We used acoustic telemetry to test this conceptual model for Walleye management in Green Bay. Telemetry indicated that the majority of Green Bay Walleye use tributaries for spawning. However, many individuals were assigned to open-water spawning locations during consecutive years in both northern (26%) and southern (21%) Green Bay, suggesting that open-water spawners may represent a larger proportion of the Walleye stocks than previously thought. Differential movement was observed between northern and southern portions of Green Bay, with 56% of Walleye tagged in northern Green Bay crossing receiver lines to move south compared to only 19% of Walleye tagged in southern Green Bay crossing receiver lines to move north. Walleye typically transitioned across these boundaries in summer and fall, suggesting that stock contributions to the fishery in each zone may differ seasonally. Differential movements of northern Green Bay Walleye may be influenced by broad-scale differences in habitat and prey availability, which are likely related to the differential effects of dreissenid mussel invasion in Green Bay. Our results suggest that adjustment of monitoring efforts to account for open-water spawners may provide a more complete picture of stock status. Additionally, more research examining potential food web effects of northern Green Bay Walleye moving into southern Green Bay may be needed to determine how these movements might influence other important species.

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USGS2023

Simulation of groundwater flow at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Sauk County, Wisconsin

To help support remedial efforts at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant the U.S. Geological Survey built and calibrated a transient groundwater flow model using the Newton Raphson formulation (MODFLOW–NWT) of the U.S. Geological Survey’s modular three-dimensional finite-difference code. The model simulates the groundwater flow system at the site from 1984 to 2020. The former Badger Army Ammunition Plant is a 7,275-acre site in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The plant produced smokeless gunpower and solid rocket propellent as munitions components. Peak production periods were during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Subsequent groundwater contamination investigations have found four plumes at the site. A health risk assessment identified at least one contaminant of concern for human health risk present in three of the plumes: the propellant burning ground plume, the deterrent burning ground plume, and the central plume. A cooperative study began between the U.S. Army Environmental Command and U.S. Geological Survey to better understand the groundwater flow system at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. Field data, including aquifer tests, streamflow measurements, continuous groundwater elevations, and groundwater gradients with the Wisconsin River were collected and used to inform and calibrate the groundwater flow model. The model was used to assess the variability of the groundwater system over the study period, the components of the groundwater budget, and groundwater flow directions from identified source areas towards the Wisconsin River. Model performance assessment focused on using particle tracking to compare groundwater flowpaths that originate in the contaminant source areas to the observed plume footprints. This focus on plume behavior geometry should help constrain the advective component of a future groundwater transport model of the site.

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USGS2023

Assessment of conservation management practices on water quality and observed trends in the Plum Creek Basin, 2010–20

The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin–Green Bay collected hydrologic and water-quality data to assess the effectiveness of agricultural conservation management practice (CMP) implementation at mainstem Plum Creek and west Plum Creek in northeastern Wisconsin. These two subbasins cover 88 percent of the Plum Creek Basin (Hydrologic Unit Code 12), which is a subbasin of the lower Fox River Basin. A published total maximum daily load report for the lower Fox River Basin rated Plum Creek as one of the greatest contributors of total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) draining into the lower Fox River. To reduce TSS and TP exports from Plum Creek, additional cropland conservation practices and watercourse protections were applied between 2012 and 2020. To detect water-quality trends, data were collected during 2010 to 2020 at mainstem Plum Creek and 2013 to 2020 at west Plum Creek. The project used two methods to evaluate CMP effectiveness. The first method focused on evaluating water-quality changes between initial and post-CMP implementation periods during rain- or snowmelt-induced runoff events (hereafter referred to as “events”). In this approach random-forest models were developed to account for environmental factors which influence water quality. Model residuals from the two time periods were compared to determine the significance of water-quality changes associated with CMP implementation for mainstem and west Plum Creek Basins. The second method used a Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season time-series approach to examine changes in water quality during the entire study period in mainstem Plum Creek. Results from both methods indicated there were minimal water-quality changes in TSS concentrations and flow-normalized delivery during runoff events during the 10-year period from 2010 to 2020; however, TP concentrations during low streamflow (less than 3 cubic feet per second [ft 3 /s]) may have decreased. The lack of observed improvement may be attributable to any of the following: variability in weather and hydrologic conditions, insufficient post-treatment data, additional cropland being converted to corn production, above average rainfall, streambank degradation, acute and legacy sources of phosphorus from farm fields, excessive/vulnerable manure applications and spills, and point-source discharges.

