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Data for three-dimensional distribution of groundwater residence time metrics in the glaciated United States using metamodels trained on general numerical simulation models

Metadata Updated: October 1, 2025

Residence time distribution (RTD) is a critically important characteristic of groundwater flow systems; however, it cannot be measured directly. RTD can be inferred from tracer data with analytical models (few parameters) or with numerical models (many parameters). The second approach permits more variation in system properties but is used less frequently than the first because large-scale numerical models can be resource intensive. With the data and computer codes in this data release users can (1) reconstruct and run 115 General Simulation Models (GSMs) of groundwater flow, (2) calculate groundwater age metrics at selected GSM cells, (3) train a boosted regression tree model using the provided data, (4) predict three-dimensional continuous groundwater age metrics across the Glacial Principal Aquifer, and (5) predict tritium concentrations at wells for comparison with measured tritium concentrations. The computer codes in this data release are in the form of Python scripts and Jupyter Notebooks. Users will need to have these Python resources installed on their computers to run the codes. Instructions for creating the Python environment can be found in the file Creating the Python environment.txt. Users who would rather not run the scripts but who wish to obtain the final data sets can do so by downloading the file Output--Predictions.7z. Users who wish to reproduce the data sets in this release can do so by downloading, unzipping, and running the data workflow in Starn_GW_Residence_Time_Data_and_Scripts.7z. The codes in this file use relative pathnames, so the directory structure within this file should not be changed. The ".7z" file extension indicates 7-Zip files, http://www.7-zip.org Executables--MODFLOW and MODPATH executable files provided for convenience. These are Windows 64-bit versions. Step 1--Create General Simulation Models--Codes to create 115 GSMs Step 2--Data preparation--Calculate residence time distributions at selected GSM cells Step 3--Metamodel training--Train a boosted regression tree metamodel (XGBoost) Step 4--Metamodel prediction--Predict age metrics throughout the Glacial Aquifer Step 5--Tritium simulation --Calculate tritium concentration at selected wells

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 1, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 1, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5ef5eb0e82ced62aaae8ccc2
Data Last Modified 2020-12-04T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id dc0fb032-00d3-4a2d-8e40-d1b5da79ed55
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -124.1591, 35.7294, -66.6053, 51.5004
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 8ff12a144f77c35d6e02b34893f813354bd1766989c1404929114107764aeaa6
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -124.1591, 35.7294, -124.1591, 51.5004, -66.6053, 51.5004, -66.6053, 35.7294, -124.1591, 35.7294}

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