Teaching groundwater flow modelling using cloud-hosted Jupyter notebooks and FloPy

Abstract

<p>Numerical modelling of groundwater flow is a challenging subject for both educators and learners. It requires fundamental insight in hydrogeology, mathematics and computer science. In addition, students need to learn to work with software developed for experts, which is far less user-friendly than the software they are familiar with. Many students will need extensive support to install, use and manage the software. One of the key challenges of teaching software-intensive subjects is the risk of teaching the software rather than the subject. To properly prepare students for further study and their future career they need to understand the modelling process rather than interface of a particular software.</p> <p>In this presentation we want to share our experience of using FloPy models in cloud-hosted (Google Colab) Jupyter notebooks for teaching groundwater flow modelling. FloPy is a Python library for constructing, running and post-processing MODFLOW groundwater flow models. Models are constructed by describing their properties using Python code. We use Jupyter notebooks to write, store and run the models. These notebooks provide a flexible environment, in which students can combine model code with documentation, results, notes and images. We use Google Colab which is a free service that hosts these notebooks online, so that students can work on the notebook using any computer with an internet connection.</p> <p>Teaching the class using FloPy and Colab yields several benefits compared to the approaches we used before, where students installed software with a graphical user interface (GUI) on their personal computers. Moving to a cloud-based environment has removed several technical barriers. There is no need to install any software and students need only a basic computer and internet access, reducing barriers to entry. Both FloPy and Google Colab are freely available, allowing students to use them outside the classroom as well. Students initially struggle with using Python as most of them have no programming experience. To overcome this, we give a basic introduction to Python and frequent exercises for students to practice.</p> <p>The combination of FloPy and Jupyter notebooks also offers benefits to learning. The approach is more transparent than GUI-based modelling tools. The entire model is defined within the notebook, providing students with a clear narrative describing each step of the modelling process. This allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the numerical modelling process. This promotes problem-solving and critical thinking. The cloud-hosted models can easily be shared, promoting cooperation between students and making it easier for the lecturer to help students diagnose and solve problems. In addition to groundwater flow modelling. this combination of tools allows students to develop valuable skills in programming and data analysis that are applicable to a wide range of geoscience careers.</p>