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USGS2023

Dissolved organic matter transformations in a freshwater rivermouth

River-to-lake transitional areas are biogeochemically active ecosystems that can alter the amount and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as it moves through the aquatic continuum. However, few studies have directly measured carbon processing and assessed the carbon budget of freshwater rivermouths. We compiled measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and DOM in several water column (light and dark) and sediment incubation experiments conducted in the mouth of the Fox river (Fox rivermouth) upstream from Green Bay, Lake Michigan. Despite variation in the direction of DOC fluxes from sediments, we found that the Fox rivermouth was a net sink of DOC where water column DOC mineralization outweighed the release of DOC from sediments at the rivermouth scale. Although we found DOM composition also changed during our experiments, alterations in DOM optical properties were largely independent of the direction of sediment DOC fluxes. We found a consistent decrease in humic-like and fulvic-like terrestrial DOM and a consistent increase in the overall microbial composition of rivermouth DOM during our incubations. Moreover, greater ambient total dissolved phosphorus concentrations were positively associated with the consumption of terrestrial humic-like, microbial protein-like, and more recently derived DOM but had no effect on bulk DOC in the water column. Unexplained variation indicates that other environmental controls and water column processes affect the processing of DOM in this rivermouth. Nonetheless, the Fox rivermouth appears capable of substantial DOM transformation with implications for the composition of DOM entering Lake Michigan.

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USGS2023

Microbial source tracking and land use associations for antibiotic resistance genes in private wells influenced by human and livestock fecal sources

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health problem that requires an integrated approach among human, agricultural, and environmental sectors. However, few studies address all three components simultaneously. We investigated the occurrence of five antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the class 1 integron gene ( intI1 ) in private wells drawing water from a vulnerable aquifer influenced by residential septic systems and land-applied dairy manure. Samples ( n = 138) were collected across four seasons from a randomized sample of private wells in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. Measurements of ARGs and intI1 were related to microbial source tracking (MST) markers specific to human and bovine feces; they were also related to 54 risk factors for contamination representing land use, rainfall, hydrogeology, and well construction. ARGs and intI1 occurred in 5–40% of samples depending on target. Detection frequencies for ARGs and intI1 were lowest in the absence of human and bovine MST markers (1-30%), highest when co-occurring with human and bovine markers together (11-78%), and intermediate when co-occurring with just one type of MST marker (4-46%). Gene targets were associated with septic system density more often than agricultural land, potentially because of the variable presence of manure on the landscape. Determining ARG prevalence in a rural setting with mixed land use allowed an assessment of the relative contribution of human and bovine fecal sources. Because fecal sources co-occurred with ARGs at similar rates, interventions intended to reduce ARG occurrence may be most effective if both sources are considered.

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USGS2023

Estimating flood magnitude and frequency for unregulated streams in Wisconsin

Flood frequency characteristics and estimated flood discharges for the 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities were computed at 299 streamgaged locations in Wisconsin. The State was divided into four flood frequency regions using a cluster analysis to produce regions which are homogeneous with respect to physical basin characteristics. Regression equations relating flood discharges to basin characteristics within each region were developed and can be used to estimate flood discharges at ungaged locations in Wisconsin. Basin characteristics included in the final regression equations include drainage area, saturated hydraulic conductivity, percent forest, percent herbaceous upland, percent open water, and the maximum 24-hour precipitation with a 10-year recurrence interval. The standard error of prediction for regression equations ranges between 40 and 71 percent, and the pseudo coefficient of determination ranges between 0.8 and 0.95. Nonmonotonic trends in the annual peak flow time series in the southwest part of the State are producing bias in some flood discharge estimates at streamgages with shorter (less than 20 years) periods of record. This bias increases the uncertainty in regression equations in this flood frequency region.

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USGS2023

Initial insights on the thermal ecology of lake whitefish in northwestern Lake Michigan

Lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis are a native coldwater species supporting important recreational and commercial fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Climate-related changes in water temperature may have important implications for the future sustainability of these fisheries. However, projecting future habitat availability is difficult because limited information is available on lake whitefish thermal ecology in the region. In this study, archival temperature loggers were implanted into 400 lake whitefish from northwestern Lake Michigan, including Green Bay, during October–November 2017. Loggers recorded temperature for 11 months at 4-hr intervals. Thirteen recovered temperature loggers were used in analyses. In winter (1 December–31 March), temperatures occupied by lake whitefish ranged from 0 to 8.0 °C, while in spring (1 April–31 May) temperatures ranged from 0 to 20.0 °C. In summer (1 June–15 September) and fall (16 September–7 November), lake whitefish occupied temperatures of 4–21.5 and 4–21.0 °C, respectively. Average temperatures in summer (10.8 °C) were within the previously proposed optimal temperature range (10–14 °C) and broad thermal niche (7–17 °C); however, 58% of observations were outside the optimal temperature range and 11% of observations were outside the broad thermal niche. Our results suggest that lake whitefish from northwestern Lake Michigan inhabit temperatures both above and below previously reported expected temperature ranges. This study provides initial insights on lake whitefish thermal ecology in Lake Michigan and can be used as a baseline for future work aimed at determining how lake whitefish habitat availability may change in the future.

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USGS2023

Using airborne electromagnetics to improve depth to bedrock estimates in Wisconsin

Depth to bedrock is an important factor in hydrologic systems. The thickness of glacial sediments overlying bedrock in Wisconsin controls the routing of groundwater in surficial aquifers and its Depth to bedrock is often an important factor in hydrologic systems because hydraulic properties of bedrock and overlying sediments are typically appreciably different. For example, the thickness of glacial sediments overlying bedrock in Wisconsin controls the routing of groundwater in surficial aquifers and its connection with surface water bodies such as lakes and wetlands. In fractured bedrock environments, shallow bedrock can be vulnerable to degraded water quality when contaminants at the surface infiltrate quickly through permeable formations. Here, airborne electromagnetic surveys were acquired in three different parts of Wisconsin, totalling more than 5,700 flight line-kilometers, to improve understanding of depth to bedrock, the lithologic composition of overlying sediments, and as input structure for groundwater model development.

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USGS2023

Stream corridor sources of suspended sediment and sediment-bound phosphorus from an urban tributary to the Great Lakes

Potential sources of suspended sediment and sediment-bound phosphorus (sedP) were studied in the Kinnickinnic River (51 square kilometers), a heavily urbanized tributary to Lake Michigan (90% urban land use) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The river is 60% concrete lined channels, with few unlined reaches. From September 2019 through August 2020, an integrated study of sediment budget and sediment fingerprinting was conducted to quantify upland and stream corridor sources of suspended sediment and sedP using Sediment Source Assessment Tool (SedSAT) methods with a suite of trace elements. Passive suspended sediment samplers were installed at three sites. Soft, fine-grained streambed sediment was collected at 10 rapid geomorphic assessment (RGA) sites. An inventory of bank erosion and soft-sediment deposition was done at each of the 18 RGA sites, which were selected to represent a range of stream sizes and geomorphic conditions. Sources of suspended sediment varied with streamflow; the primary source was from roadways in residential areas followed by eroding streambanks. Industrial/commercial areas contributed 1% of the suspended sediment at the streamgage during the study period, whereas green space contributed 18% of the suspended sediment at a mid-basin monitoring location downstream of an unlined reach. The dominant sources of streambed sediment, like suspended sediment, throughout the basin were eroding banks and residential areas, with green space and industrial/commercial area signatures present locally. In contrast with previous studies in agricultural and mixed-use basins, the urban Kinnickinnic River had limited storage of soft sediment, due to the hydrologically flashy system and concrete lined channels. However, eroding streambank sources contribute 50% of the streambed sediment, but only 9% of suspended sediment within this tributary to the Great Lakes.

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USGS2023

Connecting flood-related fluvial erosion and deposition with vulnerable downstream road-stream crossings

Fluvial erosion is increasingly responsible for infrastructure and building damages associated with floods as the intensity of extreme rainfalls hit rural and urban rivers in a variety of climate settings across the United States. Extreme floods in 2016 and 2018 caused widespread culvert blockages and road failures, including extensive damage along steep tributaries and ravines in the Marengo River, Wisconsin, watershed during 2016 and 2018. A study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA), Ashland County, and the Northwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (NWRPC) investigated the special concern of fluvial erosion hazards (FEHs) associated with gullying, streamside landslides, and the loss of wetland storage in headwaters. In 2019, a pilot study was begun to map and classify ephemeral and perennial streams and wetlands in terms of their sensitivity to FEHs. This study combined data from field-based rapid geomorphic assessments (RGAs) coupled with a stream network-wide geographic information system (GIS) approach for mapping stream segments, referred to as fluvial process zones (FPZ), sensitive to erosion, deposition, and channel change. The GIS approach used nationally available 10-meter (m) resolution topology and an extended stream network to map FPZs based on Strahler stream order, stream power, channel slope, presence of adjacent steep valley sides and headwater flats, and adjacent landform setting. Bankfull channel widths derived from RGA-based hydraulic geometry curves combined with drainage areas, an estimate of bankfull flow, and channel slope were used to calculate specific stream power for the FPZs. Lastly, the FPZs were characterized by their location within three major landform settings that affect erosion potential. The resulting vulnerability maps provided a screening framework to identify FPZs that are sensitive to incision, gullying and mass wasting along steep headwater ephemeral channels, as well as downstream perennial channels that have the potential for valley-side landslides, coarse sediment deposition, and channel change. Lastly, each FPZ was characterized in terms of hydrologic alteration associated with ditching. The vulnerability mapping products and rankings of sensitivity of FPZs will ultimately be used by Ashland County and their collaborators to prioritize natural flood management projects that mitigate FEHs, restore hydrology, and reconnect channels with adjacent wetlands and floodplains.

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USGS2022

A framework for prioritizing contaminants in retrospective ecological assessments: Application in the Milwaukee Estuary (Milwaukee, WI)

Watersheds are subjected to diverse anthropogenic inputs, exposing aquatic biota to a wide range of chemicals. Detection of multiple, different chemicals can challenge natural resource managers who often have to determine where to allocate potentially limited resources. Here, we describe a weight-of-evidence framework for retrospectively prioritizing aquatic contaminants. To demonstrate framework utility, we used data from 96-h caged fish studies to prioritize chemicals detected in the Milwaukee Estuary (WI, USA; 2017–2018). Across study years, 77/178 targeted chemicals were detected. Chemicals were assigned prioritization scores based on spatial and temporal detection frequency, environmental distribution, environmental fate, ecotoxicological potential, and effect prediction. Chemicals were sorted into priority bins based on the intersection of prioritization score and data availability. Data-limited chemicals represented those that did not have sufficient data to adequately evaluate ecotoxicological potential or environmental fate. Seven compounds (fluoranthene, benzo[ a ]pyrene, pyrene, atrazine, metolachlor, phenanthrene, and DEET) were identified as high or medium priority and data sufficient and flagged as candidates for further effects-based monitoring studies. Twenty-one compounds were identified as high or medium priority and data limited and flagged as candidates for further ecotoxicological research. Fifteen chemicals were flagged as the lowest priority in the watershed. One of these chemicals (2-methylnaphthalene) displayed no data limitations and was flagged as a definitively low-priority chemical. The remaining chemicals displayed some data limitations and were considered lower-priority compounds (contingent on further ecotoxicological and environmental fate assessments). The remaining 34 compounds were flagged as low or medium priority. Altogether, this prioritization provided a screening-level (non-definitive) assessment that could be used to focus further resource management and risk assessment activities in the Milwaukee Estuary. Furthermore, by providing detailed methodology and a practical example with real experimental data, we demonstrated that the proposed framework represents a transparent and adaptable approach for prioritizing contaminants in freshwater environments. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;00:1–21. © 2022 SETAC

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USGS2022

Water-quality improvement of an agricultural watershed marsh after macrophyte establishment and point-source reduction

Green Lake, located in central Wisconsin USA within a watershed with land use dominated by agriculture, is listed as impaired under Sect. 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The primary tributary, Silver Creek, is also impaired because of high total phosphorus (TP) concentrations. Silver Creek flows through a shallow marsh before reaching the lake. Prior to 2006, the marsh was turbid and free of macrophytes. Efforts to restrict carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) in the marsh and reduce the primary upstream phosphorus point source, resulted in the marsh becoming a clear-water, macrophyte-dominated system. The point source reduction and marsh phytoplankton-to-macrophyte shift reduced the export of TP and suspended sediment (SS). These measured reductions at the marsh outlet exceeded the documented reductions in the upstream point source suggesting that the shift to a macrophyte-dominated system drove part of the TP reductions. TP loads at the marsh outlet significantly decreased in all seasons; however, SS loads significantly decreased in all seasons except winter, suggesting the vegetation shift was an important driver for these reductions. During 2012–2017, the marsh served as an overall sink for TP and SS, retaining on average 1.59 kg/day and 0.95 MT/day, respectively. Overall, this study documents benefits of a multi-stakeholder, collaborative ecological effort to restore a marsh from a turbid system to a macrophyte-dominated system, which resulted in significant reductions in downstream TP and SS loading to a major inland lake. This effort may serve as a model for similar restorations in other watersheds with land use dominated by agriculture.

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USGS2022

Diagnostic testing of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by RT-QuIC using multiple tissues

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease affecting cervids (deer, elk, moose). Current methods to monitor individual disease state include highly invasive antemortem rectal biopsy or postmortem brain biopsy. Efficient, sensitive, and selective antemortem and postmortem testing of populations would increase knowledge of the dynamics of CWD epizootics as well as provide a means to track CWD progression into previously unaffected areas. Here, we analyzed the presence of CWD prions in skin samples from two easily accessed locations (ear and belly) from 30 deceased white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus viginianus ). The skin samples were enzymatically digested and analyzed by real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC). The diagnostic sensitivity of the ear and belly skin samples were both 95%, and the diagnostic specificity of the ear and belly skin were both 100%. Additionally, the location of the skin biopsy on the ear does not affect specificity or sensitivity. These results demonstrate the efficacy of CWD diagnosis with skin biopsies using RT-QuIC. This method could be useful for large scale antemortem population testing.

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USGS2022

Agricultural land use shapes dispersal in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Background Dispersal is a fundamental process to animal population dynamics and gene flow. In white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus ), dispersal also presents an increasingly relevant risk for the spread of infectious diseases. Across their wide range, WTD dispersal is believed to be driven by a suite of landscape and host behavioral factors, but these can vary by region, season, and sex. Our objectives were to (1) identify dispersal events in Wisconsin WTD and determine drivers of dispersal rates and distances, and (2) determine how landscape features (e.g., rivers, roads) structure deer dispersal paths. Methods We developed an algorithmic approach to detect dispersal events from GPS collar data for 590 juvenile, yearling, and adult WTD. We used statistical models to identify host and landscape drivers of dispersal rates and distances, including the role of agricultural land use, the traversability of the landscape, and potential interactions between deer. We then performed a step selection analysis to determine how landscape features such as agricultural land use, elevation, rivers, and roads affected deer dispersal paths. Results Dispersal predominantly occurred in juvenile males, of which 64.2% dispersed, with dispersal events uncommon in other sex and age classes. Juvenile male dispersal probability was positively associated with the proportion of the natal range that was classified as agricultural land use, but only during the spring. Dispersal distances were typically short (median 5.77 km, range: 1.3–68.3 km), especially in the fall. Further, dispersal distances were positively associated with agricultural land use in potential dispersal paths but negatively associated with the number of proximate deer in the natal range. Lastly, we found that, during dispersal, juvenile males typically avoided agricultural land use but selected for areas near rivers and streams. Conclusion Land use—particularly agricultural—was a key driver of dispersal rates, distances, and paths in Wisconsin WTD. In addition, our results support the importance of deer social environments in shaping dispersal behavior. Our findings reinforce knowledge of dispersal ecology in WTD and how landscape factors—including major rivers, roads, and land-use patterns—structure host gene flow and potential pathogen transmission.

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USGS2022

Modflow-setup: Robust automation of groundwater model construction

In an age of both big data and increasing strain on water resources, sound management decisions often rely on numerical models. Numerical models provide a physics-based framework for assimilating and making sense of information that by itself only provides a limited description of the hydrologic system. Often, numerical models are the best option for quantifying even intuitively obvious connections between human activities and water resource impacts. However, despite many recent advances in model data assimilation and uncertainty quantification, the process of constructing numerical models remains laborious, expensive, and opaque, often precluding their use in decision making. Modflow-setup aims to provide rapid and consistent construction of MODFLOW groundwater models through robust and repeatable automation. Common model construction tasks are distilled in an open-source, online code base that is tested and extensible through collaborative version control. Input to Modflow-setup consists of a single configuration file that summarizes the workflow for building a model, including source data, construction options, and output packages. Source data providing model structure and parameter information including shapefiles, rasters, NetCDF files, tables, and other (geolocated) sources to MODFLOW models are read in and mapped to the model discretization, using Flopy and other general open-source scientific Python libraries. In a few minutes, an external array-based MODFLOW model amenable to parameter estimation and uncertainty quantification is produced. This paper describes the core functionality of Modflow-setup, including a worked example of a MODFLOW 6 model for evaluating pumping impacts to a lake in central Wisconsin, United States.

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